Shopping

Window at Au Printemps

Recently the weather has been quite reasonable but today it was extremely cold for spring - around 14 degrees.  We decided to hit the shops or at least Les Grands Magasins - and unfortunately discovered that the rest of Paris had decided to do the same.  The two main department stores in Paris are Au Printemps and Galeries Lafayette. In our experience over the years, Au Printemps always has the best window displays but nothing can beat the interior of Galeries Lafayette.

The Great Dome at Galeries Lafayette

Interior of Galeries Lafayette

Eight stories up, above the magnificent dome, there is an outside viewing area at Galeries Lafayette.  This is one of the best sites for viewing Paris and looks directly out at the back of the Opera Garnier with the Tour Eiffel just off to the right in the distance.

Back of the Opera Garnier

The Opera has recently undergone cleaning and refurbishment and walking back to our bus we had a closer look and promised ourselves a visit next week.  As an added inducement, the ceiling there was done by Chagall and after having seen the Chagall exhibition at the Musee de Luxembourg we are keen to see this as well.

Paris rooftops as seen from Galeries Lafayette

The Opera Garnier

Detail from facade of the Opera Garnier