While every one else was in line at the Louvre, I was that weirdo visiting stationery shops and treating them like museums. Ogling paper and ribbon all day long.

Don’t get me wrong, we spent a couple of hours at the Louvre – paid a visit to Madame M. Lisa, but we also spent lots of time exploring the city and finding some awesome “paperies.”

Our approach to visiting Paris was to see as much of the city as possible…I’m pretty sure we earned doctorate degrees in navigating the Paris Metro. By searching out a collection of stationery shops, we ventured all over Paris and found great neighborhoods, markets and restaurants along the way.

I knew that Paris would have a few great paper shops, but I was pleasantly surprised by the number of stationery gems I found tucked away on quiet streets.  If you are a paper lover like me, you’ll want to find these shops while you’re in the city. If you use the Metro and don’t mind a bit of walking, you can visit them all in a day without too much trouble.

Because of the huge number of photos included in this post, I hope you’ll CLICK THROUGH to see all the pretty papers and great info that I have in store!

5th Arrondissement :: Yelp

{What you’ll find} Tout Note is very much a gift shop with many trappings of a stationery store. There are plenty of paper goods throughout and more than enough to keep a paper lover like me occupied for 45 minutes of gazing and admiring. Tout Note offers lots and lots…and lots of adorable gift options too, like pencil pouches, desk accessories, office decor, pens, pencils and way more than I can list or remember. They have a wall of cards, though many are in English which may or may not be your preference.

{What you’ll love} The notebooks. Oh, the glorious, glorious notebooks. So many of them. I want them all. When you walk into Tout Note, the first “room” is full of notebooks of every variety. Some more handmade-looking than others…all of them, fabulous.

{The Area} We stayed at Seven Hotel which was roughly fifteen minutes walking distance from Tout Note. Between the hotel and the shop is Rue Mouffetard, which is a great little area with bakeries, produce, market and cafes. It’s a low key area, perfect for wandering.

Petit Pan :: 39 Rue Francois Miron  4th Arrondissement :: Yelp

{What you’ll find} We happened upon this place and I’m very happy we did. Petit Pan is just a few block away from the busy Rue Rivoli, but somehow it’s tucked onto a relatively quiet street in a great area that you’ll love to explore. There are actually two Petit Pan shops on Rue Francois Miron – one with mostly children’s clothing and another down the street that offers a fun selection of fabrics, ribbons, buttons and embellishments. Petit Pan carries a few paper products, but mostly they seem to specialize in fibers & fabrics…which is just fine with me. Spools of ribbon and fabric tape and bolts of beautiful designer fabrics that you’ll want to take home.

{What you’ll love} Through the window you’ll see a colorfully arranged wooden table. Sitting atop are huge glass jars filled with sparkling little star embellishments. In each jar is a wooden scoop for you to fill your own little bag of sparklies. They are like the best sort of candy jars I’ve ever seen. 

{The Area} Petit Pan is surrounded by great restaurants and shops. Just walk around, you’ll find lots more to love as explore the adjacent streets.

Calligrane :: 6 Rue du Pont Louis-Philippe :: 4th Arrondissement :: Yelp

{What you’ll find} Just five minutes from Petit Pan, is Calligrane…an itty bitty shop filled with paper goods, dripping with artisanal qualities. Along one wall is a chest of drawers holding large sheets of pristine paper. They are kept there, untouched until the customer chooses her selection from another section where samples are kept. Then the shopkeeper will pull it out for you and package it up. The simplicity of each product in Calligrane were completely perfect. The woodgrain envelopes (pictured above) are amazingly realistic and I can promise you’ll never want to send it in the mail.

{What you’ll love} Food and paper. My two loves. Calligrane combined them. Amazing. 

{The Area} Calligrane is just around the corner from Petit Pan. Same rules apply. You’ll love the area.

Papier Plus :: 9 Rue du Pont Louis-Philippe :: 4th Arrondissement :: Yelp

{What you’ll find} Once you’ve walked out of Calligrane, cross the street and head into Papier Plus. There is not much loose paper at Papier Plus. They really specialize in beautifully simple packaging that is available in every size and every color you could want. Photo albums, journals, stationery boxes, portfolios…most of which are covered in a linen fabric giving it perfect texture.

{What you’ll love} You know how much I love to package up stationery. Papier Plus creates handmade boxes that are constructed with extreme care. On the day I visited, the owner was there inspecting a shipment of black fabric stationery boxes and brushing each to make sure it was clean with no signs of lint.

{The Area} Welp – since you are still in the same area as Petit Pan and Calligrane, suffice it to say – you’re in a great part of town. Enjoy.

BHV – Craft Department :: 52 Rue de Rivoli :: 4th Arrondissement :: Yelp

{What you’ll find} BHV is a department store, which totally blows my mind. A department store with a crafting department? No way. I’ve heard many tales of this magical place, and finally I was able to go. Now – if we’re being honest, BHV is a lot like Michael’s here in the U.S. They carry many basic art and crafting supplies, from brands like Fiskars. They also carry a lot of supplies that I do not commonly see here in the states – like supplies for creating personalized wax seals. Who needs a personalized waxed seal, you ask? Umm…this girl.

{What you’ll love} Did I mention that this is in a department store?! Shop for shoes. Shop for handbags. Shop for stamps. All in the same building. If you don’t love that…then maybe we need to rethink our relationship.

{The Area} Rue de Rivoli is busy, busy, busy. Find a cafe, grab a seat outside and do some people watching. We saw some of the best “sights” while hanging out there. Orange-haired elderly woman in a fur coat, wearing heels and riding a bike? Yes, ma’am. You only see this brand of fabulous in Paris. 

l’Art du Papier :: 48 Rue Vavin :: 5th Arrondissement :: Yelp

{What you’ll find} l’Art du Papier is all about raw materials for paper lovers. While they do offer plenty of finished products like albums, boxes and custom invitations – the store is filled with high quality materials for crafty people. Each of their envelopes contains a stamp inside bearing the store’s name – so the recipients will know exactly where it came from! The shop boasts an impressive wall of wrapping paper in amazing textures that I’ve never seen before.

{What you’ll love} The wall of cardstock and paper goes on for quite some time. They have every shade and weight you could think of – and of course there are envelopes in every size to coordinate!

{The Area} l’Art du Papier has several locations, but if you visit the one on Rue Vavin, it is only a short walk from the Maubert-Mutualite metro station, where there is an outdoor market on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The market is a great place to grab lunch – then carry it over to the Jardin du Luxembourg, which is also nearby.

PHEW!

And so ends your paper tour of Paris! I hope you enjoyed. Even if you have no plans of visiting Paris, I hope this post gave you some pretty paper eye candy to keep you inspired through the day!

If you do make it to Paris, I would love to hear about any trips you make to these shops…or better yet…tell me about other shops that you find!

*Thanks to all the kind Parisian shop keepers who allowed me to take photos during my visit! Everyone was extremely kind. I am already eager to come back!