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thumbnails are in alphabetical order by street; click to enlarge.

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Department stores in Paris: one of the very first was the Bazar de l'Industrie in 1829 at 27 bd Poissonnière; after this they proliferated all over the city until the eve of the first world war.

They are almost all located on the Right Bank on two main thoroughfares:along the Seine (BHV, , Belle Jardinière, Samaritaine, Grands Magasins du Louvre) and the Grands Boulevards; but Dufayel whose gigantic building is now a bank was in the 18^th district, the Egalitaire and Belleviloise in the 10^th and 20^th; there have been only three on the Left Bank: the Bon Marché and facing each other in rue de Rennes (today the FNAC).

Even if they no longer serve the same purpose several of these “cathedrals of commerce” are still fully operational.