Less fashionable teddybears need not apply

Le Bon Marché is one of the chicest places on the planet. Bloomingdales and Harvey Nichols pale in comparison to this bastion of elegance, with its ornate 19th century interior and bevies of Parisian shoppers who unfailingly look as though they have just stepped out of French Vogue.

It is unsurprising, then, that the adjoining grocery emporium, La Grande Epicerie, is just as exquisite. Only the French could make food this fashionable (quite literally: the store offers Lolita Lempicka biscuits, special edition Sonia Rykiel chocolates, Diesel olive oil and Jean-Paul Gaultier-designed bottles of Evian). The store’s own pastry chefs even recently designed a “cruise collection”, featuring bikini- and hat-shaped delicacies in stripes and leopard print – so sweet!

La Grande Epicerie is a combination of food hall, supermarket and deli, boasting thousands of products. As well as specialised counters selling freshly made bread, mouth-watering pastries, fruit, vegetables, fresh meat and poultry, the shelves are stacked with everything from Persil to pasta (the monochrome pasta is particularly chic). Other quirky offerings include chocolates printed with Andy Warhol designs and vodka-flavoured lollipops with real (edible) scorpions inside.

The shelves only wear this season's colours

There is also a large “world food” section, featuring a kaleidoscopic compendium of the exotic and the not-so-exotic: Italian pasta sauces, Thai coconut milk, Spanish spices and even Heinz baked beans (which look far cooler in this glamorous setting than in your local corner shop!) The British section has shortbread and porridge, while the array of American products includes popcorn, marshmallows, maple syrup and cans of Dr Pepper.

La Grand Epicerie is the most chic food-shopping experience you can have, whether you’re a girl-about-town buying for a dinner party, a tourist looking for a cool gift for a foodie friend (there is a selection of Paris-themed goodies) or a homesick student craving some Kellogg’s cereal. From Marmite to mille feuilles, this is one supermarket definitely worth making a trip to.

Opening Hrs: Mon-Sat: 8:30-21:00