The flagship bookstore of stylish French publishing house, Assouline, where you can find all of their titles on display. Seductive coffee table books on art, fashion, travel and lifestyle topics line the walls and are stacked on tables in a room that feels like a modern men’s club library. Many of their series come in creative boxed sets, perfect for hostess gifts. Their line of candles, called Leather, Wood and Books, were designed by Diptyque, but have less wide distribution than those in the Diptyque own line so have become a kind of cult favorite among scent snobs.

Exquisite engraved stationery and writing cards with wonderful animals and deeply memorable colors sold out of a historic spot on the Right Bank, where the wooden drawers have held dyes for dozens of A-listers who have ordered their note cards here.

With a selection of 200 handmade papers from all over the world, these adjacent shops are the addresses for precious and unique writing paper and instruments. Parisians consider Calligrane the ultimate source for calling cards and personal stationery.

The Haut-Marais is not lacking for concept stores, but this one sets itself apart by focusing on limited edition objects and original artworks made by French craftsmen and artists. In addition to over a thousand made-in-France goodies, the four-story building is home to a café, bookstore and projection room.  Inviting shoppers and browsers to slow down and savor their experience in the store, Empreintes bills itself as a place of discovery, creative exchange and relaxation.

This concept store in the Marais spreads over two floors, providing a spacious day-lit showcase for a wide assortment of hip clothing, accessories, and home goods. In addition to FrenchTrotters’ own line of well-tailored basics for men and women, the boutique carries luscious leather bags by Jerome Dreyfuss, jeans by APC and Acne, shoes by Michel Vivien, and sunglasses by Super Future. The small selection of home goods on the second floor range from simple linen napkins and table clothes to decadent fragrant candles by Byredo with exotic names like “Baudelaire” and “Black Saffron.”

This Right Bank boutique carries a great selection of art, fashion and photography books in both French and English.

Karl Lagerfeld’s second concept store in Paris brought the Marais a futuristic shiny black facade marked by a striking white neon in the shape of the late designer’s unmistakable silhouette—starched-collar, ponytail, sunglasses and all. The merchandise is a mix of his own designs (men’s and women’s prêt-à-porter) and sundries including cell phone cases, key chains, and wallets, handpicked by the fashion icon. Nothing short of a shrine to all things Lagerfeld, the store sells gimmicky accessories like the designer’s signature starched white collar and is decorated with wallpaper whose grey-on-grey design is based on a repeating pattern of Lagerfeld’s ponytailed profile. But shoppers, too, have a chance to shine here—the dressing rooms on the second floor are equipped with digital screens that allow customers to photograph themselves in Lagerfeld’s clothes and post them online.

You’re sure to find something you didn’t know you needed at this shop (and café) that is teeming with cute souvenirs and decorative objects from around the world.

Right at home amidst Left Bank galleries and designer boutiques lining the neighboring streets, the late Karl Lagerfeld’s bookshop displays its goods—museum catalogues, artist monographs, design digests, and, of course, exquisite tomes on fashion—like true objets d’art. The beautiful installation of oversized books stacked on dark wood tables and set along the mirror-lined wall-shelves gives the impression of a sophisticated Parisian living room.

This inviting bookshop not far from the Palais Royal has a wide assortment of illustrated cookbooks, cuisine histories and wine guides. Books are arranged thematically according to useful categories such as vegetarian cooking and easy-to-prepare. There is even an adorable children’s section. If culinary inspiration strikes but proper equipment lacks, swing by the family-run cooking supply store, E. Dehillerin around the corner.

A former tapestry workshop in the 6th serves as the perfect backdrop for Renaissance man-cum-designer Marin Montagut, who styled the shop based on “a voyage in another Paris, a Paris of yesteryear.” Montagut has previously collaborated with Alix D. Reynis, Dyptique and Inès de la Fressange. HIs flagship boutique is an exciting stop on any Left Bank shopping spree, but especially for lovers of unique gifts and homewares.

Opened by a former book publisher, this shop sells brightly colored (turquoise, hot pink, hunter green) cloth covered notebooks, scrapbooks, photo albums in a great range of sizes and shapes.

Hemingway’s and Gertrude Stein’s bookstore, this is not. Far from traditional, the new Saint Laurent Babylone Bibliotheque comprises concrete cell salons displaying old LP records, art magazines and books, along with Saint Laurent-branded novelties like plastic coffee cups and chocolate tablets. The shop—which also bills itself as a host for cultural events, like author readings and DJ sessions—was clearly not designed to appeal to descendants of the literary regulars who once patronized nearby Café Flore. It was created for loyal label groupies and maybe those who are too cool to read at all.

The ultimate artist’s resource, Sennelier has been selling paints and brushes and artist tools for more than a century. While the store is most famous for its pigments, you'll find a selection of beautiful sketchbooks and albums as well.

A charming English bookstore, the Red Wheelbarrow is stocked with shelf after shelf of books from an array of genres. “Grab a book before sitting on the classic green chairs in the Luxembourg Gardens while watching the boats go by,” says Indagare's Ali Malecka.