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Just a ten-minute hop away is my favorite shoe store. Mephisto has the best walking shoes on the planet, French-made and quite ugly. I swear by them. But will they go with a Sonia Rykiel creation? Her comfortable, costly ready-to-wear looks wonderfully bizarre in the traditional wood-paneled setting of her shop. (More bizarre is Woman, Rykiel's pleasure temple featuring, among other enticing sexy objets, cashmere lingerie. You can't miss it; it's just next door to her sweetly-innocent children's shop!) More influential in current fashion trends is Prada, without whose bags and such some women would sooner go bare. There is also a branch of Max Mar
Neighborhoods - St. Germain 2
in germain2.htmla; many French women prefer this Italian line to their native designers—Quel scandale!
 La Maison Ivre, on elegant rue Jacob (dense with interesting antique shops and bookstores), sells handmade Provençal pottery. Small yellow and green olive bowls make pretty gifts for friends back home. On the other hand, just down the street at Ladurée, you'll find instant gratification just for you, if you happen to crave excellent hot chocolate and macaroons that set the standard.
But perhaps you crave books? When La Hune was a new discovery for us, my husband had to be forcibly removed from the great collection (mostly French) of art books and magazines on the second floor. But if you awake at 3am needing a reading fix, the Book Vending Machines recently installed outside Maxi-Livre stores, spit out books 24/7. For two euros—even if you don't read French—you can peruse cookbook pictures or memorize verb conjugations until ZZZZZ... It is reputed that the President of France eats cheese from Barthélémy. No surprise, this tiny fresh-smelling shop, with its white-coated advisors has an outstanding and tempting selection. A little further away, ordinary folks used to purchase milk at the tiny dairy shop that has been adorably converted to La Crémerie Caves Miard, a new wine bar offering an assortment of unusual wines by the glass and perfect snacks for accompaniment. 
The belly of St-Germain is the beautifully choreographed daily (except Monday) food market on Rue de Buci. Hawkers compete for your attention; artfully arranged stalls and out-of-this-world-smelling shops compete for your eye and appetite. (Supermarkets are in the jumble, too.) The cafés lining the street are good for plopping down, watching the show, and deciding what to do next. Which brings us to restaurants. At Fish, La Boisonnerie, the English-speaking staff will bring you fresh fish and good wine. La Lozère, part of the regional tourist office next door, serves three-course meals like-mama used to make (if mama came from the Lozère).  La Palette is the authentic Parisian café for a rendez-vous with Mimi or Rudolfo. La Rôtisserie d'en Face, baby bistro of the elegant expensive Jacques Cagna across the way, has a trendy following. Allard feels nostalgic, even if you've never been, and the food is so good. Louis was proclaimed king in the luxurious Relais Louis XIII; this is where you should go to feel special, too. And then there is the current sensation, Le Comptoir de Relais, recently opened by acclaimed chef Yves Camdeborde, and already undergoing a renovation. This casual brasserie serves all day long. It's worth trying to snag a table.
And don't forget those cafés, the soul of the quartier. Have a seat, have a drink; you're at home.
ADDRESSES Le Procope 13, rue de l'Ancienne-Comédie
Café de Flore 172, boulevard St-Germain
Brasserie Lipp 151, boulevard St-Germain
Les Deux Magots 6, place St-Germain-des-Prés
Hommage to Appolinaire in park, left of main portal of St Germain-des-Prés
Benjamin Franklin, John Jay and John Adams plaque 56, rue Jacob
Musée National Eugène Delacroix 6, Place Furstenburg
Musée Maillol-Fondation Dina Vierny 59-61, rue de Grenelle
Cour du Commerce St-Andre 59-61, rue St-André-de-Arts
Compagnie Française de l'Orient…163,167, and 260 blvd St-Germain
Mephisto rue des Saints Pères at rue des Sèvres
Sonia Rykiel 175, boulevard St-Germain
Woman 4, rue de Grenelle
Prada 5, rue de Grenelle
Max Mara 37, rue de Four
La Maison Ivre 38, rue Jacob
Ladurée 21, rue Bonaparte
La Hune 170, boulevard St-Germain
Book Vending Machine 60, rue Saint-André-Des-Arts
Barthélémy Fromager 51, rue de Grenelle
La Crémerie Caves Miard 9, rue des Quatre-Vents
Rue de Buci market rue de Buci at rue de Seine
Fish, La Boisonnerie 69, rue de Seine
La Lozère 4, rue Hautefeuille
La Palette 43, rue de Seine
La Rôtisserie d'en Face 2, rue Christine
Jacques Cagna 14, rue des Grands-Augustins
Allard 41, rue St-André-des-Arts
Relais Louis XIII 8, des Grands-Augustins
Le Comptoir de Relais 9, Carrefour de l'Odéon
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