BHV – The Last Real Department Store

Every homeowner in Paris eventually learns to love the Bazar de l’Hotel de Ville (BHV pronounced Bay-Ash-Vay) It is a complete and comprehensive department store where you can buy everything from appliances, to underwear, to soap, to glassware, to luggage, to you name it. Want to get a TV, new socks, and dishwasher liquid – head for BHV.

But the real secret is in the basement which is every Parisian handyman’s dream – or nightmare depending on whether you enjoy DIY.

It is almost impossible to describe the range of tools, materials, and solutions for every imaginable problem or remodel or repair. Want to buy a table saw, change the wheels on your wagon and the legs on your table, repair shoes or fix a hole in a fur coat, or bottle your favourite wine, or change a tap – head for the basement at BHV. There is a whole section of “micro-outillage” (small tools) for hobbyists, a place to order custom steelwork or custom doormats, fire irons and bellows, and I always find some kind of tool or product that I have never seen in the USA – in this case, little push and clip connectors for electrical wiring to avoid the use of dominoes or those horrible twist-on wire nuts.

Next time I remodel in the US, I’m going to run 220V to every room just so I can add Euro standard outlets to power all the gadgets and tools you can find here.