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Paris : Shop for Unique Gifts
Joined 2022
This tour focuses on offbeat, unique shops that offer hand-crafted French products, in the trendy Marais shopping district with its distinctly Parisian ambiance. This is a great opportunity to find the BEST gifts for friends & family - unique gifts that you won't find anywhere else! I will take you to insider addresses, shops that have been selected for their craftsmanship, each one selling designer-made or hand-crafted products.
Itinerary
This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!
Meeting Point
99 rue Saint Antoine
- We meet on the steps of the Church St Paul
99 rue Saint Antoine, on the steps of the Church St Paul
We meet on the steps of the church & begin the tour
Incredible cheese !
We start with the city's leading cheese shop, then we visit a florist specialized in roses
Unique Chocolates
After viewing a beautiful pastry shop, we visit a unique boutique selling hand-crafted chocolates made by 2 Japanese sisters. Chocolate & wasabi anybody?
Fragrance boutique
For fragrance lovers there are numerous boutiques we can visit, but my personal favorite is a charming shop with fragrances curated by a professional "nose", some dating from the 1790s but others from the 1930s & 1940s - one is a fragrance worn by Marilyn Monroe & Lauren Bacall! The perfume is new, but the brands are timeless classics.
Marais
Next, we walk up a lovely street chock full of boutiques. There's a shop that makes custom leather belts - they measure & fit you right there in the shop ! A boutique that sells honeys from around the world with flavors that vary from tart to sweet. Silk & cashmere scarves from Tibet & Nepal. Jewelry, hats, you name it, you'll find it !
Marais
Next a historic tea shop dating from 1692, with 200+ varieties of tea & beautifully hand-crafted gifts. Then a boutique with designer handbags, distributed only in France, with prices starting at €80 (yes you read that right)! Nobody else will be carrying the bag you buy here !
Marais
Next we stroll through the Jewish quarter where you can sample some falafel or just watch the crowds. We then visit a unique shop that sells custom-engraved pen knives - you pick the engraving, and like a tattoo it is applied to the knife of your choice. The perfect gift for the man in your life who is soooo difficult to shop for !
End of Tour
We end the tour on the steps of the Church St Paul, where we met earlier.
Ending Point
99 rue Saint Antoine, on the steps of the Church St Paul
Want to personalize this tour?
This tour can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Click below to send me a message with your requests.
Inclusions & Exclusions
Tour
Purchases are made at the customer's discretion
Transportation costs not included
Tour Important Information
Wear comfortable walking shoes & bring an umbrella just in case.
And dont forget your credit card !!
Not recommended for Sundays & Mondays when many shops are closed
Important message from the supplier
I work around my current schedule and am happy to accept bookings for any day or time. I even offer evening tours for those who come here for work & want to see the city at night.
Cancellation Policy
- Free cancellation - 8 days prior to meeting time
- 50% Refund - 3 to 7 days prior to meeting time
- No Refund - Within 2 day(s) prior to meeting time
Joined 2022
About Tour Guide Ellen L.
I am an experienced tour guide and a friendly Franco-American who has lived in Paris for 33 years. Travelers feel comfortable with me due to my fluency in both English & French. I am a trained historian and my tours are well researched, well documented and well presented on high tech material (tablet), a multi-media experience using archival photos, video footage (and when appropriate sound). My tours are not for the first time traveler - I could never compete with the big bucket tours that go to the Eiffel Tower. Instead, I market tours for those who have already seen the sights and want to see Paris beyond the monuments, the real Paris with its private courtyards, quiet cobblestoned streets & hidden monuments that only locals know.
Reviews
“Terrific tales of the Jazz Age!”
We thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Ellen is an excellent guide - the tour is incredibly well researched and the addition of slides, video and audio recordings really made the tour special. Standing outside the original site of Shakespeare and Co while hearing Sylvia Beech speak is quite an experience. Ellen is an attentive and incredibly considerate guide - we had a fantastic time - thoroughly recommended!
Ellen L.
(3 reviews)It was my pleasure ! I hope you will return soon & take another tour with me !!
“Amazing host!!”
Ellen has gone out of her ways to make sure our Paris visit is most memorable. We did not just see things but at a same time learnt a lot. We went through many places you may not have seen if you do not have your own personal guide like Ellen. Who knows history in and out. If you are someone who loves history and want to see the real Paris and inside streets, at a same time learn about it in depth, look no further. Ellen is your guide.
Ellen L.
(3 reviews)Thank you Chintan ! It was a pleasure to be your tour guide & spend 2 days with your lovely family. I enjoyed it as much as you !!
“Excellent Tour for Lit/Art Lovers!”
Ellen is a terrific, knowledgeable guide! My partner and I met up with her at a Parisian cafe where she gave us the lay of the land and an idea of the major players of 1920s Paris art/literature society. Her PPT slides of photos, texts, and videos was CRITICAL to the tour. We were very lucky to have gotten her time on that busy summer Saturday. Her love of arts and literature is only matched by her love of Paris! I can't wait to go back and take another of her tours. Thanks, Ellen!
Ellen L.
(3 reviews)It was my pleasure !! Many thanks for the lovely review.
$80/ per person
Reserve