Printemps, Paris

2 more images

wonderful cafe on top floor, great fashion, a symbol of France, need to visit. you have all in the webpage, I have been so many times over the years and so lazy to write about it. My fav is to to the terrace in good weather to eat; shopping is second for me there lol!!!

a bit of history
The store was created on may 11 1865 choosing an new area close to the gare Saint Lazare . So the store settles in at the corner of rue du Havre and Boulevard Haussmann . The building was built on November 3 1865 blessed by the priest of the Madeleine.

By April 6 1874 four buildings were added and elevators or lifts were added. On March 9 1881 a fire took place taken a great part of the store buildings, but quickly rebuilt by 1883 in concrete block. In 1888, Printemps is the first store to be equipped with electric lighting! as many businesses during WWII the store was hard hit by the war, the male employees were use for hard labor by the nazis ,and the women took the work in the store.

The rest is a wonderful story of beauty, fashion, and panache, or chic a la French we all come to admire.

What to buy: anything in a dept store but in Paris

What to pay: prices for top brands in Paris

Similar to Galeries Lafayette, Printemps is a great place to find just about anything. It's a multi-storied shopping complex which carries approximately the same types of items Galeries Lafayette does.

There are a few locations throughout Paris and they have fashion for men, women, children and they also carry a wide range of housewares, jewelry and accessories.

There is also a cute restaurant on the sixth floor called Cafe Flo.

What to buy: Just about anything can be purchased here but I usually like to check out their uinque women's clothing and their women's lingerie department.

Check out Cafe Flo located on the 6th floor.

What to pay: Prices are about average

Even if you don't want to do some shopping the architecture of the Printemps department store at the boulevard Haussmann makes the visit worthwhile on the outside especially at the corner of the boulevard and the rue du Havre leading to the Gare St Lazare (ref. photo) and inside having lunch at the Brasserie Printemps under the large cupola from 1923 made of tainted glass and steel. (Open Mondays to Saturdays from 9.35 am to 8 pm • Women's Store, Floor 6).
I had a few times lunch there but what I ignored is that the cupola was dismantled and stored at Clichy in 1939 to avoid the risk of destruction by bombing. It was restored only in 1973. The façade and cupola of the building are registered as historical monuments.

Pulled by a woman from shop to shop, the exhausted man had, at last, a small compensation: the beautiful building composes a classical ambiance for the myriad of shops and stalls.

Shopping?

Excuse-me! That's up to her.

By the way... where the hell did she go?

3 more images

Another big expensive store that we visited for other than shopping reasons :)

The building itself is beautiful, in art nouveau style, it was built about 100 years before!

We only checked the prices at perfumes (more expensive anyway), the clothes seem (according to the females of our group) but also pricey. There is something for everyone (men, women, kids, jewelry, accessories) but a good credit card will help.

So we just took the lift up to 9th floor where they have a nice café/restaurant with amazing view over the city (Eiffel Tower included of course, check pic 3). There is outdoor seating at the terrace but also a nice small bar inside if you visited during winter like we did (pic 4).

The prices were normal…

The store is open Monday-Saturday 9:35-19:00, night opening on Thursdays to 10 p.m.

These stores arose in Paris after the guilds had been abolished during the Revolution and Public Transport had been instituted (and railways going into Paris created). The first such store was Les Magazins Reunis in the Pl. de la Republique (1866;gone) followed by Printemps opened in the same year. When damage by fire it was replaced in 1888. The corner rotunda remains but most of the rest of the store has been much remodeled. The Bazar Hotel de Ville appeared in 1904 and in 1906 oth the Samaritaine and the Galeries Lafayette (Separate Tip) where we prefer shopping because of its lunch room and roof view.

2 more images

On the same day I was on my way to the Chapelle Expiatoire, I also stopped by Printemps at one of their outside vendors to buy a floral silk scarf (100% soie/silk) bordered in navy blue for a scant 15€.

Not to be outdone by their neighbor, they also decorate for the holidays but I prefer Galeries Lafayette's light display!

However, Printemps has a much prettier building.

Photos: November 2007 & February 2006

Founded in 1865, le Printemps was one of the most innovative stores of its time. As a direct competitor of the neighbouring Galeries Lafayette, le Printemps matched its elegance and reputation. The large store occupies multiple buildings dating from as early as the 19th century and listed as historic monuments. Le Printemps continues to be a leading department store in France synonymous with luxury and quality.

1 more image

For Individual Travellers
Upon presentation of your foreign passport and under certain conditions, department store will be pleased to offer you a 10% discount card at the Welcome Service, ground floor, Printemps de la mode.

Remark: It is free! In the Printemps department store go to the 9th floor (take the elevator to the 8th floor, go through the luggage section, and take the escalator up towards La Terrasse restaurant). Walk through the restaurant and exit through the glass doors. You will find yourself on a large outside rooftop terrace that provides an amazing view of many Paris monuments: look to the left and you will find the Opéra, the Grand Palais, the top of the Arc de Triomphe. Looking right you have a superb view of la Butte Montmartre. The terrace is not so well known, so it is not too crowded.

I was told about this place from my art teacher.
You have to go to the cafe at the top of Printemps, it was built in 1923 in an Art Nouveau style and is a stained glass dome consisted of 3,185 panes of glass with a diameter of 20 meters. Luckly they had the foresight to protect this jem during WW2 so it's still here today.
The cafe does great ice cream too.