A miscellany
France > Paris > Shopping > Various

Archives de la Presse 51 rue des Archives, 3^e. A fascinating shop for a browse, trading in old French newspapers and magazines. The window always has a display of outdated newspapers corresponding to the current month, and there are piles upon piles of old magazines inside, with vintage Vogues giving a good insight into the changing fashion scene. M° Rambuteau. Mon–Sat 10.30am–7pm.

Attica 64 rue de la Folie Méricourt, 11^e. All the books, CD-ROMS, dictionaries, videos, and audio cassettes one could possibly need to learn any number of the two hundred languages represented at this language-learning mecca. Online ordering enables you to hit the books before hitting the road. M° Oberkampf. Tues–Sat 10am–7pm.

Boîte à Musique Anna Joliet Jardin du Palais Royal, 9 rue de Beaujolais, 1^er. Swiss-owned shop selling every style of music box, from inexpensive self-winding toy models to grand cabinets costing thousands of euros. Parisians have long loved mechanical instruments, and many of these play old favourites such as La Vie en Rose. The shop itself is a delightful, minuscule boutique squeezed behind glass at the northern end of the Palais Royal garden. M° Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre. Mon–Sat 10am–7pm.

Diptyque 34 bd St-Germain, 5^e. Luxurious scented candles and other fragrant products. M° Maubert-Mutualité. Tues–Sat 10am–7pm.

Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle 37 rue de Grenelle, 7^ewww.editionsdeparfums.com. This boutique analyses your taste in perfumes before offering you a selection. All the perfumes have been created by "authors", which means professional parfumeurs working under their own name through this "publishing house". A 50ml bottle costs upwards of €50. M° Rue du Bac. Mon–Sat 11am–7pm; closed two weeks in Aug.

Le Laguiole du Marais 6 rue du Pas de la Mule, 3^e. Tiny shop selling a large range of the celebrated knives from Laguiole in the Massif Central. M° Chemin-Vert. Mon–Sat 10am–12.30pm & 1.30–7pm, Sun 2–7pm.

La Maison du Collectionneur 137 av Émile-Zola, 15^e. Old books, hats, newspapers of the wartime liberation, and assorted junk. M° Émile-Zola.

La Maison de la Fausse Fourrure 34 bd Beaumarchais, 11^e. Sumptuous lengths of fake fur draped and pinned over every surface imaginable. M° Chemin-Vert. Mon–Sat 10am–7pm.

Marché St-Pierre 2 rue Charles-Nodier, 18^e. Five floors of very inexpensive fabrics well worth a visit. M° Anvers. Mon 2–7pm, Tues–Sat 10am–7pm.

Le Petit Bleu 21 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 11^e. An excellent place for a last-minute present-buying expedition, this unclassifiable shop sells all things fragrant and delicious – wines, oils, teas, soaps, candles – and other gifts for the home. M° Oberkampf. Mon noon–8pm, Tues–Sat 10.30am–8pm, closed two weeks Aug.

Pierre Frey 1 & 2 rue de Fürstenberg, 6^e. Stocks a huge range of stunning fabrics for furnishings and curtains. If you don't find what you're after here, try the handful of rival shops in the same street. M° Mabillon/St-Germain-des-Prés. Daily 10am–6.30pm.

Pylones 57 rue St-Louis-en-l'île, 4^e (M° Sully-Morland), and many other branches. Playful and silly things, including inflatable fruit bowls, grasshopper can crushers, hand-puppet face-washers and sparkly resin jewellery. Daily 11am–7.30pm.

Séphora 70 av des Champs-Élysées, 8^e www.sephora.com. Huge perfumery with related books, an exhibition and a sampling area, and a big range of cosmetics. M° Franklin-D.Roosevelt. Mon–Sat 10am–midnight, Sun 11am–midnight. Also branches at Forum des Halles, level 3, 1^er; 1 rue Pierre Lescot, 1^er; and 30 av d'Italie, 13^e (Mon–Sat 10am–7.30pm).

Tang Frères 48 av d'Ivry, 13^e. A vast emporium of all things oriental, pungent with exotic smells. M° Porte-d'Ivry. Tues–Sun 9am–7.30pm.

Trousselier 73 bd Haussmann, 8^ewww.trousselier.com. Described in French Vogue as the artificial flower shop. Every conceivable species of flora fashioned from manmade fibre. Decadent and pricey, but fun. M° St-Augustin. Mon–Sat 10am–7pm.