Paris Luxury Shopping Tips 2023

The Eiffel Tower – a picture I took on my previous trip to Paris in February ’23

Follow these luxury shopping tips for Paris luxury shopping and shopping in Europe to ensure good treatment and a good experience in stores. Lots more tips are in my video on my YouTube channel but here is an excerpt of top tips to follow:

How to get the VAT refund in Paris

I was just in Paris last weekend for a long weekend and I successfully did the VAT refund process at CDG airport! I was unsure on how it worked so I finally did it and I wanted to share the process step by step. The VAT refund is only for non-EU nationals travelling outside of the EU.

Here we go – here is the step by step guide:

1. Get to the airport on time as you need to factor in queuing at Detaxe: I was at Terminal 2 and there were many people trying to get the VAT refund in the morning. I got there 3 hours before my flight took off.
2. Have all of your products in their packaging and shopping bags: This is just in case the customs officer wants to inspect them. They should be unused or look unused.
3. Validate your forms of products purchased in France at the terminal at Detaxe: There are PABLO terminals at Detaxe in Terminal 2E and you self-validate with the barcode on your tax-free form. If it rings up as green, there is nothing more to do and it will be processed onto your card. If it rings up red, you need to queue at customs for them to check it which is literally next to the terminals as there are customs officers booths at Detaxe.
4. For purchases purchased in another Schengen port *BEFORE* leaving the Schengen area: If you shopped in other cities in the Schengen zone that are not France but you are leaving CDG, you need to go into the queue and have the customs officers check your items. They will ask you to see the bags – sometimes they may do a full inspection or not. Then the receipt. They will stamp it and tell you to put it in the envelope that came with the form and you put it in the drop off box at Detaxe (this is right at the exit of Detaxe).
5. You will receive email updates from Global Blue and after a few days, it will tell you if you have been successful getting your refund.

I just received my email saying it will be refunded on my card in 2-5 days. This is all you have to do in order to get the Paris VAT refund.

Follow me on Instagram @hayaglamazonluxe for more.

I wanted to share a bunch of quick tips and phrases that you can use when you go luxury shopping in Paris as a tourist. I will be there in 2023 so I will have an updated guide ready but this post can be used in the meantime if you are planning a trip there.

Tips to follow

1. Say hello in French in luxury shops – Just say hello. It goes a long way to being polite. Basically all SAs in Paris speak English and other languages but again it’s polite.
2. Go browsing in department stores – Service is better in flagship boutiques if you are buying. I find that the Parisian department stores are browsing friendly and they don’t expect you to buy so if you want to browse go to department stores.
3. Use common sense – Be safe and use common sense. Don’t take unnecessary risks that you wouldn’t take at home
4. Get your cards approved for huge purchases before travel – Sometimes banks can block big purchases for fraud prevention. Let them know before you travel.
5. Be clear you are purchasing to get good service – Let them know you are here to buy X. It helps to get better service especially at flagships.