Secret shopping by the Seine

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10 April 2012

However well you think you know Paris, you are guaranteed to make some new discoveries when you join Stuart Paterson on one of his personalised guided tours of the city.

His Puces to Princes tour, meaning "from flea markets to antiques fit for a prince", has just been launched as part of a package by Hotel Beauchamps, a chic, four-star establishment off Champs Élysées, which features its own collection of hip modern furniture and vintage curiosities.

As a dealer and decorator, Paterson's bias tends towards flea markets but he will customise your itinerary. Charming, and a fluent French speaker, he is also benignly opinionated and likely to insist you see certain places you would never dream of going to otherwise. In my case this was the new Hermès luxury flagship, a former Thirties hotel indoor pool, where a gilt buckle belt will set you back 450.

Paterson pointed me to the best stalls and the most honest dealers at both the Porte de Clignancourt and Vanves flea markets, and will organise shipping if you buy anything bulky. He was also keen for us to see lifestyle store Merci, in the Marais, since it is a temple to good taste and upcycled utility chic spread over three floors. Then after lunch in the Marche des Enfants Rouges to see the Galerie Patrick Séguin, accessible through an unmarked grey door.

Paterson pressed the buzzer and the door clicked ajar to reveal a huge, almost brutally empty gallery space. Formerly a power plant, it now shows early to mid-20th century furniture and is currently selling chairs designed by Jean Prouvé for 10,000-20,000 each.

But I wanted to spend some money, so we continued to Rue de Charonne, in the Bastille, to a group of modest brocante shops selling reasonably priced vintage homeware. Then to L'Eclaireur, one of four concept stores of the same name founded by Martine and Armand Hadida. Behind huge green doors is a former stables transformed into a store-cum-space with an intriguing mix of clothing, candles and lurid art photography.

We also managed to pack in Deyrolle - a taxidermy shop - a glimpse of the late Serge Gainsbourg's graffitied house, a walk down Rue de Rosiers in the Marais, where you can still buy kosher pizza, and a quick visit to the Caillebotte exhibition at the Musée Jacquemart-André.

I was staggered at how many unusual places we visited and grateful for having brought comfortable shoes, as Paterson walks at an energetic pace. And you wouldn't want to miss a bargain by lagging behind.

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