Chanel in Le Marais, Paris

Since I first starting visiting my boyfriend every couple of weeks from London, his next door neighbours door was always a little startling. If you know the Marais, and in particular the giant red doors with the Medusa heads at 47 rue Vieille du Temple, opposite rue Rosiers you’ll know where I am talking about.

So imagine my surprise when last week as we were walking home from dinner at 1am, we both notice all the lights on at ground floor level of this mysterious building, Hotel Amelot de Bisseuil, also called the Hôtel des Ambassadeurs de Hollande. The windows have been covered for years, only a couple of weeks ago we notice a shop is being installed, how strange we thought, this famous Hôtel Particulieur is going to be a retail space? Then we noticed the giveaway. Chanel tissue paper covering the inside windows. Just like that, Chanel opens the next day at 11am, no fan fair, not fuss, just a giant pop-up Chanel next to our front door. How my boyfriend frowned. ‘Uh oh…” he muttered.

So here we are, the ground levels either side of the courtyard are hosting Chanel for six months. Turn left for the iconic handbags, boucle jackets and dresses including the new Cuba collection, and turn right for shoe heaven.

Chanel.com at 47 rue Vieille du Temple, Paris 75004

December 2016