quack1

Hi all,

My family will be visiting Paris July 2-4 and would love to have a chocolate tour. I've read really good things about the tour offered by Paris Walks. However, it seems like that tour is not available that day. To book a private tour would cost 180 euro, which is far too expensive to justify.

I'm wondering if anyone else is visiting Paris during this time and would like to do the chocolate tour? If I can get enough people, then it would definitely be worth it. They allow up to groups of 10.

Also other suggestions? I'm imagining just going and stopping at the shops by ourselves and buying a lot of chocolate for the money saved from the tour. My only hesitance is that my mother is frugal and it's easier to book a tour and not tell her the price and she can happily eat all the "free" samples. It would be much harder to convince her to buy chocolate on the spot....

Thanks in advanced!

Christina

I've seen a few other companies with chocolate tours but they charge about 80-90 euro per person for several hours, so that wouldn't be any different than the 180 euro for your group, it appears.

I don't know what other choices you can have, except you can get a book that specializes in that to plan your walk (eg, Patricia Wells' A Food Lovers Guide to Paris has a section on chocolate shops).

gaelle

I went on the chocolate tour in March and it was really nice because not only did we sample the chocolates, but we stopped along the way and were told the history of the area as well as interesting tidbits about how chocolate figured in France's history. However,in 2 hours you are given enough chocolate to taste for a week and if you ever go, bring a baggie to save your chocolate for the rest of the week. it's just too much.
Since you can't go that day, I think you can just visit a few places because each chocolaterie (chocolate store) has its own unique display as well as its chocolate. There is no reason why you can't buy just a couple of pieces of chocoalte in a store and after doing this a few times, you will be content to just look.
When you are walking around Paris you will just chance upon chocolate and pastry shops. But if you want to look at some all in the same area and map out your own little tour, here are a couple of ideas:
In the 7th on the Rue St. Dominique start at the intersection of st. dominique and latour maubourg and just walk down the street(west towards the eiffel tower) you will pass several pastry shops and a couple of chocolateries. when you reach rue cler, turn left (south) and you'll come upon a market . there's a pastry and chocolate shop there. best to go in morning to enjoy market.
Idea # 2: If you are around the Louvre, there are several places all together. Gosselin (pastry & chocolate 125 rue st. honore) Jean Paul Hevin (231 rue st. honore) Cote de France (25 avenue de l'Opera). all 3 close together. You will also be close then to Angelina's which is worth a peek for its decor and the lunch is good there. 226 rue de rivoli
You can also go to the metro stop Madeleine and walk around that church and you'll find all the big famous food stores including Fauchon & Hediard. Walk down Rue royale towards Place de la Concorde and you'll pass la Duree which has great pastries. Lunch is very expensive so i'd stick to the pastries. The most beautiful La Duree is on the Champs Elysees. Get off at Franklin Roosevelt and walk towards the Arc de Triomphe. It's on the left side of the street. Fouquet's is just beyond it on the same side.
I probably gave you too much info.....but as you can tell, I love all these places!

My favorite grocery store is La Grande Epicerie next to the dept. store Bon Marché. That has the best selection of food items and lots to buy for tourists as well as a nice place to eat lunch. Metro: Sevres Babylone

Lutetia

You can find some terrific free Paris chocolate walk itineraries on this site:

http://www.chocoparis.com/chocolate-walks/

quack1

Thanks everyone for the quick and detailed response!

I suppose the chances of finding another group at the same time doing a chocolate tour is too hard...

I guess it then makes more sense to do it ourselves... now how do we even go about selecting which chocolates to buy? Do they have small sampler packages to try out in each shop? Or should we just pick what looks good

Christina

I suppose you would pick out what looks good or what you like. I don't buy things I don't like, chocolates aren't that complicated, they are just chocolate and some kind of filling. I don't like a lot of fillings in chocolates, so only buy what I want.

If you bought a sampler package in every shop, you'd end up with a lot of stuff the same, I would think. I don't know, I don't buy high end chocolates that much, the only shop I go in is Debauve and Gallais in St Germain and I choose what I want and they put it in a box. They have a small assortment tin of 10 chocolates for around 12-15 euro or so, I think, maybe more. I prefer to make up my own sampler box, you don't have to buy a certain amount of any one kind, you can just buy one piece each.

denisea

Check David Liebowitz' blog for chocolate shops; he does a tour but if you do it on your own, his blog or book (The Sweet Life in Paris) would be helpful.

quack1

Thanks all! I guess we'll just buy one or two pre-made sampler boxes and then go from there