When I'm in Paris

Aside from pleasant memories, souvenirs are special things travelers should never leave Paris without. Whether it’s a pressed leaf from Paris’ Tuileries Garden or a tissue napkin from dining at Laduree, there has to be one single item you could take home with you as remembrance from your trip. Don’t let a tight budget keep you from bringing home a piece of Paris. There are so many affordable treats sold in Christmas Markets and sidewalk stalls in many of Paris’ districts.

Sweet French Chocolates

For starters, you could buy 10 bars of French-made chocolates usually prices at 2 Euros apiece. Chocolates from France are highly in-demand but what makes them ideal as souvenirs is their taste, rarity (especially if they are not sold outside of France), and their timelessness. Unfortunately, choclates are perishables and it may not be wise to buy them weeks or months before you leave Paris.

If you’ve got more than 20 Euros to spare, try confectionaries such as Cacao et Chocolat or head down to Le Bon Marche or Fanprix and grab a few chocolates you’ve never found in departments stores in your country.

Plates and Cutlery with French Design

Every cafe ni Paris never fails to enchant visitors with their outstanding interior and delicious food, pleasant service and unique silver- and glassware. It has become quite a practice for French restaurateurs to use custom-made utensils and plates when serving food. If you want to take these uniquely-designed pieces home (don’t take them from restaurants!), you can buy Parisian-style plates, cips and restaurants glass-ware for 2-4 EUROS apiece.

Paintings or Drawings

In Mortmartre’s Place due Tertre, you can find French artists who sell hand-made crafts, drawings and paintings for a small price. Buying paintings and drawings from these independent artists is also a good way to support Paris’ homegrown talents. For a painting of the Louvre, Eiffel Tower or the Seine, you will need to pay around 15 Euros but it all depends or the paintings and the artist.

Shipping the painting may be another concern which you have to address. Artists wrap their paintings in lightweight, brown paper but if you plan to take these paintings home, you may need to buy a box separately from department stores.

Wines and Spirits

There are so many stores and shops in Paris where you can buy wines and spirits exclusively sold in Paris. Make your way to Gallerie Lafayette to choose from a wide selection of liquids and bottle them yourself as they pour out from oak casts.

Part of the charm of the experience is choosing from the vast selection of wines, vinegars, beverages, cocktails and oils and choosing a unique bottle to encase them in. There are 70 bottles to choose from and a small container may go from 10-20 EUR.

Other common picks in Paris includes Mini Eiffel Towers sold for 2 Euros apiece by vendors located in front of the Eiffel tower, stylish clothing pieces from Galleries Lafayette that cost as low as 10 EUR and other goodies from Le Bon Marche.

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