Top 10 must-have things to buy in France
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What’s more, all these products can be bought tax-free by getting reimbursed the 20% VAT you pay in-store. Saving money on great products is a guilt-free pleasure.
Our top ten:
Breton striped shirts
A timeless French classic, the Breton sailor’s top went from the high seas to the catwalk to become a wardrobe staple that is always evolving without losing its authentic French essence. Made popular by Coco Chanel in the ’20s, this is one piece everyone should own.
Store price: Petit Bateau - Breton top - 21.90€
Zapptax price (tax-free): 18.98€*
Lavender
Southern France is awash with lavender. A postcard-perfect pleasure for the eye, it’s also known for its wonderful fragrance, used in a wide variety of products: essential oil, soap, perfume, butter… Lavender products are a wonderful gift that everyone will enjoy. If you’re the type to roll up your sleeves, individual and group classes are available that will let you make your own artisanal lavender products.
Store price: Folies de Provence - Lavandin VRAC, 1kg - 35€
Zapptax price (tax-free): 30.33€*
The Little Prince
France is known for its rich literary culture. For this top-ten list, we have decided to highlight a work for younger readers which is a staple. The Little Prince is a book you simply must have on your bookshelf and read with your children. Touching, wistful, Saint-Exupéry’s work takes you to a unique and wonderful universe that never ages.
Store price: “Grand Album du Petit Prince” - 25€
Zapptax price (tax-free): 21.67€*
Earthenware
Plates, dishes, cups: French earthenware is an exceptional heritage that is yours to discover. With its traditional blue-on-white designs, this unique form of pottery will add a note of distinction to your dinner table. Often featuring animal and floral patterns, you can use these elegant plates to serve your guests.
Store price: Gien - Oval Platter 6 “Oiseaux de Paradis” Collection - 145€
Zapptax price (tax-free): 125.67€*
Pétanque balls
A traditional southern French activity that mixes conviviality and sharing. This game, whose name means “feet firmly planted”, dates from the early 1900s. No need to be an expert with perfect aim: this is a game for everyone. So why hesitate? You can organise frenzied matches anywhere in the world – just be careful not to go over the weight limits when you put the balls in your luggage 😉.
Store price: Elysée Boutique Officielle - Obut x Élysée set of 3 pétanque balls "Emblem" - 69.90€
Zapptax price (tax-free): 60.58€*
Le Grand Comptoir
This French interior-design brand offers everything you need for your home. Le Grand Comptoir has tableware, bedding, and furniture that will make your home even more unique. We wanted to highlight the Baobab candle line available in all their shops, and extremely popular thanks to the quality ingredients, for scents that will take you away from it all. Each glass is handmade by artisans.
Store price: Le grand comptoir - Baobab “Les exclusives Platinum” candle - 55€
Zapptax price (tax-free): 47.67€*
Beret
Like the Breton shirt, a beret is a must-have wardrobe essential. Always in style, able to go with every outfit, it’s the best choice if you want to cover your head. Wearing a beret or offering one as a gift is also symbolic of transmitting French culture. Wear it with haute couture or dress it down for a casual look.
Store price: Laulhère - Veritable Beret 79€
Zapptax price (tax-free): 68.47€*
Copper cookware
Want to take some French gastronomy in your luggage? Something that won’t go off during the flight and won’t worry the department of agriculture in your home country? We’ve got you covered: unparalleled quality cookware at prices you won’t find anywhere else. Be your own chef with these copper pots and pans.
Store price: Copper waredelights - M’héritage Mauviel stewpan - 174.9€
Zapptax price (tax-free): 151.58€
Souvenirs from the Musée d’Orsay
The second most famous French museum after the Louvre. This former train station on the Seine features exceptional architecture and houses, where you can find 19th and 20th century essentials of painting, sculpture, architecture, and photography. A place steeped in history, you can immerse yourself in the Impressionist and Post-impressionist collections, and why not leave with a souvenir? The museum shop has reproductions and publications of interest to you and your bookshelf!
Store price: Munch exhibition catalogue - 45€
Zapptax price (tax-free): 39€*
Mach 2 Bracelet
We want to close this top ten by mentioning a surprising and original brand. We present Aero-design, a company recycling aeronautic products to make bracelets, watches, jewellery, and art. Want something that used to be part of a jet fighter? It’s possible! Don’t hesitate to get yourself one of these unusual and purely French products, which we are sure no one you know will have.
Store price: Aero-design - Mach 2 French Navy bracelet - 95€
Zapptax price (tax-free): 82,34€*
As a refresher, VAT refunds on purchases made by non-residents of the EU are written into European regulations (a European “directive”) applicable across the European Union. This mechanism is a specific application of the general principle of VAT, which is that this “consumption tax” isn’t applicable to items not consumed within the EU’s fiscal territory. This mechanism also has the advantage of favouring “overseas exports” (meaning exports to countries outside the EU) and contributing to the attractiveness of the EU’s 26 countries for tourism.
To take advantage, you have to meet certain simple conditions: reside officially outside the EU, take the purchased articles with you in your personal luggage to your country of residence within three months of purchase, and have a purchase amount that meets the minimum established by individual member states. Once these conditions have been met, all you have to do is present your tax-free form to customs just before returning home.
ZappTax offers a dematerialized tax refund service via a smartphone app. Benefit from tax-free shopping in just a few clicks, with the most advantageous refund rate on the market. Let yourself be tempted by the pleasures of tax-free shopping.
*Reimbursement applied for a total purchase of €750.