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On the morning of our last full day in Paris, we stumbled upon a remarkable retail establishment while walking the neighborhood around our hotel. We didn’t know what it was at first, but when we walked in, we were greeted by this spectacular structure. This is the Samaritan Department Store, my favorite department store in a city full of beautiful ones.

This glorious staircase was designed by Gustave Eiffel, yes, the man who designed the world-famous Eiffel Tower. The entirely practical structure is elevated into an art form and is the centerpiece of the department store. Owned by the luxury powerhouse LVMH, the company spent 7 years and $871 million to renovate this 150-year-old building fully. Samaritaine reopened in June 2021, and we stumbled into the building about a year later.

The post is centered around the staircase, but here is another part of the store with a more modern design. The interior is clean, sleek, and upscale.

It’s hard for me to say which is more impressive — looking up at the staircase from the ground floor or down from the top. Either way, the 24mm equivalent I had wasn’t sufficiently wide enough to capture the scale of the place. I shot these two pictures from the same place, one in landscape and the other in portrait orientation. Merge the two pictures in your head to imagine what it looks like.

Here are two more views from the top floor, showing the spectacular skylight. Restaurants line the perimeter of this floor under the festive yellow artwork that covers all four sides. While the visit was unplanned, we spent considerable time there window shopping and relishing the environment.

This is certainly not the tilt-wall constructed big box retailer I usually frequent in the United States. Yes, the prices might be good, but does the place nourish your soul?

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