Which Department Store in Paris?

sorry not much help here..
just wanna let you know it's about 15mins taxi ride between Lafayette and Colette, perhaps you would have time to visit both.

Le Printemps Haussmann and Galeries Lafayette Haussmann are next to each other. Both carry various niche brands although some of these brands will be either available at Galeries Lafayette OR Le Printemps, not both stores.

From memory, Diptyque and Creed are both exclusively sold at Le Printemps, whereas L'Artisan Parfumeur can only be found at Galeries Lafayette. Lutens (export line only) is available at both stores.

Guerlain is only available at Galeries Lafayette but it is a Guerlain boutique (one of the 11 in Paris) so they have the full range of Guerlain perfumes including L'Art et La Matière series, and most of the extracts. You won't find them in the Sephora / Marionnaud perfume shop around the corner which only offer the most popular Guerlains (Shalimar, Vetyver...).

My advice is that you visit both of them first before establishing a sensible purchase strategy, especially if you are eligible for the tax refund (-12%) exclusive to overseas visitors. Then you need to figure out in which of the 2 shops you are most likely to spend the required amount of money (there is a threshold for detax which is about 175 euros IIRC. You have to spend that amount in the same store, the same day, to get your 12% refund).

Note that there are several Printemps and Galeries Lafayette stores in Paris. I am talking here about their 2 flagship stores, which are both located behind the Opera house. I don't know much about what can be found in the smaller Printemps and Galleries stores. I doubt they carry much niche.

You can not miss AU BOM MARCHÉ RIVE GAUCHE, Rue de Sèvres , near Blvd Saint Germain and to take a black coffee at CAFE DE FLORE, also near DIPTYQUE HEAD SHOP. Enjoy Paris for you and for me

ahh forgot to mention,
if you're planning to do the VAT tax refund at Lafayette VAT refund counter,
dont forget to get the documents stamped at the airport, otherwise you wont get the fund back to your CC.

have fun in Paris, definitely a gorgeous city

Le Bon Marché is a nice, medium size department store with a quieter atmosphere than Les Galleries but their perfume offer is a quarter of the combined strike force of Le Printemps (LP) and Les Galleries Lafayette. Both have way more niche than LBM.

You don't really need to visit LBM if you have already spent 2 hours at LGL and LP. Instead plan a visit to an exclusive perfume house of which no perfume is available at a department store (Frederic Malle, Parfums de Nicolaï, Parfumerie Générale, or the Lutens temple in Palais Royal for their exclusive, non export line, or even the Chanel boutique rue Cambon to try Sycomore or Bois des Iles).

My number one recommendation fora department store is Galeries Lafayette! The store will overwhelm you and the ceiling is divine. A step back to the 19th century.

Also try the Etat Libre d'Orange boutique in the Marais: 69, rue des Archives....pun fully intended! Of course, try the Caron boutique if you can.

You can visit the Le Collette store in Paris. I happened to walk by and it's a mad house in there. They even have security gaurds standing at the door.

213 Rue Saint-Honoré
75001 Paris, France
01 55 35 33 90