What to buy in Paris: a Polène bag and what to skip

Quick facts

• Polène: the Numéro Un Nano is 340 euros on the French site and CAD 670 on the Canadian site.
• Exchange rate: 1 euro was CAD 1.5732 on 6 November 2026, at the Bank of Canada.
• On within: 46 Goyard items, 29 A.P.C. items and 51 Veja items, read 8 November 2026.
• Tax refund: you must spend more than 100 euros in one shop on one day.
• The tax: 20 percent is inside French prices, and Galeries Lafayette publishes a refund of 12 percent.
• Goyard's shop: 233 rue Saint-Honoré, its address since 1856.

The bag with a real price gap

The easiest win in Paris is a bag you carry home on the plane. On Polène's French site, the Numéro Un Nano in textured black is 340 euros. On its Canadian site, the same bag is CAD 670.

At the Bank of Canada rate of 6 November 2026, 340 euros is about CAD 535. So the Paris price is about CAD 135 lower, before any tax refund. Our notes on tax free shopping in Europe and whether luxury is cheaper abroad do the sums on the refund.

A bag has no size to get wrong, and it goes on the plane with you. If you buy one thing in France, buy this.

Goyard, and why the Paris shop matters

Goyard dates itself to 1853, a year before Louis Vuitton opened in 1854. It has been at 233 rue Saint-Honoré since 1856, and that shop is the place to buy a new card holder.

On within, Goyard is pre owned, at Utopia in Toronto: 46 items from CAD 450 to CAD 7,500, with a median of CAD 2,200. The cheapest is the Saint Sulpice card holder in black and natural at CAD 450.

If you want it new, go to the shop in Paris. If you do not need new, this is the price to compare.

A.P.C., Veja and the labels you can buy at home

Jean Touitou started A.P.C. in Paris in 1987, and Veja is a French sneaker brand based in Paris. You can buy both at home in Canadian dollars.

Due West in Toronto has 29 items from A.P.C., from CAD 125 to CAD 559. That includes the Rue Madame tee in white at CAD 125 and the Aaron jeans in blue at CAD 229.

Veja has 51 items there from CAD 119 to CAD 270, and the Campo sneakers in white and matcha are CAD 135. The Maison Kitsuné Fox Head tee in green is CAD 115.

Unless Paris beats these prices by enough to be worth carrying them, buy them at home. If you are near it anyway, stop at A.P.C. Surplus at 39 rue Madame.

If the Paris price is close, buy it at home.

How to spend the afternoon

Start at Merci at 111 boulevard Beaumarchais, which opens every day. Then go to The Broken Arm at 12 rue Perrée, which opens Tuesday to Saturday. On Sundays most of Paris is closed, but the Marais stays open.

Before you pay in any of these shops, know that a tax refund needs more than 100 euros in one shop on one day. You get back less than the 20 percent in the price. Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann publishes 12 percent of the purchase price.

Common questions

What's famous in Paris to buy?

For clothes, it is leather bags and French labels. A Polène Numéro Un Nano was about CAD 135 less on its French site than on its Canadian site on 8 November 2026. Goyard has been at 233 rue Saint-Honoré since 1856, and that shop is the place to buy new.

What to buy in Paris clothes?

Buy French clothes in Paris only when the price beats home. At Due West, A.P.C. starts at CAD 125 and Veja sneakers at CAD 119, so do the sum first.

For ideas on what to wear there, see Paris outfits. Our list of French fashion brands has more labels.

What to buy in Paris luxury?

Buy leather goods from the shops that made their names in Paris. Hermès came first there in 1837 and Goyard dates itself to 1853. If you live outside the European Union and are 16 or over, you can get some of the tax back.

Our Paris boutiques list has more shops.

Every business above is independent, was verified open as of August 2026, and nobody paid to be here. If one has closed or moved, tell us at hello@shopwithin.co and we will fix it.

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