General household items

Have a look first at the major French hypermarkets, where you'll find an enormous choice of goods at often unbeatable prices. There are many names but you definitely won't find a range or quality better than either Carrefour or its arch competitor Auchan, which have mega-stores in just about every major urban centre.

They have both made a big push these last few years on widening their client catch up-market, and this shows in the standards of goods on offer: TV/audio equipment, computers, every kind of household appliance from tumble dryers and refridgerators to expresso machines and juice-mixers, landline and mobile telephones, DIY goods, tableware, garden furniture and plants and more.

In fact, with the exception of indoor furniture, of which both have a limited selection of - and home fittings like carpets and curtains - there is everything you could possibly be looking for. Both have a policy of refunding unwanted recent purchases.

Household appliances, TV/audio goods, and landline and mobile telephones are the speciality of Darty which, unlike the hypermarkets, has stores inside towns as well as out in the drive-to shopping malls. Darty's prices are often close to, or on a par, with the hypermarkets - but the store's main attraction is a reputed nation-wide after-sales service which is fast and efficient wherever you are.

Floors and furniture

But all this is just putting off the fact that you've got carpets to lay. For these or any other floor-coverings, the specialist stores offering competitive prices across a wide range, shabby to plush, are St. MACLOU and MONDIAL MOQUETTE. These are often wharehouse-sized depots with drive-away stock, generally found outside town but close-to.

When it comes to furniture, there's no escaping the ubiquitous IKEA. The Swedish store is simply the best in France for its huge range of reasonably-priced goods so beware the weekend when all of France seems to be shopping in the places. If you're intent on escaping the IKEA "snap" effect everytime you visit someone else, you could try CONFORAMA. You won't find anything like the same choice in easy-build kits, but you will find everything you need in basic furniture.

DIY

BRICORAMA is a specialist in DIY goods. These are giant stores used by professionals as well as Sunday amateurs. There is everything here to build and decorate a house or structure a garden with, although price-wise you might do better for certain goods in a hypermarket. For DIY equipment rentals, cherry-picker to power-drill, look no further than KlLOUTOU, giant stores close to many urban centres.

Leisure hardware

For everything in quality home leisure goods, you'll find the widest choice under one roof at the FNAC, which has mega-stores inside the major cities. The FNAC has a special character of its own, with coffee bars and wide corridors, and staff who are knowledgable about the goods in their particular department. The store's devise is to offer quality goods with quality service - so the prices are not the most competitive although they are generally reasonable.

The range of computers (hard and soft ware) and related equipment is unrivalled by any other large store. Along with TV/audio goods, video games (hard and software) and cameras and related equipment, the FNAC also offers an unrivalled and exceptional range of books and movies.

More information

CARREFOUR: www.carrefour.com
AUCHAN : www.auchan.fr
DARTY : www.darty.com
ST. MACLOU : www.saint-maclou.com
MONDIAL MOQUETTE : www.mondialmoquette.fr
IKEA : www.ikea.fr
CONFORAMA : www.conforama.fr
BRICORAMA : www.bricorama.fr
KILOUTOU : www.kiloutou.fr
FNAC : www.fnac.com

A useful tip: you can also search for the particular local details near your home for any of the stores mentioned by using the Minitel. This is the France Telecom home terminal which combines information from both the a-z listings and the phone book. If you don't already have one, you can rent one out on the spot from your nearest France Telecom boutique.