Sporting goods stores near Paris

The only one I know of is at the NE corner of the Sorbonne (St Jaques & Ecoles ?). Prices will be high as hell. When I've had to do something similar, I choked the excess baggage fee and took it with me. The Carrefour and similar chains along the road have cheaper stuff sometimes, but it's more the kind of thing kids would use to camp out in the living room.

Lee, I (personally speaking) would just put my tent, etc., in checked luggage (it's free on my airline - b/n USA and Europe). Also, go to 'tsa.gov' and search for "camp stove" for requirements. Peruse these shops:http://paris.angloinfo.com/af/439/paris-and-ile-de-france-sports-equipment-accessories-and-sporting-goods.htmlYou might also try and Google 'Paris, France camping stores', etc.

The store Ed is referring to is Le Vieux Camper, a good place for hiking maps, etc. It's a specialty store in the center of Paris. Two big sporting-good chains found in all parts of France are Decathalon and Go Sports. You can find everything you need in them. Don't forget to apply for the tax refund as you leave the country if you bring the items back.

It's "Au Vieux Campeur" if you want to google it. But they don't have camping stuff at that location. I was just there buying a pair of Tevas. They have stores all over Paris and each one specializes in different things.

The store you want is Decathlon. (Google decathlon.fr) Some of them are huge. Their "house brand" is Quechua, and it offers lots of reasonably-priced camping equipment. But you have to understand that "reasonably-priced" is a relative term - and that being relative to the specialty stores. Unless you're coming from NYC or maybe San Francisco, you're going to find everything is much more expensive here. If you're looking for high quality (ie North Face), you're going to pay handsomely for it.

Thanks for all the replies. In 2004 we packed a tent, fleece sleeping bags, tiny stove and lantern (CampinGaz) and miscellany in a carryon. Then at a hypermarche somewhere outside Paris we bought $15 sleeping bags (the backyard/kid variety), a cheapo foam cooler, and some equally cheapo folding chairs. It worked out OK, we gave away the stuff at our last campsite. Dina, thanks - Decathlon is the one I remembered. These posts suggest that maybe I should repeat our 2004 strategy to save $... BTW, just bought tickets! Leaving May 27!!!!

Yes, Decathlon, and also GoSports are the shopping mall sporting goods stores...You probably have them in the USA, but the flick your wrist/instant assembly tents are quite popular and not expensive....

If you just want cheapie stuff - you might be able to find a few things at Carrefour. A big one - not just a Carrefour market. They tend to have a lot of seasonal goods and right now they are clearancing out cheapie chairs, lanterns, etc., so I know that they had all that during the summer. I doubt they had big tents. The flick-your-wrist kind are what's popular right now. They're very lightweight. They fold up quite differently than we're used to in the US. My family has our eye on a 3-room one at Decathlon that we just can't bring ourselves to fork over the money for because we already own 3 tents!