19 Non-Traditional and Unique Souvenirs to Buy in Paris

Did you know the word souvenir is actually French – it means “memory”. I find that so appropriate, as getting the right souvenir can help spark special memories of your amazing trip. But, sometimes it seems like the “typical” options are a waste and, ironically, fade quickly from memory.

So, how do you pick something that will be meaningful to you? Or, sometimes even harder, find something that will be useful and special as a gift for someone back home?

To help, I’ve collected 19 options for souvenirs from Paris that can help preserve those incredible memories when you get back home.

19 Non-Touristy Souvenirs to Bring Home from Paris

1. French Wine

French wine is legendary, and bringing back a bottle or two of your favorite variety to enjoy later is a classic souvenir to pick up in Paris. You can find wine shops everywhere in the city, but a fun way to get to try out several great wines is doing a wine tasting.

After being guided through the process of tasting wines, pairing them with cheese, and learning about the history of each wine, you can choose your favorites to purchase and bring home with you.

👉Check availability for this wine-tasting

Wine bottles can easily be transported in your checked luggage – just pad well around your clothes – but you can also buy wine sleeves to hold the bottles more securely.

2. Cheese + Butter

There’s nothing I love quite like I love a fromagerie (a traditional French cheese shop) filled with all sizes and shapes of interesting cheeses. You can easily bring back a selection of different cheeses – many countries (including the US) allow you to bring cheese and butter back without any issue.

These are some of my favorite French cheeses:

• Comté: This cheese is hard, nutty, and salty and is my absolute favorite French cheese. 
• Brie: You can’t come to France and not try a really good brie! At a fromagerie, you’ll most often see “brie de meaux” – a type of brie from the city of Meaux that is very soft and creamy.
• Tomme de Savoie: Creamy, nutty and salty. It’s harder than brie but not as hard as comté.
• Cantal: Very mild and hard
• Roblochon: This cheese is soft, similar to brie, but has a stronger flavor. I like it though!
• Camembert: Another classic French cheese. I personally think Camembert has a similar flavor to brie, just stronger. Sometimes you’ll see baked camembert on restaurant menus, which is delicious.

Additionally, I love bringing back French butter, especially Le Beurre Bordier brand, which you can often find in fromageries.

Usually, a fromagerie can vacuum pack your cheese, which helps ensure freshness and contain smells in your luggage.

I’ve hosted many a cheese and/or butter-tasting party after visits to France, which is always a hit with friends and family.

3. Bouquinistes

During the warmer months, the banks of the Seine River are lined with “bouquinistes” – or pop-up book sellers. These charming stands sell vintage and second-hand unique books, artwork, and postcards. You can find some real gems here!

4. Scarves

Scarves are the quintessential Parisian fashion item. Everyone in Paris wears a perfectly coiffed scarf during the chilly winter months and brisk spring and fall days, and bringing home a traditional Parisian scarf is a great remembrance of your trip.

You can find scarves in many typical souvenir shops, but for a more authentic experience, consider shopping the boutiques (as well as some chains) along Rue de Rivoli, near Hotel de Ville.

5. Market Goods

Wandering around markets is one of the best ways to get that “local feeling”, as if you’re really living in Paris.

Most markets sell a variety of fresh produce and flowers, and will often also have goods to bring home, like homemade jams, honey, soaps, and Herbs de Provence – a unique blend of herbs from southern France.

There are several markets around Paris that you can pop into:

• The Marché d’Aligre: Every morning but Monday
• Marché Saxe-Breteuil: Open Thursday and Saturday mornings
• Marché Bastille: Open 7am-3pm Thursday and Sunday
• Marché Biologique de Batignolles: Open Saturday 9am-3pm

6. Treasures from Vintage and Second Hand Market

The Marché aux Puces in Saint Ouen is Paris’s premier thrift market, and the largest flea market in the entire world. It offers a sprawling treasure hunt for vintage and quality second-hand items.

The market is located in the very northern part of Paris (even farther north than Montmartre) and is a bit of a trek to get there, but there will be plenty waiting for you when you arrive.

La Brocante des Abbesses or Les Puces de Montreuil are two other, smaller vintage markets closer to the city center you could also check out.

If you want to visit a dedicated thrift store full of second-hand clothing options, head to the Marais. Some great thrift stores you can find in this neighborhood include Episode, Free’p’star, and Guerrisol.

7. Professional Photoshoot

One of my favorite souvenirs to bring home from any trip around the world is a professional photoshoot, where a local photographer takes fantastic pictures of my husband and I interacting in the city we’re visiting.

Seriously, there’s nothing that will age as well as great photos of you and your loved ones from your Parisian vacation.

Paris has a thriving photographer market, and you can definitely find a long list of options depending on your dates and budget. A quick Google search or Instagram search will bring up numerous photographers.

8. Newspaper Pictures

This is a big hidden gem in Paris, which is so “secret” that there isn’t even a specific location to give you.

A group of women run the most charming little old-timey photograph stand, where they will take pictures of you with their old-school camera and then print them off onto an old-timey looking newspaper front page.

They don’t have set hours and they always set up somewhere a little bit different around the Eiffel Tower (you can sometimes find them by Pont d’Iena, but we actually stumbled upon them at Passerelle Debilly). I’ve also seen them set up around Notre Dame sometimes as well.

There is no set price – it’s by donation only – and is the most charming little souvenir to bring home from Paris with you. Keep your eyes open for these women as you walk around the tower!

9. Book from Shakespeare and Co

Readers might enjoy a gift from Shakespeare and Co, a quaint little English-language bookstore on the banks of the Seine in the Latin Quarter.

10. Luxury Bags and Clothes

Paris is practically synonymous with both luxury and fashion, and there are high-end brands all over the city. If you’ve had your eye on a designer bag, in particular, and are coming from the US, Paris is a great place to shop, since prices actually tend to be cheaper in France compared to the US.

You can find many luxury stores on the Champs Elysees, in Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, and around Place Vendome.

Make sure you ask for the VAT tax refund papers (and bring your passport with you) when checking out so you can get the tax back at the airport.

11. Signature Scent from Molinard Perfume Class

France is known for the high-end perfume produced in the country, which all started in a small village in southern France. If you visit Grasse, you’ll learn about 3 of the major perfume houses in France: Molinard, Fragonard, and Gallimard.

The good news is that even if you don’t head to southern France, you can still learn a lot about the history and method of perfume creation by participating in a perfume-making workshop.

This workshop is absolutely delightful (even for someone like me who isn’t really big into perfume) – you learn the basic principles of perfume creation, then get to smell dozens of scents, deciding which selection you might want to include in your perfume.

Finally, you get to personally mix up your own fragrance to bring home with you.

It’s a delightful experience – I did it in Grasse itself, but the exact same workshop is available in Paris.

Check prices and availability for this perfume creation class here

12. Macarons

Macarons are one of the most stereotypical French cookies, with two meringue-based cookies sandwiching a ganache or buttercream filling. Macarons come in all types of flavors ranging from chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, and raspberry, to rose and lavender.

Picking up a box of macarons is an easy and delicious souvenir to bring home with you. These are some of my favorite places to get macarons!

13. Chocolates

You can find mouthwatering chocolate shops all over Paris, selling artisanal, high-quality chocolates. You can find chocolateries in any arrondissement, and you will certainly stumble over at least several while you’re exploring the city.

However, these are some great shops to buy quality French chocolate (and many have multiple locations in Paris):

• A La Mere de Famille
• Alain Ducasse
• A L’Etoile d’Or
• Jean-Paul Hevin
• La Maison du Chocolat
• Pierre Hermé
• Patrick Roger
• Jean Charles Rochoux

14. French Grocery Store Cookies

France has a really fun selection of boxed cookies in their grocery stores and we always bring home at least a few boxes to share with our kids and family. These boxes cost just €1-3 and are a unique and cheap French goodie to bring home.

I’d recommend popping into a grocery store (Monoprix, Franprix, Carrefour, and G20 are the main chains you’ll find in Paris) at the beginning of your trip and choosing several to try during your trip, so you know what your favorites are to bring home.

These are some of our favorite types:

• Petit Ecolier
• Lulu Fraise
• Palmiers

15. Pharmacy Skincare Items

If you love great skincare, Paris will be your best friend, as skincare products, especially from French brands, are very cheap, particularly compared to the US. Additionally, if you’re American, there are a lot of products available in France that aren’t available in the US.

One of the biggest and cheapest pharmacies is CityPharma in the Marais. I’m no beauty blogger, but here are a few examples of skincare products with a cult following:

• Ialuset hyaluronic acid
• Isdin Fusion Magic Water sunscreen
• Cicaplast B5 Baume for your skin barrier
• Biafine to treat burns

And basically anything from these brands:

• La Roche Posay
• Avene
• Caudalie

16. Angelina Tea Sets

Paris has a surprisingly good hot chocolate scene, with many cafes around the city offering thick, decadent, rich hot chocolate presented on the cutest little serving ware.

Angelina is one of our favorite spots to get chocolat chaud in Paris, and if you visit the flagship store on Rue de Rivoli, you can pick up their hot cocoa mixes, as well as their teapots and teacups that the chocolate is served in. I love my little Angelina pot and use it regularly!

17. Picture from Place du Tertre

Place du Tertre is a charming square in Montmartre filled with artists drawing, painting, and selling their creations.

Wandering through the square and admiring the artwork is an enjoyable thing to do in Montmartre, and there will likely be something that catches your attention to bring home with you.

18. Foodstuffs from Grande Epicerie de Paris

Grocery stores in Paris tend to be small, often intimate affairs. La Grande Épicerie breaks this mold and is a large food hall offering unique products and novelties, as well as a bakery, pastry shop, butcher, fromagerie, and more.

This is a great place to pick up some interesting culinary souvenirs to bring home with you – we picked up some really delicious varieties of Dijon mustard on our last trip here.

19. Scratch off Paris Scenes

One last souvenir idea is something I found at the Arc de Triomphe gift shop and was a fun and rather unique gift to bring back for a child.

It was a pack of 10 scratch-off scenes around Paris, where you could use a wooden pencil (or any hard surface) to scratch the black layer off the top of the picture, revealing a colorful scene underneath.

This was a really fun gift that my kids really loved. While I found it at the Arc de Triomphe (a spot that definitely belongs on your Paris bucket list) you may be able to find it in other gift shops around the city as well.

The Wrap Up

While there are endless stores to shop at in Paris, hopefully this list gives you some concrete ideas for gifts that would be perfect for yourself or your loved ones. And while there’s nothing wrong with a “typical” souvenir (I myself love to pick up a fun magnet whenever I travel somewhere new), it’s also fun to shop for more local and special gifts to bring home with you.

Have an idea not on this list? Shoot me an email and let me know!