A plan of attack was needed. I collected advice, studied maps, made lists and drew up a plan that was supposed to lead me seamlessly from one shop to another. I learnt that most of the good shops fitted into two areas that allowed you to see a respectable portion of Paris, including a few of the tourist sights.
Day 1
Starting point: Arc de Triomphe
It was unfortunate that the first thing I picked up was the cheese because it smelt but no cheese lover could resist the delights of Androuet, tucked just off the Champs Elysées near the Arc de Triomphe (6, Rue Arsene Houssaye). It's one of the best cheese shops in Paris; the cheeses are matured in cellars on the premises, and you can try the cheesy menu in the restaurant. After much rapturous sniffing, I settled on a selection including a beautiful Reblochon and a ripe Pont-l'év que.
Next were the celebrated wine cellars of Taillevent, (199 Rue de Faubourg St Honoré). If you go back to the Arc de Triomphe, and walk up Avenue Hoche, it will take you to the right part of this very long road. Les Caves Taillevent stock thousands of wines from all over France, and sommeliers are on hand to help out. The room is decorated with empty bottles drunk by luminaries - a 1953 Fourcaud-Laussac drunk by Salvador Dali in 1976, a 1934 Grand Vin de Léoville drunk by Richard Nixon in 1986, and a 1934 Chateau Haut-Brion drunk by Charles de Gaulle in 1961. After a tour of the large cellars, I took the sommelier's word for it and chose Taillevent's selection of Bordeaux, which was then thankfully delivered to where I was staying.
On the long walk east down Rue St Honoré, which runs parallel to the Champs Elysées, I passed a lot of top clothes shops and big labels, including Façonnable - stylish casual shirts for FFr600-800 (there are around 10.8 francs to the pound) - and Hermès, home of the classic silk scarf at FFr1,460. With the current strong pound this works out at almost a bargain, around £23 cheaper than the London price of £160. But I pressed on to my slightly less glam destination, Au Nain Bleu, (406 Rue St Honoré), the toy shop to end toy shops. They sell the kind of toys that grown-ups prefer to have littered around their living rooms- smart painted wooden toys and games. My niece was soon sorted out with some beautiful doll's house furniture, and I carried on towards Place de la Madeleine.
Place de la Madeleine is more famous for its food shops than it is for its grand classical temple, La Madeleine. Paris's most lavish delicatessens guard the square, offering goodies for the extravagant gourmet. I was put off the truffles at the Maison de la Truffe by the inflated price of FFr290-496 for a mere 25g, but for a wider range of products - the widest - Fauchon is unmissable. It will sell you anything from raspberry pepper sweets (FFr39) to Roquefort mustard (FFr25) or Earl Grey jelly (FFr35); there are hundreds of products you didn't even know existed, let alone know you wanted.
By this stage, I'd been looking at food all morning without eating a thing, so went next door to the Salon de Thé Fauchon, for a terribly refined late morning morsel. From the selection of patisseries, I chose a Traviata Framboise. It was a raspberry and almond cream delight that tasted like it had fallen from an angel's table. Washed down with tea chosen from an array of special blends and infusions (caramel tea anyone? Or green apple?) it made for a luxurious elevenses.
Feeling the urge for a little peace and greenery, I wandered down to the Place de la Concorde and through the long avenues of the Jardin des Tuileries towards the Louvre before turning off towards the busy high street shopping area of Les Halles. This is a fun place, with crowds of young faces, buskers and street performers and a buzzing atmosphere, but the shops turned out to be disappointingly like shops on any good high street in England. It was clearly a foodie day, because heading east along Rue de la Verrerie, I came across A l'Olivier (23 Rue de Rivoli) near metro St Paul, where they stock an impressive range of olive oils: peanut, corn, chilli, tarragon and truffle. The thoroughbred of oils is the unfiltered extra virgin olive oil from the Vallée du Paillon at FFr95 for 50cl, but I came away with a small selection of fennel, lemon, and herb.
Tired and footsore, I headed towards the elegant lawns and shady benches of the Place des Vosges; I'd seen the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs Elysées, the Madeleine, the Jardin des Tuileries, Les Halles and the Place des Vosges, as well as some of Paris' finest shops. I took the metro back west for a sundowner at Le Totem, the bar restaurant in the Palais de Chaillot that looks across the river at the Eiffel Tower. Not as touristy as you might think, this terrace at the top of the Trocadéro gardens turned out to be the perfect place for a cold beer at the end of a hard day.
Day 2
Starting point: Boulevard St Germain
Having explored the Right Bank, it was time for the Rive Gauche. I took the metro to Solférino, at the eastern end of Boulevard St Germain, so that I could work my way down without doubling back on myself. I soon discovered, though, that as with the Champs Elysées, the best places were actually off the famous road. Apart, that is, from Richart (258 Bvd St Germain, by Solférino metro), which sells astonishingly artistic chocolates.
I had promised myself this wouldn't be a foodie day, but a box of these miniature works of art was a perfect house gift for my host. They have a very distinctive style, in particular the square chocolates hand painted with patterns and delicate pictures (FFr105 for 16). I chose a box with each chocolate decorated differently with little people - too beautiful to eat.
Walking west down Boulevard St Germain, I turned right on to Rue St Peres - a good move for the fashion conscious. Capucine Puerai (62 Rue St Peres) sells a small but elegant range of dresses and suits with simple, clean lines at FFr800-1,800. I escaped from the shop with one little white dress only to be sucked in by its neighbour and sartorial opposite, the decadent and glamorous Shadé. The main stock was in accessories - fantastic glam jewellery from FFr500-1,000, jewelled chokers and gaudy rings, wonderful scarves and mad hats. I settled on a sparkling choker for those dressier nights out.
Ask any chic Parisian where to go for lingerie, and she will say Sabbia Rosa, where you can find silk underwear of every form and colour, from the demure to the outrageous. Fortunately, it is just down the road from Shadé, still on Rue St Peres, so I popped in to admire the great armfuls of softest silk on display. A short camisole goes for FFr1,200, but it's not the same if you buy it yourself.
Just down the road, at the junction with Rue de Grenelle, you can find Prada, YSL and other top labels for those with astronomical budgets. This is the Latin Quarter, and it is a good place to come to buy presents - the Galeries D'Amon on Rue St Sulpice sells beautiful blown glass bottles and vases from FFr450 up, and at Cir, a few doors down, you can buy candles of every shape, size and style, including a gold replica of the Eiffel Tower which was too kitsch to be missed. There is something around every corner, so it's worth taking time to explore.
On my second day, I had managed to explore a fair chunk of the Left Bank, my bank account was empty, my shopping bags full, and my head spinning. It had got to the stage where all judgment had been lost and I had gone credit-card crazy.
But temptation was not far away, in the shape of one of Paris' trendier restaurants, Spoon. Here they have broken down the traditional style of menu into its component parts, and leave it up to you how you want to reassemble it. You choose the basic elements you want - say, cod - and then which of the available ways you want it done - say, roast with citrus jam. Every element of the menu is presented with a range of possibilities. If you are feeling daring, you could start with dessert, or have your hors d'oeuvre with chips.
Everything's on offer, and what you pick is entirely up to you. Just like shopping, only easier on the feet.
Anna's bag
Androuet: large Reblochon (490g) FFr69, a whole Pont-l'év que (400g) FFr46.
Taillevent: a boxed selection of six Bordeaux FFr420, plus FFr60 for local delivery.
Au Nain Bleu: Living-room set for dolls' house, FFr200.
Salon de Thé Fauchon: Patisserie FFr45, tea FFr40.
A l'Olivier: three flavoured olive oils at FFr37 each.
Richart: FFr105 for a box of 16 chocolates.
Capucine Puerai: dress FFr1,200.
Shadé: choker FFr550.
Cir: Eiffel tower candle, FFr55.
Total: FFr2,901 (£268.61)
• A strike that has led to ATM machines in France being empty of money continued this week. Stores have lowered their credit-card minimum purchase and official advice is to take more French francs with you for incidentals.
