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A true wonderland for people who love and appreciate food, the Grande Epicerie De Paris hosts a huge variety of high end food delights from all four corners of the world. Be prepared to buy things that you may not even need, the way they are displayed, the unique packaging and intense aromas of fresh products call you to indulge... It's like a fragrance hall, only with food and food accessories on display.
Walking around the Grande Epicerie you will meet the world's best food treasures under one roof - from spices, to condiments, chocolates, sweets... and so much more organized by countries - Japan, Lebanon, France, Latvia, UK... as well as internationally renowned food brands like Fauchon and London's Fortnum and Mason, to name a couple. Original items like vodka-flavored lollipops with detoxified ants inside or fist-sized Himalayan salt crystals to grate over food can also be found. The variety is so wide - it's overwhelming.
Everything looks fresh and very appetizing. The vegetable corner calls you with its amazingly fresh colors. Original items like baby bananas are available. The smell of natural earth is so strong that you are encouraged to eat fruits and vegetables. There's beef/poultry/seafood stations... what can I say about these. I stopped by the meat counter and watched the butcher in action. The way the meat is cut, prepared and packaged in front of you is outstanding. Just watching the butcher at work makes you imagine an amazingly cooled meal.
Walk around more, stroll the hall from one isle to another and discover the littlest items that will turn your appetite buttons on. Food colorings are beautifully packaged like small bottles of perfumes, spices are filled in plastic containers that make you want to hold each and wonder what spice is inside. The smell of coffee beans from different parts of the world wake your every sense, a station for olives looks so delicious, cheese in different shapes and forms... Wine and alcohol section... The smell of freshly baked bread calls you. Hot, soft, crunchy baguettes coming out the oven one after the other... Yum - that is not to forget to mention the variety of bread types and flavors available. Simply delicious.
A patisserie section with eye catching items like colourful macaroons, originally designed Mille Feuille which look like paper set on a file. I liked that a lot.
Inside the food hall, there are a variety of open fridges where market fresh salads, soups, cut fruits and sandwiches are available in easy to open and eat instantly packages. You're sure to get hungry, grab yourself something to eat on the spot.
Some dream of visiting the Eiffel tower and others the Ac De Triomphe... I suggest you start by the Grande Epicerie... You won't regret it
In 1852, Aristide Boucicaut invented modern shopping as we know it by creating the world's first department store, Le Bon Marché. Together with his wife Marguerite, he transformed a simple stall into one single “department store” selling a vast range of items, and where customers could browse to their hearts’ content. The birth of Le Bon Marché heralded a whole new culture of commerce that included fixed prices, lower margins, home delivery, item exchange, mail order, promotional periods and sales, private concerts, a reading area and much more. This ground-breaking and revolutionary couple had come up with a commercial model that would soon be copied around the globe. New premises at the corner of rue du Bac and rue de Sèvres would accommodate Le Bon Marché's "food counter" that opened in 1923, offering the finest teas and preserves, a first for a department store. Country-themed exhibitions and presentations were organised, with fresh produce being showcased to create a unique array. It wasn’t until 1978, however, that La Grande Epicerie de Paris was born, positioning itself as a genuine local supermarket for food aficionados on the Rive Gauche. After the LVMH group took over Le Bon Marché, the latter adopted a new market positioning. It became a high-end, resolutely Parisian store that reflected a certain Rive Gauche vibe. Since 1988, La Grande Epicerie de Paris, a subsidiary of Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, has become one of the capital's leading food stores. In 1999, following a complete revamp of its departments and the introduction of a new graphic identity, shopping at La Grande Epicerie de Paris gained a reputation as “an unmissable treat, an unadulterated delight and a unique experience”. A leading light in the world of Parisian gastronomy, it attracts people from all over the world in search of exceptional quality and taste.
