Today the clothes industry still accounts for more than half Troyes' employment, and buying clothes from the factory is one of the town's chief attractions: designer-label clothes can be bought at two-thirds or less of the normal shop price. Espace Belgrand in rue Belgrand, off bd du 14-Juillet, has quite a range (Mon 2–7pm, Tues–Fri 10am–7pm, Sat 9am–7pm); rues Émile-Zola and des Bas Trévois are also worth a wander. Or better still you can go out to the manufacturers on the outskirts, where dozens of factory shops sell clothes, shoes and leather goods designed for everyone, from Nike to Laura Ashley, Boss to Kenzo, and Yves St-Laurent to Jean-Paul Gaultier. The best array is in the four giant sheds of Marques Avenue, 114 bd de Dijon, St-Julien-les-Villas (Mon 2–7pm, Tues–Fri 10am–7pm, Sat 9.30am–7pm, some Sundays; www.marquesavenue.com), a couple of kilometres south of the city on the N71 to Dijon; there's a special "shed" for household goods including luxury glass- and chinaware. At Pont-Ste-Marie, a short way to the northeast of Troyes along the D960 to Nancy, are Marques City, on rue Marc-Verdier (www.marquescity.com), and McArthur Glen, on rue Danton (www.mcarthurglen.fr), both with the same hours as Espace Belgrand. Buses for the outlets on the outskirts of town depart from the bus stops by Marché les Halles (ask at the tourist offices for details).
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