From the place de l'Opéra to Chaussée d’Antin : high art to high fashion

Start your journey on the esplanade of the Opera metro station.  Admire the magnificent cupola of the Grand Hôtel Intercontinental, just above the mythical Café de la Paix.  Across the road, impossible to miss the Palais Garnier, with its golden statues, marble columns and grand staircase. Recently renovated, the Paris Opera House remains one of the most opulent buildings in the capital... definitely worth a visit.  If you're in the mood to explore the annals of this venerable institution, the company Purple Beam offers guided tours of this 19th-century palace.  Enter with the artists, by the side door, and take a tour through the magnificent palace, from the stage to the dressing rooms and up to the sumptuous apartments.

After this exceptional moment, offer yourself an aromatic pause, sweet or salty, in the  'House of Tea' at the Scribe Hotel, located just next door.  From there, follow your nose a bit further down the road to the Fragonard Perfume Museum .  This institution re-traces 3000 years of the history of perfume in an exceptional collection of bottles, testers and gift-boxes.

Following this fireworks of sensory perception, take the rue Auber on your left until you reach the boulevard Haussmann.  A flurry of theatres (Athénée-Louis Jouvet, Edouard VII) hides in these several streets.  At the junction Auber-Haussmann you will find the sought after Parisian department store Printemps de la Mode .  After all this culture, a shopping spree is always welcome, especially in one of the most beautiful 'temples of consumption'!  With all the satellites gravitating around the splendid Art-Deco cupola of this refined shop, you can't miss in finding great fashions for women, men at the Printemps de l’Homme (on the rue du Havre) and teens at Citadium (situated behind the main shop), a department store dedicated to super stylish sportswear.

For home goods, don't miss the hip selection of items at the Printemps de la Maison, dedicated to home furnishings and decoration.  If you're stomach starts to rumble, swing by the second floor, where « luxury and gourmet » go hand in hand at the irresistible chocolate shop Patrick Roger, the world renowned bakers at Ladurée or the trendy chefs at Fuxia. On the seventh floor, the restaurant Déli-cieux offers a panoramic view of the rooftops of Paris.  Another possibility is the Brasserie Printemps, on the  sixth floor of the main shop.  You can also savour a magnificent view of Paris, just beneath the Art-Deco cupola.

Further up the boulevard, sits the Galeries Lafayette .  « Les Galeries » are famous for their creative fashion side, presenting new designers with regular runway shows, their fine food shop Lafayette Gourmet, their men's section Lafayette Hommes and their home furnishings department Lafayette Maison.  The Galeries Lafayette are also well-known among the tourists and the children who come to see their lively Christmas windows each December.  A favourite Parisian pass-time, lunch-hour shopping at Les Galeries, with a quick bite on the run in one of the local cafés or tea rooms.  A special section of the first floor now houses the  « Espace Luxe », a collection of the most famous names in Haute Couture: Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Balenciaga and more.