Paris Ethical Shopping Guide: Hippy Market

I stumbled upon Hippy Market when getting rather desperately lost on my way to a vintage fair, and I'm glad I did. I knew there must be some sort of shop like this somewhere, so it was great to finally locate one - it's the sort of vintage shop where everything is neatly organised by theme, has a general price scheme, and where skirts and dresses come pre-shortened. A bit like COW vintage in England, I suppose.

I like how they decided to make '100% ethique, 100% récyclé' a selling point, too. Which it is! Along with the trendy merchandising, a clever little room just for menswear and a corner entirely dedicated to leopard print.

Definitely worth a visit, and it's very close to Hotel de Ville, so you can even throw in some touristy bits at the end of your shop for good measure!

There are actually two Hippy Markets in Paris (and in other big French cities)...

Addresses:
21 rue du Temple

75004 le Marais

3 rue de Turbigo

75001 Paris

Sadie xxx

Le Café des 2 Moulins (Amélie's Café!)

I visited Paris with my family a few years ago, and we spent an afternoon looking for 'The Amélie Café' using directions given to us by the man behind the desk at the hotel, which turned out to be completely wrong. Woops! We left without having found it, and everyone was rather disgruntled and achey after rambling around the steep hills of Montmartre for just a little bit too long.

So since moving here, it was an absolute priority to find the café, and indulge in a crème brûlée, à la Amélie Poulin herself (complete with gleeful cracking of the burnt sugar crust, obviously). It was my first ever crème brûlée, and was definitely not what I had expected. Who'd have thought it would be cold?! Anyway... I soon went back for my second, in the company of a friend who came to visit. 

Perfectly Parisian, with its mirrored walls, polished bar and wooden stools, I'd definitely recommend the café if you're visiting Paris. There are only a few hints of it being one of the main locations in the film: a couple of posters, an 'Amélie' menu option (crème brûlée plus a hot drink for around €8), and a little display of film memerobilia in the toilets. In fact, one of my colleagues said she used to hang out there on weekends - so it must be good, if the locals go there!

 

Contrary to what my family thought, the café is actually extremely easy to find. It's about half way up the road just to the right of the Moulin Rouge, right by the Blanche metro stop. There is another bar called Lux Bar just opposite, which is also well worth stopping at - cool art nouveau interiors, a shaped wooden bar and a lively playlist all day!

Address:
15 Rue Lepic, 75018 Paris

Sadie xxx