During our last visit to Paris, we took numerous photos, and with the Paris Olympic Games now underway, this summer seems like the perfect time to share them on the blog. We will be uploading a series of posts focusing on three iconic Parisian retail establishments. Our first post will feature La Samaritaine, a reborn “Grand Magasin,” followed by Merci, a unique concept store, and La Grande Épicerie de Paris, a renowned food emporium.
La Samaritaine, a department store, is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris in the heart of the city, situated between the Seine River and Rue de Rivoli.
We spotted a fresh looking building from afar across the river as we were crossing the Seine on Pont Neuf. It turned out to be the reopened La Samaraitaine.
One side of the building that is overlooking the river is the Cheval Blanc Paris – an ultra-luxurious 72-room hotel opened in 2021.
The interior was designed by Peter Marino who combined contemporary luxury with Art Deco elements of the original building. Click here to see the architect’s photos of the hotel.
We entered La Samaritaine via its entrance on Rue de la Monnaie (”cash change” street, funny considering that a hotel room at Cheval Blanc costs more than 2000 euro a night). The art nouveau facade of this Pont-Neuf building was beautifully restored as well as the glass roof and metal structure.
We were visiting in late November and the whole store was already covered in Christmas decorations.
The numbers displayed on the balconies represent a date in a Christmas calendar. Presumably, the store will reveal and promote some new merchandises every day in December.
La Samaritaine was founded in 1870 as a small boutique on nearby Rue du Pont-Neuf. The current building was inaugurated in 1910. In 1925, the store’s sales pass the one-billion-franc mark. The building became famous for its Art Nouveau architecture, designed by Frantz Jourdain, and later its expansion in 1928 by Henri Sauvage that included Art Deco elements.
The original store was known for offering a wide range of goods at affordable prices, targeting the working and middle classes of Paris. In addition to clothing, it also offered drapery, interior decoration, travel goods, flowers and plants, books, musical instruments and more.
The department store closed for safety reasons in 2005. LVMH (Louis Vuiton Möet Henessey) acquired the store, and 16 years later, it reopened after extensive renovations costing apparently 460 million euros.
La Samaritaine brings together major and minor brands from the LVMH group which owns the entire complex including the hotel. It is acting effectively as a flagship store for the luxury goods / lifestyle empire.
We walked past a sales point for Ruinart champagne. It was notable that the color of the drink and its reflection matched the Christmas lights in the store – this is retail design at its best.
The central atrium is the natural focus of the shopping floors which are connected by the grand stair case.
On the top floor, there are exhibition spaces as well as dining options ranging from causal eateries to fine dining.
The most eye-catching feature here is the meticulously-restored peacock frescoes that adorn the periphery of the entire top floor. The frescoes line the base of the metal and glass skylight which brings natural light into the atrium.
The frescos depict peacocks with their tails spread out in full display, surrounded by elaborate floral and foliage patterns. They are quintessential examples of Art Nouveau, with the peacock motif often associated with beauty and elegance.
The Japanese architectural firm Sanaa was commissioned to provide the overall design for the new Samaritaine, including a new building on Rue de Rivoli, while the interiors was redesigned by Canadian Yabu Pushelberg.
The metal work is amazing and fantastic, combining riveted steel beams and floral elements. The aesthetic is consistently applied to the exposed structural elements throughout the building.
The most striking aspect of the renovation is Sanaa’s undulating glass façade of the Sauvage extension on Rue de Rivoli.
Initially, critics argued that the modern design clashed with the historic architectural context of the neighborhood.
We saw photographs online provided by the architects and agree that the gentle waves of the glass reflect the rhythm and scale of the neighboring windows and doors, thereby establishing continuity along the busy commercial street.
We had seen a few works by SANAA recently in Naoshima and Kanazawa, and previously in Lausanne where we lived. Maybe we will later write a post about their works.
La Samaritaine is a delight for anyone shopping for LVMH brand products. To Paris, the store add a unique historical and artistic dimension to the city’s shopping experience, connecting contemporary luxury with a rich architectural heritage.
