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Napoleon’s triumphal arch, celebrating battle victories, stands proudly at the top of the Champs-Elysées and, along with the Eiffel Tower, is one of the city’s most enduring images.

The terrace in front of this monumental white-domed basilica in Montmartre affords one of the finest free views over Paris.

Superbly situated in the Richelieu wing of the Louvre (see Musée du Louvre), the café offers simple but expertly prepared brasserie fare (steaks, salads, salmon tartare, sandwiches) as well as delicious cakes and pastries. The dining room has plush decor and velvet armchairs, but the best spot is under the arcade overlooking the glass pyramid and the cour Napoléon.

Alain Ducasse’s affordable offshoot. Choose your main dish and a sauce to go with it.

Paris’s oldest brasserie (1864) offers staple dishes such as oysters and peppered steak. Several fixed-price menus.

Wonderful patisserie, with an especially good line in small fruit tarts, such as lemon and strawberry. Fat-free cheesecake for the health-conscious, too.

For 150 years this shop has specialized in all kinds of oil, from the finest olive oil to massage oil.

Exceptional baker producing traditional breads and pastries, and more unusual flavours such as a raisin rye bread.

Vintage wines are the speciality at this store. The owner will help you find a wine to match the year of any special occasion.

Cheese fans should not miss this shop, selling cheese from all over France, with a chance to taste before you buy.

A stylish shop that sells French-designed jewellery along with all manner of other tastefully made items including pens, photograph frames and a range of stationery.

You won’t be able to resist the bread baking in the wood-burning oven from this old-fashioned bakery.

The signature bags, shoes and leather goods are displayed on the ground floor, while the fashions are upstairs.

Rue de Buci and the streets around are home to some smart food shops, not least this chocolatier specializing in unusual flavours such as chilli pepper.

The place to stock up for a picnic or the day’s treats: superb croissants for the morning, pâtés and terrines and irresistible desserts for lunch.

The American designer’s simple, classic women’s wear and accessories are sold on the ground floor. Upstairs is the home collection in restful, neutral colours.

Produce from Normandy is sold at this charcuterie – pâtés, ham, cheese and cider too.

Christian Constant is arguably the best chocolatier in Paris and spends much of his time globetrotting in search of ever-more exotic flavours.

The grey and white decor, with silk bows on chairs, makes a chic backdrop for fashions from lingerie to evening wear.

This shop dates from 1800 when chocolate was sold for medicinal purposes. The window displays would tempt anyone.

Founded in 1854, this world food emporium features a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables, exotic spices and oils and a host of other gourmet delights.

Superstar Japanese designer sells his limited edition clothing in a chic shop that blends in well with the buildings on the square.

One of Paris’s two top department stores, Printemps opened in 1864. Its goods range from designer clothing and accessories, to middle-of-the-range labels and funky fashions, home decor and furniture. The sixth-floor tea room is crowned with a lovely Art Nouveau stained-glass cupola.

If you don’t want to make up your own picnic then try a ready-made sandwich from this bakery. Mouth-watering combinations include goat’s cheese with pear.

This splendid wine shop is based in a late 19th-century dairy, worth seeing in its own right. The owners will happily advise you on good bargains and vintage wines.

Paris’s first department store was founded on the Left Bank in 1852, its structure partially designed by Gustave Eiffel (see Eiffel Tower). Today it’s even more hip than its competitors, with an in-store boutique featuring avant-garde fashions and music. It also has designer clothes, its own line of menswear and the enormous La Grande Epicerie food hall.

Wild about rubber? That’s the magic material for the whimsical jewellery and accessories sold here, along with baby bibs and novelty gifts.

The artist Picasso reputedly did his shopping at this daily morning market in the heart of St-Germain. The huge fruit and vegetable stalls are of high quality but of greater interest are the food shops opening on to the street, which sell specialist and regional fare. You can also buy prepared Italian dishes and delicious pastries.

This shop doesn’t just sell chocolate, you can watch it being made. More than 40 flavours and novelty chocolates in all shapes.

Home to the Paris Museum of Modern Art, the design of the Pompidou Centre makes it a distinctive exhibition in itself. The Centre also has extensive research facilities.

The world’s largest museum unsurprisingly also contains one of the world’s most important collections of art and antiquities. To complete the superlatives, the building was once France’s largest royal palace.