When to go
Seasonal sales are held each January and July. Shops are generally open 10am-7pm, though some may shut for an hour or two at midday; some small concerns close for the whole of August.

How to get there
Ask yourself what you will be bringing back with you and then book plane, train or ferry as appropriate. Starting from London and traveling light, the Eurostar train (www.eurostar.com), taking three hours from Waterloo station to Gare du Nord, is by far the best option. Coming from anywhere else in the country, traveling by air is most convenient: Air France operates 13 flights per day from Manchester, for example. Several airlines, including the budget options (Easyjet offers an inexpensive hop from Liverpool to Paris; see www.easyjet.com) arrive at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport, 30 km northeast of Paris or Orly, 18 km south of the city. If you are planning to bring back armfuls of shopping, or large pieces of furniture, you best bet will be driving into the city. You have the option of traveling through the tunnel, from Folkestone to Calais, on Le Shuttle (www.eurotunnel.com) or taking a ferry (visit www.hoverspeed.com, www.brittany-ferries.com, www.seafrance.com).

What's on the menu?
Delicious French vintage style, from rustic painted pine armoires to gilded Empire pier tables, Art Deco cocktail cabinets to Art Nouveau ironwork, can be discovered in Paris's antique dealers and markets, often for less than you would pay at home. Paris is also the capital of contemporary Continental chic – though bargains in brand-new goods are thin on the ground. Great European design is everywhere from the grands magasins (department stores) such as Printemps and Galeries Lafayette to the superstylish French company, Sentou, and Italian design outlets such as Kartell.

Where to shop
The best homewares shopping straddles either side of the Seine in and around the quarters known as The Marais and St-Germain–des-Prés.

St-Germain-des-Prés
A lively area of the left bank, where the well-heeled buy stylish, designer gear. Interior designers have their offices here, and there are plenty of great restaurants and bistros, many reasonably priced. Look for antique dealers along quai Malaquais and rue de Seine. Anne-Sophie Duval (5 quai Malaquais) offers Art Nouveau and Art Deco treasures and a stroll down nearby rue Jacob will always turn up some beautiful antiques. At 1 quai Conti, Etat de Siege sells contemporary seating. The Boulevard St Germain hosts a gaggle of great stores, all at the expensive end of the price range: try the Kartell flagship store at 242, for iconic furnishings by designers from Ron Arad to Philippe Starck; Roche Bobois (207) for beautifully crafted furniture from cutting edge to classic; and Diptyque (34) for its famous scented candles.

South of St-Germain-des-Prés
The four branches of Sentou, selling fabulous modern lighting, beds, seating, fabrics and accessories, are a must-visit for anyone buying for the interior. The best selection – featuring young designers as well as classic pieces - is at boulevard Raspail (26), which branches off the boulevard St Germain at rue du Bac metro station. At 27 rue de Varenne, south of the boulevard St Germain, Diners en Ville sells new and antique tableware, with pretty glasses, and luxury cloths and napkins. One road further, furniture and lighting designer Christophe Delcourt (47 rue de Babylone), offers clean-cut, Art Deco-influenced lamps, dining tables and seats. Further south still, don't miss Le Bon Marché, the venerable old department store at 24 Rue de Sevres, which offers good-quality homewares at reasonable prices.

The Marais
A rabbit warren of small streets and narrow passageways on the right bank, where you can find cafés and artisans as well as ethnic shops and smart boutiques. This is the place to buy fun, funky furnishings and antique curiosities. The Maison de la Fausse Fourrure (34 boulevard Beaumarchais) has a range of fake throws and upholstered furniture as well as bags and hats. On the river, Village St-Paul is a group of antiques shops, between quai des Celestins and rue St-Paul, where you can find 18th to 20th-century silverware, African and Chinese art, engravings, sculptures, paintings, lamps, linens, furniture and vintage postcards. Giulio Cappellini's store at 4 rue des Rosiers is a showcase of European designer crafts and furniture. Mille Feuilles, at 59 rue des Francs-Bourgeois has gaily painted garden furniture and planters. DOM (21 rue de Ste-Croix de la Bretonnerie) is an inexpensive store with everything from globe-shaped chairs to neon and faux-fur CD racks.

East of The Marais
Walking east from The Marais, Le Viaduc des Arts, on Avenue Daumesnil, is well-worth exploring: railway arches transformed into workshops and showrooms for artisans making contemporary metalwork, tapestry, sculpture and ceramics. On the other side of place de la Bastille, try Verreglass (32 rue de Charonne) for glassware, from the 19th century to the 1960s. Nearby, Le Bihan (41 rue Faubourg St Antoine) sells modern design on three floors, featuring the 20th-century Parisian greats Charlotte Perriand and Eileen Gray as well as contemporary designers.

Beaubourg and Les Halles
The streets on the right bank, to the west of The Marais, around the spectacular modern architecture of the Forum des Halles and the Pompidou Centre, have a completely different character. Less expensive, more youthful, with some downright seedy stores and a scattering of small contemporary galleries. There is little to detain the serious homewares shopper in this quarter with the notable exception of Mille Feuilles (2 rue Rambuteau), which sells delightful fresh flowers, garden statuary, and chandeliers. Bô (8 rue St-Merri), sells everything from lacquered furniture to subtle, minimal candlesticks and vases in an art-gallery style space. And E Dehillerin (18 rue Coquilliere) offers a comprehensive range of practical kitchen utensils from ladles to Le Creuset, good value for knives and saucepan sets.

Aside from the underground shopping precinct of Les Halles, La Samaritaine is the most famous retailer in this area, but the grand old store, owned by LVMH, remains closed for the duration, since the building was declared a fire risk.

Opéra
This quarter's wide boulevards buzz with shoppers thronging the great departments stores and visitors besieging the tiny shops in the narrow passages: passage Jouffroy; passage Verdeau; passage des Panoramas; passage des Princes. Drouot, the grand French auctioneers, have their saleroom (Hotel des Ventes) here.

Two major department stores are on boulevard Haussmann: Printemps (64) and Galeries Lafayette (40). Printemps is beloved for its home-decoration departments, where big-brand, luxury crockery, linens and crystal can be found at good prices, as well as practical kitchen equipment and colourful, informal and ethnic tableware. At Lafayette, the new interior design store offers well-priced homewares, featuring a directory of contemporary chic brands from Alessi to Yves Delorme. In the same boulevard, La Compagnie Francaise de l'Orient et de la Chine (170) sells lacquerware and delicate celadon bowls.

A Simon (48 and 52 Rue Montmartre) offers professional kitchen supplies, including a reasonably priced selection of knives. Back at the luxury end of the market, a branch of Christofle (24 Rue de la Paix; also at 9 Rue Royale) offers seductive silver including flatware, photo frames and christening cups.

Tuileries
This is the quarter with Paris's most famous monumental landmarks: the Arc de Triomphe, the place de la Concorde and the Louvre. Its place Vendôme is traditionally the place to buy jewellery, with Cartier and Boucheron stores. Rue Royale has some of the best luxury homewares shops, with china and silverware, linen, glass and crystal: Lalique (11) sells its trademark glass sculptures and accessories and Pierre Frey (22) an opulent range of textiles, cushions and tablecloths. At the top of the rue Royale (23 boulevard de la Madeleine) is Kitchen Bazaar, specialising in shiny things for the kitchen: espresso machines, chrome dish racks and ingenious pedal bins. Close to the Louvre, Louvre des Antiquaires (2 Place du Palais Royale) sells expensive high-quality furniture.

There are a few budget options in the area: Potiron (57 rue des Petits-Champs), sells ethnic gifts, including fake fur and sparkly throws and cushions. La Chaise Longue (30 rue Croix-des-Petits-Champs; one of several branches) stocks practical accessories for the bathroom and kitchen, table linen and lamps, at low prices. Le Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville (52-64 rue de Rivoli) is the department store for those who love DIY, cooking and gadgetry for the home. Everything from table linens to cookbooks and nifty irons as well as paints and papers in BHV Déco.

Markets
Starting prices may seem high in the flea markets but bargaining is expected: try for 10-15 per cent off.

Marché aux Puces de St-Ouen (Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 9am-6pm)
This is the biggest and best known market, a short walk from Clignancourt metro, with 2,000 stalls. It is divided into several specialist markets, all selling French antiques. Before you start, get a guide to the market from the kiosk at rue des Rosiers and pick out the areas that will suit you, from the less expensive Marché Jules Valles, to the Marché Biron, where you will find elegant, high-quality antique furniture.

Marché aux Puces de la Porte de Vanves (Saturday and Sunday, 7am-6pm)
Delightful small market located between Avenue Georges-Lafenestre and Avenue Marc-Sangnier in the 14th arrondissement, which sells good-value wares: vintage clothing, glassware, prints, lace and linen. Visit the nearby place des Artistes for contemporary art. Metro: Porte-de-Vanves.

Marché aux Puces d'Aligre (daily, 7.30am-12.30pm)
The place for bric-a-brac, books and second-hand clothes, plus food stalls with a North African flavour. At place d'Aligre, in the 12th arrondissement. Metro: Ledru-Rollin.

Marché aux Puces de Montreuil (Monday, Saturday and Sunday, 8am-6pm)
Everything second hand from clothing to bicycles. Pick up quirky collectables and vintage tableware here. Metro: Porte-de-Montreuil.

WORDS KATRINA BURROUGHS