50+ Ideas for Unique and Non-Traditional Souvenirs from Paris

1. Food Shops, Gourmet Stores & Markets

Wine Shops & Tastings

• French wine purchased at wine shops
  • There are so many good wine shops in Paris, simply search for “Cave” or even just “wine” in Google Maps to find the closest
• Bottles bought directly from wine tastings
  • Wine tasting is a fun experience that can turn into a souvenir, if you decide to purchase anything that you sample. If that sounds fun, THIS is a good wine tasting option.

Fromageries

Fromageries are dedicated cheese shops, and of course carry only the highest quality cheese. Workers are happy to give recommendations, and they can vacuum-pack the cheese for you to bring home.

My favorite types of cheese are: brie de Meaux, camembert, comté, beaufort, tomme de savoie, roblochon, and cantal.

Chocolatiers & Pâtisserie Shops

• Chocolates from Parisian chocolatiers
  • There are a lot of dedicated chocolate “boutiques” in Paris, and you can search up “chocolatier” to find the closest to you. However, a few good options include: A La Mere de Famille, Jacques Genin, Alain Ducasse, Jean-Paul Hevin, or Pierre Marcolini.
• Macarons from patisseries
  • Macarons are delightful Parisian treats, and they keep well if you want to bring them home. Check out this list of my favorite spots.

Regular Grocery Stores

Stores like Monoprix, Carrefour, G20, and Franprix are common around Paris.

• French grocery store cookies
  • My kids love getting a few boxes of cookies after my France trips. Some favorites include the Petit Ecolier white chocolate cookies, Lulu La Barquette, but we usually grab a few boxes of whatever looks interesting

• Chocolate bars
  • Not as fancy as an actual chocolate shop, but less expensive and still fun to try
• Butter
  • Beurre d’Isigny de Baratte Demi-Sel is one of my favorite French butters (creamy and big flakes of salt) that can be found at many regular grocery stores.

Produce Markets

Paris has some great open-air markets, and while most of the stands sell things like meat, cheese, fruits, and vegetables, some sell other goods that work great as souvenirs, such as:

• Soaps, herbs, spices, jams, linens
• Place de la Bastille is a particularly good market for these types of items

One-Stop Gourmet Destinations

• La Grande Épicerie de Paris
  • This is an enormous, gourmet grocery store, with a huge selection of items that work great as food gifts
  • This is the best place for Beurre Bordier butter, an artisanal butter that comes in different flavors, and Martin-Pouret and Edmond Fallot mustard (I often bring some of these mustards back for my dad)
  • There’s also a huge selection of chocolate, sweets, candy, and cookies here, many designed to be gifts

• Galeries Lafayette
  • Galeries Lafayette is known as a luxury department store, but the 6th floor is dedicated to souvenirs, and there are SO many good options. More non-food items are listed in a section below, but there are tons of great food gifts, such as:
  • Biscuits roses de Reims
  • Teas
  • Chocolates, cookies, candies, etc
  • Angelina’s hot chocolate mix
  • Location link

• Maison Brémond
  • A much smaller gourmet food boutique with jams, spreads, salts, mustard, olive oils, etc
  • Location link

• G. Detou
  • Another specialty food store, with just a few items that work well to bring home (Martin-Pouret mustard or Beurre Bordier butter)

2. Food Experiences That Turn Into Souvenirs

Angelina

Angelina is a cafe that’s a Paris institution, known especially for their decadent hot chocolate. After dining in, you can also pick up:

• Hot chocolate mixes
• Angelina tea sets

Cooking & Food Classes

• Macaron-making classes
  • Macarons are such a classic French treat, and learning how to make them is a really fun experience.
  • Plus, macarons keep for a while, so you could certainly take the box of about a dozen macarons home with you.
  • Check availability and current prices for my recommended macaron class

• Croissant-making classes
  • Learning how to make croissants is another fun, classically French experience. Croissants don’t keep for longer than a day or two, so you wouldn’t be able to bring them home with you, but the skill itself is the souvenir.
  • Check availability and current prices for my recommended croissant class

3. Bookshops & Artwork

Bouquinistes

The bouquinistes are historic little green stands along the sidewalks of the Seine, particularly around Notre Dame, that sell treasures like:

• Secondhand books
• Old newspapers
• Vintage prints and pictures
• Postcards and flat prints

Other Bookstores

• Shakespeare and Company
  • A popular, atmospheric English language bookstore near Notre Dame (there’s often a line to get in, though)

• The Abbey Bookshop
  • Another English-language bookstore in the Latin Quarter
• Halle Saint Pierre
  • Beautiful design and art books about Paris/France

• Librairie des Abbesses
  • Fun bookstore in Montmartre, with great kids’ options

• Looking for more bookshops? There are many around the Latin Quarter.

Old-Timey Newspaper Photo Prints

A small group of women run a charming old-timey photo stand, taking portraits with a vintage camera and printing them on a newspaper-style front page. It’s donation-based and has no fixed times or location, but tends to pop up around the Eiffel Tower and near bridges by Notre Dame.

Place du Tertre

Place du Tertre is a central square in Montmartre known for the artists who work and sell there. It’s definitely a more touristy-focused spot today, but you can still see painters actually at work and selling their art.

The far side of the square is dedicated to artists who do portraits for tourists, which can be a very memorable souvenir to bring home.

4. Museum & Landmark Gift Shops

This is perhaps a bit more obvious, but gift shops in museums and landmarks can have a lot of really cool and unique souvenirs. Some things I’ve seen include:

• Art prints and posters
• Museum books
• Toys and figurines
• Puzzles
• Stationery, journals, etc tied to exhibitions
• Paris activity books for kids
• Illustrated scratch-off Paris scenes

5. Specific Shops Around Paris

These shops and stores are great spots to find unique and memorable gifts to bring home.

E. Dehillerin

E. Dehillerin is a well-loved kitchen supply store in Paris that was reportedly the favorite of Julia Child. This no-fuss store is a great stop for:

• Copper pans
• Knives
• Cooking tools, gadgets, and small pans
• Location link

The cutest little shop with all sorts of aesthetic, unique, and sometimes quirky gifts and souvenirs. This store is at a higher price point, though.

• Cute Paris mugs, plates, and dishes
• Illustrated notebooks
• Home goods
• Coffee table books
• An adorable croissant-shaped dish
• Location link

Merci

• Almost like a trendy Target (an American home & goods store)
• Playful home items
• Candles shaped like baguettes, croissants, or butter
• Adult coloring book of Paris scenes
• Cute plates with French designs
• Hats, socks, bags that say variations on “merci”
• Main location, secondary location

Pylones

• Colorful, whimsical items
• Eiffel Tower toothbrushes
• Paris pencil bags
• Small gifts & home goods that don’t scream “souvenir”

Atelier Tholoze

• Tiny, independent boutique in Montmartre that does Paris-themed ceramic dishes and ornaments
• Location link

Au Singe Qui Lit

• Cute notebooks and journals
• Tote bags
• Candles shaped like baguettes or cheese
• Location Link

Montmartre Village

There are a lot of very typical souvenirs in this store, but also a few gems:

• Paris sticker books with poster scenes to decorate
• Tiny figurines of Paris buildings, people, and metro entrances (for display)
• Location Link

Pain d’Epices

Pain d’Epices is the cutest little toy store in Passage Jouffroy. It is particularly known for its incredible collection of miniatures – little furniture and accessories that would go in a dollhouse.

• Location Link

Galeries Lafayette

We talked about the 6th floor of Galeries Lafayette above in the food gifts section, but the same floor also has a ton of non-food gifts. Here are some examples:

• Marcel Travel Posters and postcards (a popular style)
• Puzzles & 3D puzzles
• Cute Paris mugs
• Stuffed animals

Monoprix

Monoprix is a grocery store, but its also a home goods and clothing store, very similar to a Target. This can be a great stop for more “everyday” items, such as:

• Monoprix tote shopping bags (a very popular option)
• Affordable French-label clothing
• Small home goods
• You can also find little treats here too
• Scarves, which are a great, and very French, souvenir

6. Fashion and Beauty

Luxury Name Brands

Paris is one of the best places in the world to shop for luxury fashion, especially if you’re coming from outside the EU. You’ll find luxury bags, clothing, and jewelry from well-known brands such as Celine, Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Hermès, Yves Saint Laurent, and many others.

Many high-end brands are concentrated around Place Vendôme and inside major department stores like Samaritaine, Printemps, Galeries Lafayette, and Le Bon Marché.

Independent and Upscale Boutiques

If you’d rather shop for something high-quality without a globally recognizable logo, Paris has countless independent and upscale boutiques that feel more personal and less “obvious” as souvenirs.

Some of the best streets for boutique shopping include:

• Rue Saint Honoré (1st arrondissement)
• Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, Rue Vieille-du-Temple (3rd arrondissement)
• Rue de Rennes, Rue du Bac, Rue de Sevrès, Boulevard Saint Germain-des-Prés (6th arrondissement)

French Pharmacies

French pharmacies are incredibly popular with French women and visitors alike for their vast and high-quality section of skincare products, much of it less expensive or unavailable in the US or other parts of the world.

La Roche-Posay, Avène, and Caudalie are popular French brands, and items like Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse or La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 are popular items. Not sure what to get? In-store pharmacy staff are happy to help and give recommendations.

Tip: If you buy more than €100 from a single retailer at one time, you are eligible to get VAT tax back, which can be a significant savings.

To qualify, you need to be a non-EU resident, have your passport with you at time of purchase, ask for a VAT tax form when you check out, and then process your forms at the airport when you leave the EU.

7. Flea Markets, Vintage & Secondhand Shopping

Secondhand clothing stores

Paris has a strong scene for inexpensive secondhand clothing, especially in the Marais and the Latin Quarter, with many shops clustered around Les Halles.

Searching for friperies on Google Maps is the easiest way to find options nearby, or popular chains like Free’P’Star and Guerrisol are good places to start.

If you’re more interested in curated, higher-end vintage, Opulence Vintage is worth a stop.

Antique markets

For true antiques and high-quality vintage finds, Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen is the main event. It’s the largest antique market in the world and is a collection of permanent shops rather than a casual flea market.

Flea market treasures

For a more traditional flea market experience, the flea section of Marché d’Aligre is a great option. Marché aux Puces de Vanves is another solid choice, with a mix of vintage objects and secondhand goods.

Smaller flea markets also pop up around Paris throughout the year, so it’s worth keeping an eye out as you explore.

8. Personalized & Custom Souvenirs

Custom perfume

Molinard is one of the oldest perfume brands in France and offers a hands-on workshop where you create your own signature scent using their fragrances. I’ve done this in the south of France, and the Paris workshop follows the exact same format. You leave with a genuinely personal custom perfume.

Officine Universelle Buly

This beautifully designed boutique is known for high-quality combs, brushes, and creams that can be engraved on-site. The entire experience feels thoughtful and curated, from choosing your items to watching them be personalized.

Professional photoshoot images

One of my favorite travel souvenirs is a professional photoshoot. My husband and I have done them now in seven destinations around the world, and these photos are instantly some of our most treasured travel keepsakes.