Avenue Montaigne and Faubourg Saint-Honoré – shopping in Paris

Two streets in Paris's 8th arrondissement carry a large part of the world's luxury fashion. Here is the history, the addresses and the difference between avenue Montaigne in the Golden Triangle and rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré.

Anyone wishing to understand luxury fashion in Paris can start with two streets in the 8th arrondissement. Avenue Montaigne is broad, tree-lined and full of flagship stores. Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré is narrow, almost unassuming, but has fashion houses, galleries, embassies and the President of France as neighbours. Together they tell the story of how Paris became the world's fashion capital – and they are just a quarter of an hour's walk from each other.

Avenue Montaigne: from the Avenue of Widows to the grande dame of fashion

In the early 1700s, the street was called Allée des Veuves, the Widows' Avenue, after the grieving women who gathered here. The current name comes from the Renaissance author Michel de Montaigne. In the 19th century, the street was known for the dance hall Bal Mabille, and at the 1855 World's Fair, the art pavilion was located here. The great year was 1913, when both Théâtre des Champs-Élysées at number 15 and Plaza Athénée at number 25 opened.

Christian Dior opened his fashion house next to Plaza Athénée in 1947, and by the 1980s, avenue Montaigne was regarded as Paris's most important street for haute couture and accessories. LVMH has its head office at number 22. Today, the street is home to Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel, Fendi, Valentino, Saint Laurent, Prada, Chloé and Bulgari, among others. Marlene Dietrich lived at number 12 for many years. All house numbers and the street's history can be found on VERA PI's page about avenue Montaigne.

Golden Triangle: twelve hectares of luxury

Avenue Montaigne is one of three sides of what is known as the Triangle d'or, the Golden Triangle. The other two are avenue George-V and the Champs-Élysées. The area covers around twelve hectares. It gained its character after the revolution of 1848, when wealthy Parisians left Place des Vosges for the new 8th arrondissement. In 1909, the couturier Paul Poiret moved to avenue d'Antin, today avenue Franklin-D.-Roosevelt, drawing other fashion houses with him from Place Vendôme. Within the triangle are also George V, Plaza Athénée, the auction house Artcurial and Crazy Horse.

Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré: fashion houses and embassies

Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré began as a gravel road out of the city west of the Louvre. Faubourg comes from the Latin foris burgum, meaning outside the city, and the street only became part of Paris in 1860. Saint Honoré, incidentally, is the patron saint of bakers. Today, the narrow street is described as one of the most exclusive in the world.

The addresses tell the story. At number 19, the perfumer Jean-François Houbigant opened his shop in 1775. Number 21 is Chanel, and at number 22 stands Lanvin's flagship store, founded by Jeanne Lanvin in 1889. Number 24 is Hermès: the company was founded in 1837 and moved here in 1880, and the building still serves as the group's headquarters. Igor Stravinsky lived at number 25 between 1934 and 1939, and Lancôme has had its institute at number 29 since 1935. Further west lies the British Embassy at number 35, the British Ambassador's residence Hôtel de Charost at number 39 and the American Ambassador's residence at number 41. The whole street can be found on VERA PI's page about rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré.

Rue Saint-Honoré: the ten blocks

To the east, the street continues as rue Saint-Honoré in the 1st arrondissement. The stretch of about ten blocks between rue Cambon and rue des Pyramides is regarded by many as Paris's most reliable measure of style. From here, it is a few minutes to the jewellers on Place Vendôme, which we write about in a separate article.

How to walk: a stroll between the streets

Start at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées at the bottom of avenue Montaigne and walk up towards Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées, past Plaza Athénée and the fashion houses. Cross Champs-Élysées and continue via avenue Matignon to rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré. Turn right, past the Élysée Palace and the embassies, and follow the street eastwards until it becomes rue Saint-Honoré. If you want to stay right in the middle of it all, there's Plaza Athénée, George V and Le Bristol in our guide to Paris's palace hotels. More streets in the area can be found on VERA PI's page on the 8th arrondissement.

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