Lemaire on Wukang Road: The World's Largest Lemaire, Styled as a Home

Kora checks entry for youFree

When Lemaire — the quietly cult Paris house of Christophe Lemaire and Sarah-Linh Tran — chose a city for its largest store on earth, it didn't pick Paris. It picked a 1933 Spanish-colonial villa in a lane off Wukang Road, and spent the restoration budget making it feel like someone's home: vintage furniture hunted from local markets, a working kitchen with bespoke ceramics, a library, a Steinway in the hall, fruit trees in the garden. Opened January 2026, it instantly became one of the hardest doors in the neighborhood — at times literally.

The essentials

The house

The villa was designed by Dong Dayou (董大酉), one of the most important Chinese architects of the Republican era — the man behind the Greater Shanghai Civic Center plan. Three storeys and a garden, about 372 m²: the ground floor is a reception hall and living spaces, the second floor women's, the third a loft-like men's floor. A commissioned ambient soundscape, "Wukang – Three Storeys," plays through the rooms.

The details are the point: Enzo Mari wooden objects, Viennese Secession pieces, ceramics by artist Li Qing in the kitchen, shelves of books you can actually pull down. Even if you never wear Lemaire, it's a masterclass in how to inhabit a Shanghai villa.

Getting in: the honest picture

At opening, demand ran so hot that entry worked on daily quotas through a WeChat mini-program — slots released each day, gone in minutes, one-to-two-hour queues, staff accompanying visitors one-on-one, and a no-photography rule indoors. Months later, ordinary weekdays are typically calm walk-ins; weekends and drop days can still bring back the queue-and-quota routine.

Since the system is Chinese-app-based when it's active, the practical move for international visitors: ask Kora before you make the trip. Kora checks whether entry is walk-in or gated that day, and if a slot needs grabbing through the mini-program, the concierge service handles it. Two fallbacks worth knowing: the boutique answers email in English ([email protected]), and DONGLIANG House across town also stocks Lemaire if the lane is mobbed.

Worth knowing

• Go at 11:00 opening on a weekday — the house at its quietest is the whole experience.
• Interior photography is restricted; the garden and lane facade are your shots.
• Lane 40's Building 1 next door is the former residence of Tang Shaoyi, the Republic's first premier — this lane has more history than most museums.
• Maison Longchamp (2 min) and To Summer (5 min) make it a three-house walk.

FAQ

Is entry free?
Yes — it's a store, not a ticketed exhibition. The only barrier is capacity control on busy days.

Do I need the mini-program?
Only when quotas are active. On normal weekdays you walk in. Kora tells you which kind of day it is before you commit to the trip.

Can I take photos inside?
Indoor photography has been restricted since opening. Treat it as a no — the garden is fair game.

Is it worth visiting if I don't shop?
Yes — it's effectively a free, furnished 1933 villa tour with a soundtrack. That's rarer in Shanghai than it sounds.