The One Parisian Department Store Where You Could Spend the Whole Day

Presented in partnership with LE BHV MARAIS.

PARIS - There's no shortage of good shopping in Paris. But visitors short on time should consider the French department store Le BHV MARAIS, the beloved destination for locals of the 3rd and 4th arrondissements. Inside the 160-year-old flagship on the Rue de Rivoli, the Parisian lifestyle is on full display — and it's fully accessible and available to all shoppers — whether they are local, or just feeling local while on vacation in Paris.

What makes LE BHV MARAIS worth the precious hours? Beyond its selection of French lifestyle staples (and nearly 900 brands), the department store offers a chance to try new and unique foods, interact with artists, purchase hard-to-find French novelties, and get a cityscape fix – all in one place. Less static brick-and-mortar, and more living ecosystem, LE BHV MARAIS houses conceptual pop-ups, programming, and events that are highly curated, boutique, niche, and ever-changing.

Whether alone or with family, for ten minutes or for an entire day, you'll capture the spirit of the city, and get plenty of shopping done too.

Add Paris to your travel agenda this summer: From July 12 through August 18, 2019, LE BHV MARAIS is celebrating 160 years of creation and innovation by highlighting the inimitably cool Parisian lifestyle through special occasion events (fitness classes on the Seine! neighborhood walking tours!), window displays, a pop-up grocer, an open-air terrace, limited-edition souvenirs, and workshops on its bucolic rooftop farm. Follow them on Instagram @behindthebazar and Facebook for program updates.

The 5 Unexpected Offerings at LE BHV MARAIS

1. Lafayette Anticipations is a multidisciplinary artistic production center located in a building originally constructed for the Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville. There's a production workshop, exhibition tower, and open passageway for artist-in-residence programs, workshops, partnerships, and productions — supported through an endowment.

2. Le Pod is an outdoor communal dining space where new restaurants test run their food concepts. Enter at 14 rue du Temple for galettes from Brittany, vegetarian street food from Brazil, bissap from West Africa, plus Buddha bowls, cold-pressed juice, and other healthy treats — served from well-designed kiosks and booths surrounded by plants.

3. À Rebours is a small novelty shop with big ambitions. Described as the Fondation d’entreprise Galeries Lafayette’s "commercial alter ego," The jewel box shop is inspired by Joris-Karl Huysmans’s story of a misanthropic aesthete who only wants to be surrounded by decadent things. What you'll find here are contemporary objects that are unusual, witty, useful, and quirky — that challenge norms of production, materials, and consumption.

4.Wild & the Moon is an organic, ethically sourced, seasonally driven, and gluten-free eatery devised by a tribe of food lovers, in collaboration with chefs, nutritionists, and naturopaths.

5. Sous Le Fraises is the seventh-floor rooftop garden in bloom with edible delights and an apiary, creating one of the greenest roofs in Paris. After taking a tour or workshop, you can sample the harvest on the breakfast and brunch menu of Terrasse du Bazar (located on the sixth floor of the Rivoli store) Sign up here.

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Summer at LE BHV MARAIS

Add Paris to your travel agenda this summer: From July 12 through August 18, 2019, LE BHV MARAIS is celebrating 160 years of creation and innovation by highlighting the inimitably cool Parisian lifestyle through special occasion events (fitness classes on the Seine! neighborhood walking tours!), window displays, a pop-up grocer, an open-air terrace, limited-edition souvenirs, and workshops on its bucolic rooftop farm. Follow them on Instagram@behindthebazar and Facebook for program updates.