THE RETURN OF LA SAMARITAINE

THE ICONIC ART DECO AND ART NOUVEAU STRUCTURE WAS RENOVATED OVER SIX YEARS BY 800 SKILLED CRAFTSPEOPLE FOR A REPORTED $1 BILLION AND OPENED IN JUNE. THE DEPARTMENT STORE AND MIXED-USE COMPLEX PROMISES TO LET YOU SAVOUR AN AUTHENTIC FRENCH EXPERIENCE.

- PRIYA KUMARI RANA

FRANCE NEVER GOES OUT OF STYLE. It has taken the world’s largest luxury conglomerate, the Paris-based LVMH group, to cement its place in the post-pandemic world, with a new landmark—the Samaritaine Paris Pont-Neuf by DFS—that promises to be a beacon of French fashion and culture. With its Art Nouveau façade overlooking the river Seine, this shopping mall once bustled with the brouhaha of the Parisian gentry. Now, a century and a half later, it’s all set to occupy centre stage once again as the heart of luxury retail, hospitality, fine dining, art, and relaxation in France’s glamorous capital. The 70,000 sq. m. area that comprises the seven-level Samaritaine (comprising 20,000 sq. m. of retail space and 15,000 sq. m. of offices) is spread over multiple buildings with the luxurious Cheval Blanc hotel (scheduled to open on September 7) occupying the top floors as a series of suites. It threw open its glass doors on June 23, with an inaugural ceremony attended by the likes of French President Emmanuel Macron, the Mayor of Paris, and Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of the LVMH group.