French Shopping Vacations and Tours

For many travelers, visiting new places is not only about the people, culture and historical sights; it's about the souvenirs they bring home to remind them of their experiences. For some people, the experience is the shopping and the travel just gets them there.

If you are one of these shopoholics who would happily build an entire vacation around your obsession, we have good news. You can shop someplace far away and fabulous with a savvy shopping sidekick who speaks the language and knows how to not shop like a tourist.

These businesses were created around the love of shopping, collecting and traveling. Antiques Diva and Chic Shopping Paris are both shopping tour guide services based abroad. The Red Shed is an antique boutique in Texas that organizes a yearly field trip to France for shoppers who want to find their own European treasures.

The Red Shed Tour to Provence
Spend a week in the beautiful town of Aix-en-Provence shopping the boutiques, bookstores, and spice markets. Take a cooking class and enjoy tours of local farmhouses and townhomes. Visit the L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, home to famous flea markets and fabulous vintage shopping. Outings are lead by an English speaking Provence local who is a wine and antiques shopping expert.

Antiques Diva European Shopping Tours
Schedule a half-day or an full day excursion with an expert local shopping guide in the Netherlands, Belgium, France or Germany. Tours are intended to prime you for shopping abroad by pointing out the best shops for antiques, vintage wares and home décor (including the most obvious and the lesser known). Shopping guides, or Divas, help you secure local discounts, deal with shipping issues, and shop with a "decorator's eye". Rather than a complete, organized vacation, this service is more of an accessory to an already planned vacation.

Chic Shopping Paris
Don't waste your time trying to decipher the Parisian shopping scene, rue by rue. Spend a fun, but efficient afternoon in Paris on a guided, thematic shopping tour such as boutique shopping in the Marais district or gourmet food and wine tasting. The advantage to a guided service is access to secret addresses and shopping tips, as well as a bi-lingual companion who offers unbiased advice (no commissions). Most tours are four hours long, but customized tours can be arranged to fit your time and shopping requirements.

What do you think about taking a shopping vacation? Would you use a shopping guide abroad?

Images: Flickr member dicktay2000 licensed for use under creative commons, Le Boudoir

Comments (10)

I am going to south of France this Sept and was planning on visiting these places. great article!

This is my all time favorite store in Paris! Perfect for gifts for yourself or others!

The Designer Insider

http://bit.ly/cc2B2k

For anyone planning a trip to the south of France, I know people who have a fabulous home they rent out. If you mention my name, they'll give you 10% off.

www.lemasdepitou.com

~Christine Schwalm

Whatever you do, DON'T eat in that restaurant shown in the pic....at least not in the summer. It's cramped, no A/C, and not very clean.

"It's cramped, no A/C..."

You've just described half the restaurants in Europe...

I'm heading to Paris in september, which district of the city is best for shopping?

Ahhh, we loved L'isle Sur La Sorgue. So quaint and beautiful. We hiked there from Cavaillon and from there to Gordes via Fontaine de Vaucluse. Fabulous!

focus more on the "not very clean" part.
and cramped is an understatement. most Paris restaurants I would describe as "cozy", cafe's are usually "cramped".

Whenever I travel I try to find the absolutely most kitsch ephemera I can possibly find. Best find to date: in Calabria Italy a small framed mirror with a picture of Bon Jovi painted on it, phenomenal! But I do love my Pope John Paul II snow globe from Vatican City as well.

L'isle Sur La Sorgue IS beautiful- my brother's boyfriend owns a shop there, so we visit on occasion- but the pricing is definitely for the tourists (no thanks!). Maybe find a guide who can unearth the best vide-grenier in the area you'll go to...you can find some great stuff and MUCH better prices.

And Gordes is SPECTACULAR. The whole town is a great photo op.

And...maybe consider heading over to the Languedoc- my corner of France (!). Fewer tourists, lower prices, and more towel space at the beaches than you'll find in PACA...