Galleries Lafayette affordable???

My 21yr old daughter and I will be in Paris soon for a week. It will be my third visit and her first.

My last visit to Galleries Lafayette was in 1985.

I do remember it because I wanted to buy a pair of red shoes and I encountered rude shop assistants and for some reason a language problem.

I didn%26#39;t bother going there again when I was in Paris a couple of years ago with my husband as you know what husbands are like when it comes to shopping...well mine anyway!

I am interested in opinions about whether it is worthwhile sacfificing a couple of hours of seeseeing time for shopping.

As I have not been in any Paris department stores for 24 years I am not sure what to expect. Are they pricey or affordable for a %26quot;poorish%26quot; 21yr old?

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Hello

When i was in Paris last month my handbag broke, so i had (what a hard life) HAD to shop for a handbag and went to Galleries Lafayette.

From my experience and i looked at the bags and scarfes there was something in all price ranges. I think it is like everything in Paris you can spend a fortune or you can choose not to.

Is that too vague? i hope you find the answer you are after

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If you%26#39;re going to be there between 24 June and 28 July the summer sales will be on.

I was there for the winter 2008 sales and I found the prices in the department stores were still quite high (starting from a higher base!) than smaller stores and boutiques which had some great bargains.

I think your daughter will find plenty of choice all over the place. There have been some recent threads here on good places for young people to find reasonably priced fashions.

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Browse the store:

http://www.galerieslafayette.com/#fr/home.htm

Happy shopping!

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It really depends on her budget, but Paris is full of lots of cute little boutiques, many wit more affordable options than the brands avail. at GL.

I often recommend the rue du Commerce to younger visitors on a budget. There over a dozen, fun fashionable stores without too many %26quot;temptation%26quot; stores. If you take the metro to Motte Picquet, start at Monoprix and head towards the church at the end of the street, there is H%26amp;M, Zara, Pimkie, SUd Express, NIce Day, Nice Things, Exclusif shoes, the Jeanerie, Women%26#39;s Secret SomeWhere, Sephora, SInequonon outlet and many others.

For her age I also love Etienne Marcel, but there are too many shops over there that are outside of some budgets.

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I%26#39;ve been shopping there since the mid 70s and have found items in various price ranges, not all expensive, depending on what I want to buy. I also go next door to Printemps, but prefer Galeries Lafayette as far as merchandise goes.

As far as the attitude, that you speak of, I understand what you%26#39;re saying, but it%26#39;s been cleaned up a bit. I%26#39;ve had some of the same experiences even when shopping with friends who are French. My Parisian friend, born and raised in Paris, used to complain about it a lot, and not only at Galeries Layfayette. I just don%26#39;t expect the level of service that I would get at home while shopping, so I%26#39;m not disappointed by the lack of it.

I was in there last month, and wanted to try on a pair of shoes, but two saleswomen were standing and talking and laughing. I finally approached them, with the shoe, since they weren%26#39;t approaching me, and they pointed for me to go to someone else, and kept on talking. The other salesperson was busy and lots of folks needed to be waited on. So, I just left that department and went to the handbag department to shop instead. Happy Travels!

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Thanks everyone for your valuable suggestions and opinions. I am writing down all your suggestions just in case we are in the areas mentioned.

Its nice to hear that I%26#39;m not the only one who had difficulty trying on shoes. I had a feeling of deja vu actually when I read your story Guen.

I%26#39;ve just realised that I was 21 myself at the time of the %26quot;shoe incident%26quot; the same age my daughter is now. I suppose I looked like a tourist who couldn%26#39;t afford the shoes anyway but customer service has certainly become a dying art!

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The large department stores rent their space to brands. Which means that the staff is hired by each brand, so the shoe dept at GL will have employees responsible for various brands and who refuse to help you with other brands.

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Just came back from Paris 3 weeks ago.

My wife and I spent approx. 2 hours in Lafayette on Haussmann Blvd. We would give it a rating of 3.5 out of 5. The experience was actually better than expected. (Maybe I%26#39;ve read too many negative comments on the Internet)

Our own experience/observations:

Price range of goods - it all depends. It is an upscale store, like the Bloomingdales in USA. If you want designer brands (e.g. Louis Vitton, Gucci, etc.) they are always expensive. However, there are always some more affordable items, usually on higher floors. (Are you from Australia? I%26#39;m not sure of the cost of living down there.)

Shop assistants - All of them could speak some English. Most of them were busy when we were there. My preception was that while they didn%26#39;t have much time to serve you, they weren%26#39;t rude anyway. You just have to tell them what you want in a quick way, for example %26quot;please get me this pair of shoes, size 36, thank you%26quot;.

BTW, different countries use different numbering system for shoe sizes. for instance, a size 6 in US equals size 36 or 37 in France. The service counter of the shoes department had a conversion chart of shoe sizes, which we found very useful.

You can approach any information counter when you enter the store, show your passport and get a 10% discount card.

The tax refund office was located in the basement. Didn%26#39;t find any waiting line there. I got the paperwork done within 5 minutes. The lady explained in detail what I should do when I left at CDG.

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As Phread points out, it isn%26#39;t a departmnent store as most people would understand the term. It many ways it is more like a market - dozens of small stores in a big building.

Of course, because they are premium brands, you are talking premium prices - think Myers as they used to be, Maceys in NY or Harrods in London - the sort of place you go for something speial, rather than somewhere most people would do a normal shop.