The best fashion and gift stores Bucharest

It's the biggest mall in the country. Its 214,000 square meters house no fewer than 300 stores of all kinds, as well as some 30 fast-food outlets and cafés. The mall also boasts a number of leisure facilities: an ice rink, go-kart track, climbing wall, laser game, children's playgrounds, 20-screen cinema and Romania's very first Imax. People come here to stroll or have a coffee, as much as to shop. Teens, young people and families flock here at weekends.

A very pretty little Romanian handicraft shop, as there are still few in Bucharest, where souvenir shops are often overflowing with kitschy trinkets. Here, you will find the products of craftsmen from the villages, who work in the respect of traditions, but also the creations of young designers, who revisit them in a modern way: painted eggs, embroidered blouses and textiles, carved wooden spoons, ceramics, magnets or even bookmarks... Enough to give you a wide choice of souvenirs to bring back from Romania!

An institution in Bucharest. This national brand has several stores in the city, but the Lipscani store is the most remarkable. It occupies a majestic ^19th-century building, with white columns, moldings, Art Nouveau curves and a large central glass roof. You'll find a wide range of books (some in English or French), as well as stationery, souvenirs, maps... The top floor houses a bistro, and the second floor a contemporary art gallery. Even if you don't have anything to buy, it's worth the detour.

An initiative aimed at promoting and recognizing the handicrafts of the Roma, a still marginalized minority. The store aims to promote, develop and market their know-how. Here, everything is handmade: clothes, jewelry, bags, scarves, home decor, basketry, wooden or copper tableware... The collections are designed by major international designers, then made by traditional Roma craftsmen. A beautiful project and authentic souvenirs to take home.

A good choice of books next to the Church Church Kretzulescu, on the Piaţa Revoluţiei. A few tourist works and a large selection of pocket books in Romanian from local and international authors. Some books in French.

Religious articles.

Computer specialist. Several addresses in town.

It's the only French bookshop in the capital, and indeed in Romania. Opened in 2012, it bears the name of a character invented by French-speaking Romanian writer Panait Istrati. You'll find a large section of French literature, as well as a fine selection of Romanian literature translated into French, all kinds of books about Romania, comics, newspapers and magazines, and a well-stocked children's section. It's a bright, modern and colorful place to linger.

Opened in 1976, this huge building occupies an entire side of Piaţa Unirii and was for a long time the city's largest shopping center, before being dethroned by the gigantic modern malls that have sprung up all over the capital. Once covered with giant advertisements, like many buildings in Bucharest, it is now clad in elegant cladding but remains rather old-fashioned inside. It features numerous stores on several levels, including major international ready-to-wear brands. Not to mention the country's very first McDonald's.

Cărturești has a number of outlets, the most famous of which is in Bucharest's old center, but its little sister in the Piața Romană district is just as worth a visit. It has taken up residence in a tastefully restored early ^19th-century bourgeois mansion, revealing here and there the traces of the past, as evidenced by the exposed roof frame on the top floor. Much more than just a bookshop, you'll also find music, games and a selection of gifts featuring local artists and craftsmen.