Beaugrenelle Paris, the newest shopping center in Paris with FREE shuttle boat service from the Eiffel Tower!

Magnetic, one of the three shoppings areas that are a part of Beaugrenelle Paris

My neighborhood isn't trendy like the Marais, exclusive like Saint-Germain-des-Prés or charming like Montmartre. It's a residential area that attracts families who need an extra bedroom rather than hipsters who want to be close to the newest, latest, hottest spot in town. But thanks to the opening of Beaugrenelle Paris, my part of town is on the "must-see" list of Parisians this week.

For the first time since I've lived here, I walked out the front door of our apartment, strolled along the Seine, crossed the Pont de Grenelle and had easy access to stores like Guerlain, Baccarat, Michael Kors, Sandro, H&M, Zara and Desigual. I didn't have to hop on a bus or fight the crowds in the metro. When it started to rain, I didn't have to worry that I had forgotten my umbrella (again!) because I was safely inside the newest shopping center in Paris.

Since I had carefully calculated my trip to coincide with lunchtime, I considered my options: a falafel and Taboulé from Noura, a healthy bulgur and tuna salad from Exki or some spicy Bibimbap from Panasia. If Chipotle had been open, I would have immediately gotten in line for one of their freshly made burritos. Or, maybe I would have gone to the Parisian Pub for fish and chips or a burger. When I had to return to the shopping center last night because I rather stupidly deleted all the photos I had taken for this blog post, I planned to console myself with an lemon tart or Paris-Brest from La Pâtisserie des Rêves. Not surprisingly, all the individual ones were gone by the time I got there and only a family-sized one remained. It looked tantalizingly delicious!

Paris-Brest at La Pâtisserie des Rêves

Judging from the excited chatter, everyone is thrilled about the huge Marks & Spencer that covers four floors. I decided to abort my mission to buy streaky bacon and English muffins because it was almost impossible to navigate the crowded food hall. While I was ogling the wide assortment of chips, I overheard throngs of Parisians marveling about the English biscuits, Advent calendars and smoked salmon. With more than 2,900 British products, a deli, a bakery and a rotisserie, I'll be shopping at Beaugrenelle Paris on a regular basis even if it means schlepping my groceries back home across the windblown Grenelle Bridge.

On November 6, the ten screen Pathé cinema with 1930 style seats and Dolby surround sound is scheduled to open.

To encourage tourists to visit the new shopping center, there is even a FREE shuttle boat service between the Eiffel Tower and Beaugrenelle Paris. Here's the schedule:

Depart Eiffel Tower: 12:00; 12:45; 13:30; 14:15; 15:00; 15:45; 16:50; 17:45; 18:20; 19:05
Depart Beaugrenelle: 12:25; 13:10; 13:55; 14:40; 15:25; 16:30; 17:15; 18:10; 18:45; 19:30
On Saturday nights, the boat will run every 50 minutes.
Depart Eiffel Tower: 19:05; 19:55; 20:45; 21:35
Depart Beaugrenelle: 19:35; 20:25; 21:15; 22:00
It will run on Sunday October 27 and December 1, 8, 15 and 22.

Beaugrenelle Paris
Metro Line 6 - Bir-Hakeim and Line 10 - Charles Michel or Javel
Boutiques: Monday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm. Thursday until 10:00 pm.
Restaurants: Monday to Sunday from 10:00 am to midnight.
Cinema: Monday to Sunday from 10:00 am to midnight.

More photos on Facebook.

Special thanks to Élodie Berta of the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau for giving me the "inside scoop" about the shuttle boat service and the goodies at  La Pâtisserie des Rêves. If you're on Twitter, I highly recommend following @Paris_By_Elodie for the latest news on Paris.

Beaugrenelle Paris

Comments

  1. Oh, we were here just last week and saw all the building work. We stayed near the Mirabeau bridge and Javel was our nearerest RER. There was lots of building work going on, is that what it was? I thought M&S had left Paris for good, so this is very exciting!

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  2. I don't personally like shopping centres (I don't even like department stores!) but I can understand the attraction and shall feature this post next Wednesday. I hope M&S does well. I never understood why they closed down the one near Opera. They definitely sell the best tights!

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  3. Good one MK. I'd take the ferry just to have the ride. It reminds me of the bus service from Philadelphia to Atlantic City which the casinos there sponsored. They would give riders vouchers for $25.00 in quarters to entice you to take the bus and to play the slots. We'd go for the free ride and the free cash and then spend the day on the beach. I know, cheapos, but it was way back then when we were all poorer and looking for adventure. And could endure the three hour ride for what should be an hour and a half.

    jxg

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  4. We went last night, admittedly for the free boat ride : ) I used to work in a mall so they hold no great interest for me. This one doesn't disappoint in that regard, I didn't see any sign of real innovation or beauty. Pretty sterile and same old shops. We did, however, get some split pea soup and carrot cake at the M & S food hall so the trip wasn't a total waste, hee hee. There was a booklet on the boat that had many coupons for "discounts" at the shops. I'm a hard core shopper, "been there done that" and so a coupon for 10 or 20 per cent off after spending 50, 100 or 1000 Euros isn't a real coupon to me at all!!! I wish them every success, but I won't be a regular. Thanks Mary Kay for the info so we could check it out. I may hop on and off of the boat from time to time... : )

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  5. I'm not much one for malls, but I just LOVE the idea of a boat ride - especially a free one. Ikea used to take people to Bklyn by boat for free and I'd go back and forth without getting off, just for a change from the Staten Island Ferry. So once again, thank you, but Mary Kay and Elodie Berta for this tip as Storsh will now know where to visit his mother - on the boat to Beaugrenelle!

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  6. Does the ferry run every day at these times or just weekends? Thx!

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    Replies
    1. The ferry runs every day at those times. With the exception of a couple of Sundays in December, the stores are closed on Sunday and the shuttle boat does not run. It will run on Sunday October 27 and December 1, 8, 15 and 22.

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