My sister Adrienne recently paid us a visit in Bordeaux, and since gifting is her love language, we did a lot of souvenir shopping for her friends and family back home in the U.S. We visited boutiques, department stores, brocantes, and specialty shops all over France, but I especially loved sharing with her my favorite source for souvenirs from France: The French grocery store.
Even the most basic French grocery stores are stocked with authentic, affordable French souvenirs that are better than any Chinese-made tchotchkes you’ll find at a souvenir shop. Skip the generic Paris sweatshirts and Eiffel Tower figurines, and instead bring back gifts that your loved ones will actually use and enjoy. Here are my suggestions for the best souvenirs to buy at French grocery stores.
- Spices — It’s always fun to browse the spice section at a French grocery store. While you’ll see a lot of the same spices as in the U.S., here you can find some unique blends that are perfect for gifting gourmands, like the classic herbes de Provence and Persaillotte, a super-flavorful blend of shallots, garlic, and persil (parsley) that I use to make salad dressing.
- Salt — You can find a high-quality, beautifully packaged fleur de sel or sea salt in just about any grocery store, and it’s sure to be appreciated by anyone who loves cooking. My favorite is the fleur de sel from Camargue, which comes in a very pretty and portable cardboard container with a cork lid. If you have the luggage space, you can get an entire bag of good salt for just a few euros.
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Creme de Marron — This particular brand of chesnut cream has been in production since 1885, and it has a charming, vintage-looking label that I love. It comes in a tube, and it lasts for quite awhile in your fridge. The closest thing I can think to compare this to is Nutella, although the flavor and texture is different. I love to mix it into plain yogurt, or spread it on a hunk of baguette or croissant.
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Mustard — The French love their mustard — it’s one of the only semi-spicy things they eat! Avoid the brands that you can easily find in the U.S. and look for interesting labels to bring home to your favorite mustard-lover. Amora and Maille are both popular brands in France. I love chef and cookbook author David Lebovitz’s take on French mustard here.
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Mayonnaise — Forget about Duke’s and Hellmann’s. Please don’t even mention Miracle Whip. French mayonnaise is in a completely different stratosphere than what you’ll find in the U.S., and it’s a great gift for mayonnaise lovers. Many French mayonnaises are made with mustard, so avoid the word “Dijon” on the label if you’re not into that. Again, the Amora brand is a firm French favorite, but there are tons of different types that you can try.
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Soaps — Even a small market should have a few soaps on offer, including bar soaps and hand soaps. I usually find that the packaging is prettier here in France even with the cheap grocery store brands. I especially like the soaps from Le Petit Marseillais in lovely scents like orange blossom and vanille.
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Kitchen towels — Most grocery stores have at least a small cleaning section, which can be a treasure trove for unique souvenirs. One favorite find is the kitchen towels, which often come in an iconic French stripe. These are usually quite cheap and can be used as a bonus gift to wrap up glass food containers.
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Jam — French confiture puts American jam to shame. And yes, you can get the Bonne Maman brand in the U.S., but you’ll find a much greater variety of flavors here in France. So look for something unique, like Peches & Menthe (peaches and mint) or Abricots de Roussillon. You can also find adorable sampler packs to let your lucky gift recipients try a variety of flavors. Bonus: I love to save these pretty jars for storing food and mixing up vinaigrettes.
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Cookies and tarts — Again, Bonne Maman is a beloved French brand that does sweet stuff really well. Look for their madeleines, tartlettes, and biscuits. But also keep an eye out for other classic French cookie brands like La Mere Poulard, Reflets de France, and LU. You can’t go wrong!
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Candy — I enjoy sampling American candy brands in France because they often taste quite different (read: better and less fake), given different regulations regarding ingredients in the EU. But when it comes to souvenirs, look for French candy brands that are hard to find in the States like Carambar, Lutti, and Krema (I’m obsessed with Regal’ad — like Starburst but better). The German brand Haribo is also very popular here, and you can find a much greater variety of their sour gummy candies than in the U.S.
- Booze — Unless you’re gifting to a real wine aficionado, I don’t really think wine is worth the luggage space — French wine is easy enough to find in the U.S. But other types of French booze can be a bit harder to come by, and many of them are sold in the grocery stores, even small ones. Look for French favorites like Créme de Cassis (essential for making an authentic Kir Royale), Ricard, Picon, Pastis, Suze, and Lillet Rosé.