What to buy in France? — 25+ must-buy souvenirs, gifts & best things to buy in France

France – a country that has passed through thousands of years of history but still retains its vibrant traditional culture, wonderful destinations full of poetic and romantic that make visitors who come here also want to come back again. Not only that, but this place is also known as a shopping paradise, owning famous things to buy from delicious specialties to unique and super quality souvenirs. There are many products that can be purchased in France, from souvenirs to essentials items, from popular items to luxury goods, etc. Each visitor comes from different countries will choose to buy different souvenirs.

So, what is famous in France for shopping, what to buy in France for souvenirs, what is cheaper to buy in France, what should I buy in France, what to bring home from France, what to buy in France cheap? Let’s check out our France shopping guide with top 25+ best France souvenirs, best gifts from France including things to bring back from France, best products to buy in France, best things to buy from France, best things to buy in France, things must buy in France as well as best shopping sites to buy them.

What to buy in France for souvenirs: Tussah silk fabric

Topping the list of gifts to buy in France, Tussah silk fabric is a traditional French fabric. With a variety of fabric quality along with rich patterns and textures, tussah fabric is created into many different products to meet the needs of visitors, such as clothes, bed sheets, napkins, or curtains, pillowcases…

What is famous in France for shopping: Clothing

Paris – the capital of fashion of the world, so you will certainly not have to wonder what should I buy in France. Hurry up to the big shopping centers and malls, where there are stores of leading fashion brands such as Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, Hugo, Boss, Zara… to shop for trendy clothing brand items, fashion accessories for yourself as well as your loved ones.

Things must buy in France: French natural soap

Another unique gift you can find in France is soap. The South of France is famous for its cute and lovely soap bars. So, when you come to France, you should buy a box of different soaps as a souvenir item for your loved ones. A bar of soap is a necessity for every family, so this gift is always appreciated.

The French are very proud of their soaps, the most famous of which is probably the Savon de Marseille soap. This is a completely natural soap which made from all-natural ingredients with a seductive scent of rose or lavender, with ingredients from vegetable oils and some fragrant flower essential oils (lavender, rose,…).

Best things to buy from France: Macarons from Ladurée Store

Ladurée store in France is the most famous store in the world for its small, pretty, beautifully decorated Macarons (which are delicate sandwich cookies with a crisp exterior). This is most people’s favorite dish. If you visit in Paris, stop by this chain store and buy macarons to take home as gifts for friends and relatives.

Best France souvenirs: Wines

What is famous in France for shopping and what to buy in France for souvenirs? The answer is definitely French wine. One of the best gifts from France is French wine. A bottle of local wine might not be the best souvenir to carry in checked baggage, but it’s definitely worth it. So, bring home a bottle or two of wine and share with your friends or family.

When deciding to buy wine as a gift, you may have to consider shipping issues, but surely, French wine is one of the products worth buying in France. With a unique, subtle and delicious taste different from other wines, French wine always has a special place in the perception of many wine connoisseurs.

French wine is famous for its excellent quality, originating from many long-standing wine-producing regions such as the Rhône River Valley, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Normandy, etc. Each wine produced in each region will have its own flavor according to that region from the recipe, the way to preserve the wine and the care of the winemakers here.

One of the best wines bearing the most French-style is Calvados – a cider famous throughout Normandy or any bottle of local grape wine that will satisfy the most connoisseurs.

Things to bring back from France: Champagne

Besides wine, Champagne is also one of the best gifts from france. This wine comes from the land of the same name and has gradually become popular in many countries around the world. In particular, Russia is the country that consumes Champagne the most. Therefore, this precious gift will surely bring a lot of joy to your loved ones.

Champagne is famous for its subtle, luxurious yeast taste and comes in three varieties: Brut, Demi-sec, and Sweet Champagne. In which, Brut is sour wine, often used as an aperitif. Demi-sec has a slightly sour taste and is suitable for many ages, can be drunk all day. In addition, sweet Champagne is often drunk with desserts or sipping after a meal.

Best things to buy from France: Perfume

France dubbed the home of perfumes with passionate and seductive scents, perfume is an indispensable item after your journey to France. In particular, most French perfumes have a pleasant smell and the ability to stay for a long time. When looking to buy perfume, you may will be overwhelmed by the various perfume lines of many brands, so please arrange time to experience and choose the most suitable and favorite scent for yourself and your loved ones!

Genuine French perfumes can be found at stores like Sephora, Printemps or Galeries Lafayette. In particular, if you have the opportunity to come to the town of Grasse, try to find the famous Fragonard perfume here. Surely this will be a very meaningful and wonderful gift after your trip to France.

“Eau de Toilette” Perfume

The best way to remember France is to feel the fragrance of the perfumes. If you are a follower of fragrance, it is not too strange to mention the perfume line “Eau de toilette” in France.

Eau de Toilette perfume line comes from many brands such as Lancôme, Dior, Zara…with a concentration of 5-12% keeping the characteristic fragrance. This is a luxury gift with a reasonable price, the scent is quite durable, lasting 4-6 hours or longer. Choose a few scents to change every day, stylish ladies and gentlemen.

Chanel Perfume

When it comes to perfume, people will immediately remember French perfumes and especially Chanel brand, very famous world wide. You will not be difficult to find genuine Chanel stores in France. And this will be a great gift you can give to people of all ages and genders.

The perfumes and service quality at the three above shopping places are similar, but the prices at Sephora are more affordable than those of Galeries Lafayette and Printemps because the tax rate in Sephora is lower. Because in France, the tax on perfume is quite high (about 20-30%), so buying perfume at a duty-free shop at the airport will be cheaper than outside shops but the quality is still guaranteed.

Best France souvenirs: Laguiole knife

Besides best gifts from France for women, there are also many valuable souvenirs for men. In particular, the Laguiole knife is an interesting suggestion that you should pay attention to. The Laguiole knife was invented in 1829 in the village of the same name. This is a folding and hand-carved knife that is popular with many people. On the body of the knife, there is a bee symbol with eye-catching antique motifs.

Best things to buy in France: Beret Hat

When you think of French fashion, you think of a woman or a man wearing a plaid sweater, a scarf, holding a baguette, and a beret on his head. Beret hats are a beautiful souvenir, typical and siganture of France.

Perhaps one of the most striking images of French fashion are the beret hats, which both men and women can wear. Since 1930, with the inspiration of the famous fashion house Coco Chanel, the beret has remained an iconic fashion accessory. It is also a versatile accessory, which people can comfortably and freely create, combining with a variety of outfits. Berets are definitely a great gift suggestion for you!

Things must buy in France: Herbes de Provence

Another unique gift that you can only find in France is a mixture of spices. Herbes de Provence is a blend of French spices including basil, rosemary, musk, marjoram and oregano. This is an herbal mixture consisting of dried leaves, or can be combined with olive oil, has many useful uses for health. You can easily find these mixture of spices in many large supermarkets and local markets.

What to buy in France for souvenirs: Fleur de Sel French Sea Salt

In French, Fleur de Sel is the name of a type of sea salt. This salt in the south of France is quite well-known. This is the favorite spice of the French. Anyone who loves to cook would love to receive a gift like this. You can buy Fleur de Sel flower salt at the markets in Nice and Cannes. The chefs here can salt together with the typical floral scents of France such as lavender, rose… giving this spice a unique and impressive aroma.

The perfect gift for those who love to cook, many visitors to France also seek out this salt. The taste of this sea salt is very subtle, once you taste it, you won’t be able to forget it. To ensure the essence of sea salt, chefs often do not add salt during processing or cooking, but only when the dish is ready.

Best gifts from France: Cheese

One of the tastiest and best France souvenirs you can buy in France is cheese. In cheese shops all over France, they pack cheese in vacuum sealed bags so you can take it home easily. You should buy hard cheese, because fresh cheese must be kept cold.

In the list of 10 interesting gifts to buy in France, cheese is the most delicious and attractive gift that you should not ignore. French cheese has a characteristic rich, greasy taste, aromatic flavor, with a wide variety of types, including cow cheese and goat cheese. However, you should be aware of storage issues when buying cheese to take home.

In France, there are more than 500 different flavored cheeses, mainly made from the milk of cows, sheep and goats. Meticulously made from the selection of synthetic ingredients, with a unique and highly characteristic taste.

Best things to buy from France: Cosmetics

France is also the “paradise” of the world’s top quality cosmetic brands. Famous for a wide range of famous and quality cosmetics. Coming to France without choosing for yourself and your family and friends these cosmetics would be a mistake.

Besides perfume, France is also favored by women with the name “cosmetic paradise”, because of the variety and diversity of beauty care products. French cosmetics in general have high prices compared to many other products in the world, however, consumers are particularly confident thanks to their guaranteed quality, safety, and skin-friendly. One of the famous skin care and cosmetic product lines must be mentioned such as Yves Rocher, La-roche Posay, Avène, Estée Lauder,… If you have the opportunity to visit France, you should buy cosmetics of these brands. This will definitely be a much-awaited gift for your relatives and friends!

Best products to buy in France: Fashion eyewear

Besides hats, clothes, cosmetics, the fashion world of France also attracts visitors by one of the indispensable accessories of women, which is eyeglasses. French eyewear can conquer even the most demanding customers thanks to its excellent quality, classy design, and diverse designs. Cartier eyewear is one of the most famous and oldest brands in France, it is loved not only by French people but also by eyewear lovers all over the world.

To be able to find a pair of Cartier sunglasses, visitors should go to shopping areas such as Rue de Rivoli, Champs Elysees or large shopping malls.

What should I buy in France: Mont Blanc Wallet

If you are a stylish person, love uniqueness and doesn’t like anyone wearing the same thing as you, then Mont Blanc brand wallet will be a great item you should not miss. Mont Blanc wallets will be individually designed and each design is produced only once so that customers can own an exclusive product in terms of style. In addition, it will be decorated with diamonds, 18K gold or some other precious stones.

To be able to buy a Mont Blanc wallet, you should go to the shopping centers, or its chain of stores in France or order through reputable shopping websites and are distributed by Mont Blanc. But one thing is that the price of a wallet is quite expensive, so please consider before buying.

What to buy in France for souvenirs: Bags, wallets

A next suggestion for the question of What to buy in France for souvenirs is handbags and wallets. At the famous shopping malls as above. You can also easily choose for yourself bags and wallets, purses for souvenirs.

With prices ranging from low to high, with many brands to choose from. This can also be seen as an opportunity for you to “fill” your wardrobe. One of the brands of handbags and wallets that anyone wants to own for themselves cannot help but mention: Chanel, Hermes, Dior, Gucci … However, these are considered the most expensive and luxury brands in France.

Best France souvenirs: Hermes belts

Hermes belts are made from real leather with modern tanning technology, the longer it is used, the softer, more supple, durable and shiny it becomes. The belt is made of 2 layers of leather with a removable side so it can be used as two separate belts. Stylish design, simple but luxurious, delicate suitable for all activities to work, school or outing. Like Mont Blanc wallets, Hermes belts are sold at major shopping centers such as Galleries Lafayette or genuine Hermes stores.

What is famous in France for shopping: French baguette

You can’t afford an expensive or difficult to preserve foie gras to take home, another dish you should try or buy as a gift while still imbuing the essence of French cuisine is French baguettes. No one comes to France without enjoying its famous baguette. The French eat so many baguettes that about 320 of them are consumed every second.

A long French baguette with a crispy crust, served with pate with a glass of hot chocolate for breakfast, or served with some cheese and a glass of wine for dinner. Not only baguette, when coming to France you should enjoy more other French breads such as Bâtard bread, Flute bread, Ficelle bread, Brioche bread.

France shopping guide: Coffee and tea

Honestly, no one comes to France without enjoying a cup of coffee at a coffee shop in the heart of magnificent Paris. Coffee and tea here are famous all over the world for their delicious and subtle taste.

You can buy cappuccino or bags of coffee beans to bring back easily. If you choose tea as a gift, you should buy tea at tea shops with the oldest history in France such as Mariage Frères or herbal tea bags of “Christmas in Paris” brand.

Best France souvenirs: Kusmi Tea (Refined & Organic Teas & Herbal Teas)

Kusmi tea will be a luxurious French gift, very suitable as a gift for loved ones. This drink has a light fragrance, when drinking the sweetness will gradually permeate to bring the user comfort and mental relaxation. They are ideal to enjoy in winter and keep you cool in summer. In particular, this tea is used for almost ages, is a good drink for health, stimulates the spirit to be more excited and joyful.

Best things to buy from France: Chocolate

Switzerland is the world’s largest chocolate consumer. France is only ranked 20th, but that does not mean that French Chocolate is not delectable, but on the contrary, it is considered a proud product of the French. French Chocolate is famous for its variety of flavors and diversity in appearance. For those who are fond of sweets, chocolate will definitely be a gift choice that cannot be missed. French chocolate is famous for its premium quality and many flavors to choose from.

You can buy chocolates at Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse with 44 flavors with extremely beautiful shapes. Besides chocolate, some candies such as chestnuts, ganaches are also very interesting suggestions.

What to buy in France for souvenirs: Salted Caramel

Caramel is a favorite dish of many people, especially salted caramel is probably only available in France. Henry Le Roux, a confectioner invented this dish and brought it to compete at the international confectionery fair, where the salted caramel won the fair’s best candy award. Currently, salted caramel is available in all stores in France, besides the traditional type, some shops have combined different flavors to bring richness to diners.

The major chains that sell salted caramel are Maisons Le Roux (Address: 1 Rue de Bourbon le Château, 75006 Paris, France) in Paris and Pâtisserie Bechard (Address: 12 Cr Mirabeau, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, France) in Aix-en-Provence.

Best things to buy in France: Souvenirs

You can choose from interesting and unique French souvenirs such as Macaron jewelry boxes/cases sold in souvenir shops in France, a French music CD, scented candles, Montmartre hill tunes boxes with melodious French melodies or simply caricatures, inspirational paintings of French artists painting your portrait scattered everywhere in Montmartre, fridge magnets…

Things must buy in France: Souvenirs from lavender

If you have traveled to France, it is indispensable for gifts from this most famous flower in France. After admiring and taking photos of tired hands at the fields of purple lavender flowers to the horizon in Provence, you can visit the souvenir shops here to buy products produced naturally from this flower such as sachets, dried flowers, soaps, essential oils…

What to buy in France for souvenirs: T-shirts

Dubbed as one of the major fashion capitals of the world, France is a fashion shopping paradise, cooling down any shopaholic, even the most avid follower. Coming to France, the most prominent shopping destination is nowhere else than Paris, the busy shopping areas can be mentioned as many as Rue de Rivoli, Champs Elysees, Boulevard Haussmann, Mont Saint Michel… There are many fashion stores and famous brands such as Yves, Dior, Hugo, Boss, Zara… Visitors often buy products that are not too expensive but also have very good quality such as Lacoste T-shirts.

France shopping guide: Where to shop?

Where to buy in France for souvenirs both appropriate and good quality. Here we will introduce some great shopping places in France as follows:

Monoprix

Monoprix is ​​a major French retail chain, almost like the Walmart. Here, visitors can buy essentials from fresh food, fashion clothes, souvenirs, home decorations as well as home appliances or audio-visual equipment. Every day at this supermarket, there are promotions and exclusive items. Monoprix is a supermarket for everyone, every home in France.

Address: 52 Av. des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris, France
Hours: 9AM–9PM

Galeries Lafayette Haussmann

Galeries Lafayette Haussmann is a large shopping mall, mainly for fashion, located on Boulevard Haussmann, District 9th, Paris. This large mall sells clothing, bags, fashion footwear and jewelry… from moderate brands to expensive items. Every Friday afternoon at 3pm there is a free mini fashion show. Today, the mall welcomes more than 36 million visitors a year. Galeries Lafayette Haussmann is the largest store in the general chain Galeries Lafayette.

Address: 40 Bd Haussmann, 75009 Paris, France
Hours: 10AM–8PM

La Vallee Village

La Vallee Village is known as a famous fashion shopping street of Paris. The stores of this shopping area selling goods with more than 80 famous fashion brands such as Armani, Burberry, Givenchy, Kenzo, Longchamp, Polo Ralph Lauren, Salvatore Ferragamo… La Valle Village is open from 10am to 7pm every day at a reasonable price. In addition, on this shopping street, there are often promotions and incentives for tourists.

Address: 3 Cr de la Garonne, 77700 Serris, France
Hours: 10AM–7PM

Champs-Élysées Avenue

If you are a shopaholic, coming to Paris, you cannot ignore this famous avenue with all the famous fashion stores in the world. And if you don’t plan to buy anything, walking along this street with straight lines of trees is also an interesting experience. The Champs-Élysées is one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions with many shops, cafes, etc. The avenue is also the venue for important Parisian events and festivals.

La Samaritaine

This is one of the oldest (133 years) and largest (32,000 square meters) department stores in Paris, located next to the Seine. You can not only admire a beautiful architecture but also comfortably shop for high-class goods such as fashion, jewelry, and furniture at La Samaritaine. The store’s slogan is “On trouve tout à la Samaritaine” which means you will find everything in Samaritaine.

Address: 9 Rue de la Monnaie, 75001 Paris, France
Hours: 10AM–8PM

Le Bon Marché

As a large store located in the district 7 of Paris, famous for luxury goods, from furniture to fashion… All items here are displayed in one luxurious space. Le Bon Marché is one of Paris’ most famous stores and is known around the world. If you have the opportunity to come to Paris, do not miss the opportunity to discover this shopping paradise.

Address: 24 Rue de Sèvres, 75007 Paris, France
Hours: 10AM–8PM

Westfield Forum des Halles

Coming here, visitors will feel like they are lost in the world of goods with all famous brands in the world such as Kelvin, Esprit, Converse, Adidas, Nike, LaCoste… Visitors can choose to buy items such as: Books, music records, furniture, fashion clothes… This place is open every day of the week, but on Sundays it’s only open from 10am to 7:30pm.

Address: 101 Porte Berger, 75001 Paris, France
Hours: 10AM–8:30PM

Some things to keep in mind when shopping in France

When shopping in France, there are also some things that you need to keep in mind to make your trip more perfect:

• It is recommended to shop in France from January to July. Because during this time, stores in France will have many promotions and you can save your pocket.
• You should choose a store to shop so will get a discount card at that store. In addition, if you buy with an invoice of 175 Euro or more, you will be refunded tax.
• In France, currency exchange will be taxed very high, so you should exchange an amount of money used for your trip. If you have to change money, go to ATMs to reduce tax.

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, from and to Paris you can refer to

• Paris Museum Pass
• Paris Pass with 1-Day Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour
• Bruges Day Tour from Paris
• Paris Big Bus Hop-On Hop-Off Tours (Open-Top)
• Paris Open Tour Bus Pass
• Eiffel Tower Skip-the-Line Ticket
• The Louvre Museum Skip-the-Line Guided Tour
• 4G SIM Card (Paris/Airport Pick Up) for Europe from Orange
• Disneyland® Paris Ticket
• Eiffel Tower Skip-the-Line Ticket
• [Sale] Seine River Sightseeing Cruise in Paris by Bateaux-Mouches
• Mont Saint Michel Full Day Tour from Paris
• Paris: 1-Hour River Seine Cruise
• Paris: Eiffel Tower Direct Access Tour to Summit by Elevator
• Disneyland Paris 1-Day Ticket
• Paris: 1-Hour Illuminations River Cruise
• Louvre Museum: Tour
• Paris: Moulin Rouge Cabaret Show Ticket with Champagne

Are you looking for more top things to do in Paris: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Read more: Paris travel blog — The fullest Paris travel guide blog for a great budget trip to Paris for the first-timers. And let’s check it out more here.