chocolate in Paris
 

I will be traveling to Paris next December and I am trying to find the names of some good chocolate shops. If you know of any, please write. Thanks

Do a message board search and you will find numerous threads about chocolate and pastry shops.

Check the Superthread on Paris. I created an entry for chocolates there:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34519236

My vote goes to La Maison du Chocolat, but you can find out more there.

Have fun.

On the island Ile de St. Louis there is a marvelous must-see chocolate shop -- I don't know the name but is has a Mayan theme and the chocolates are divine. They look like works of art! The shop is easy to find -- it's a block or two from Notre Dame among all the great shops on this lovely street.

Oops, I forgot to give you the name of the street--it's Rue St. Louis en l'lle

My favorite chocolate shop is in St. Germain: Debauve et Gallais at 30, rue des Sts. Peres, 75007.

Try the pastilles!

Is Debauve et Gallais right off blvd St Germaine? We are staying (in October) at a hotel at 54 rue des Saints-Peres?

Yes, check the map here:

http://www.debauve-et-gallais.com/v1...amp;shop=bout0

Yes, Debauve et Gallais is right off of Blvd. St. Germain. Your hotel is very close.

Just to throw in my two cents - on two trips to Paris I have bought some chocolates for my daughter from several different stores and we have now come to think that many times the chocolates look better than they taste. It may be a case of our jaded palettes - in that I think as a rule Americans like sweeter desserts, candies, etc, than Europeans. So I'd suggest you sample some individual pieces before you splurge on a box. Bon voyage! SueC1

On our trip to Paris, I made a point of sampling as many different chocolates as I could! Fortunately, we also did miles of walking everyday. La Maison du Chocolat (right next door to our B&B!)was a definite favorite but perhaps the best (to my mind) was Jean Paul Hevin.

La Maison du Chocolate, 225, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore (8th) (Metro: Ternes), also at 52, rue Francois 1er (8th) Metro: Franklin D. Roosevelt) Closed Sunday, Monday
?Debauve & Gallais, 30, rue de Saint-Peres (7th), (Metro: Saint-Germaine de Pres)Closed Sunday, Monday
?Denise Acabo/A L' Etoile D'Or 30, rue Fontaine (9th), Metro: Blanche
?Jean Paul Hevin , 231 rue St Honore (1st)
?Maiffret 102, avenue des Champs-Elysées (8th) (Métro Georges V) (close to Laduree) Tél : 331 45.62.55.17 Fax : 331 42.89.43.04

I like Debauve & Gallais, the shop is elegant and the packaging nice so it is a good gift.

I do actually prefer both Swiss and Belgian chocolate, however, to French.

Do you like your chocolates to be sweeter, Christina?

When I had Debauve et Gallais once a few years ago, I thought that they were fairly bitter. When I tried them a couple of months ago, I found them a little sweet. Hevin chocolates have a lot of admirers. I also like them but find them slightly on the bitter side. My vote still goes to Maison.

I don't know 111op, I don't think so. I don't really eat a lot of candy and don't like sweet things very much, in general. I never put sugar in coffee, don't like sweet wine, etc, and do like dark chocolate.

It might be my imagination, I just think Swiss chocolate tends to be more "refined", that's the word I think of. I'm not just referring to that particular shop, this is just my overall impression of the general chocolate GNP of the countries. NOne of it is bad, of course, at that level.

Interesting. I guess I don't know enough about Swiss chocolates, but the Belgian chocolates I had (Mary's in Brussels and Del Ray in Antwerp) seemed fairly sweet.

I understand, though, there're indeed differences between Belgian and French chocolates regarding fillings, etc. And I guess the whole thing must have something to do with cocca percentages or something. I remember reading an interview with Robert Linxe (who founded Maison) that you could a lot of his chocolates and not worry about getting fat. Whether you believe that is another story.

If I've the time some day, I should research the topic of chocolates. :-)

In 2001 I sought out Astrid Chocolates on Rue Midi Cherci (sp.) in the 6th. Went looking for this particular place as Astrid is my daughter's name and I thought she's enjoy them. She really disliked the cholcolates but loved the box! I however thought the chocolate wonderful. Not at all what we're used to here in the states as the cocoa content is much, much greater and (of course)regulated by the state. The shop is fantastically lovely; all the different varieties in beautiful stacks on tables. The place really has the feel of an exclusive clothing boutique. When I was there, the sales lady spoke no English but was still very helpful. It was a fun experience.

I like the chocolate from Richart(on St,Germain, near Metro Soleferino entrance),good and beautiful to look at. They sell good tea too.

Richart chocolates are really beautiful. I didn't stop by the store, but I got a box to eat. The one I had had seven different lines of chocolates (each with seven different sub-flavors). The lines included stuff like "spices," "flowers," "fruits," etc. Each little chocolate had an intricate design on its top and the 49 chocolates were laid out in a grid in a box and looked like jewels. This came with instructions regarding how you should go about tasting the chocolates.

Very interesting. Excellent presentation, but I still liked the chocolates from Maison more.

Apparently Richart has a store in NYC which I want to check out.

We like La Maison du Chocolat on 89 Ave. Raymond Poincare just off the Place Victor Hugo. The dark chocolates are definitely not too sweet. It's an elegant store in a nice, upscale neighborhood (our favorite neighborhood in Paris, actually). Their web site is www.lamaisonduchocolat.com

My wife and I are chocoholics. We once checked out every chocolate shop of note in Paris and decided that La Maison du Chocolat had the best. Puyricard came in second. At the time, M. Lynx had only one Maison, was in attendance every day, and was happy to talk with customers. He also sold fantastic Calvados from a small collection on one shelf.

Those days are long gone. Nevertheless, we continue to check MdC against all comers whenever we travel to Paris, and their quality remains the best. Besides the chocolates, don't miss the truffles and the chocolate covered almonds, both of which are so perishable that they should be purchased only for the day of consumption. If you like fruit candies, MdC's fruit jellies are also the best I have ever found.

Puyricard's soft-center bon-bons still hold up as the best anywhere, so their chocolates remain our number two choice. Also, they have stores elsewhere in France.

Both chocolatiers are expensive, by the way, but cost less than the designer chocolate shops that cater to eye appeal and name recognition.

Where's Puyricard? I've never heard of it.

Do you know Mulot? Is that good?

PUYRICARD

27, avenue Rapp
75007 PARIS
Tél : 01 47 05 59 47


Metro: Alma Marceau.


And, if you read French, a list of chocolate and candy stores in Paris:

http://www.lepetitfute.com/city_guid...us_rubrique=04

No spaces in that web address. The ? fooled Fodor's punctuation engine.

I second (third?) Richart. If you have never seen chocolates like these, you will be delighted. And they have very original flavors.

I just ran into a nice place called Cacao et Chocolate in the Marais, 36 rue Vieille du Temple. They feature chocolate from around the world, they have an underlying Pre-Colombian theme, I purchased many different types and gorged myself!

I just bought some from Pierre Marcolini. Quite good, I've to say. A bit on the sweet side. Located on rue de Seine in the Left Bank and this is a branch of a Belgian chocolatier.

Does anyone know of a chocolate shop where you can actually watch them making chocolates? Thanks.

You should try Anjelina's on Rue de Rivoli in the 1st. Try their chocolat chaud africain - it was the best hot chocolate I've ever had in my life. Anjelina's is a tea room and the food is pricey but a lot of people just go there for the desserts. Also, try a dessert called a mont blanc. You can purchase packaged hot chocoate to take home as well as chocolate candies.

Richart recently opened a shop in San Francisco (on Sutter St near Stockton) in case you will be in the area and need a "fix"

Hi,

In the 16th there is:

Le Gamin et le Chocolat. It was reviewed in Travel and Leisure magazine.
Artist, also deos work for luxury hotels and restaurants.

And here, hoping you have a little french, is another web link

http://scally.typepad.com/cest_moi_q...vie_de_ch.html

She recommends Valrhona chocolate, which can be bought at Lafayette Gourmet or G. Detou. Also included is a recipe for Pierre Herme chocolate cake...she ranks him as one of the world's best patissiers, which others on this board seem to concur with....located on Rue Bonaparte.
Mike

Thank you for the info! I must have seen the article in Travel and Leisure but can't find it now. Do you remember which issue it was in?

I have heard so much about Angelina's and for as many times as I have been to Paris, have yet to go there. SO I think November is a great time for hot chocolate! Thank you all again.

Today's Sunday New York Times Travel section has a great article updating Paris chocolate information.

Bumping this thread up for other chocoholics.

Here's a link to the article in today's NY Times travel section re chocolate in Paris. I noticed it in the paper, but didn't read it.

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2004/12/1...France%2FParis

Well, I say it all the time, but I'll say it again. The paves at Michel Chadon in the 7th. The best. Really.

I read the article. Surprised Marcolini isn't listed. It's Belgian, though, I guess.

For what it's worth, Time Out New York recently ran an article comparing the chocolatiers available in NYC (Maison, Richart, Neuhaus, Godiva, Debauve et Gallais, and maybe another one or two). Maison came up tops. I didn't know that Debauve et Gallais has opened up shop in the city, but, apparently it has -- on Madison Avenue.

My vote definitely goes to Marcolini, of all the ones I've tried. The chocolates are very special. I meant to look this up to see if it has five bars, or whatever the relevant ranking is. After that, La Maison du Chocolat, also very special.

Don't know Chardun (sp?).

111op, next time you are in Brussels, stop at The Kitchen cafe in Flamant in the Sablon...they serve PM chocolates with their coffees. Of course, they are right next to the PM store.
Reading about Belgian chocolates is just one more thing that has us VERY homesick for Brussels! We would love to move back there.

Thanks BT. I most definitely will. When I was in Brussels I went to Mary's. The chocolates are ok, but nothing compared to Pierre Marcolini's.

By the way, Pierre Marcolini's store in Paris is located on rue de Seine (which is where I went). Apparently there's also a store in London (and also in Malmo, Sweden, of all places).

Isn't the Marcolini shop in Paris next to Flamant too? (Flamant is a Belgian interior design store).
Delicious chocolate, and they come in very chic boxes too.

I don't know Flamant, but I guess I can take a look the next time.

I guess my chocolates came in a black square box. Very nice indeed. But even more surprising is the shopping bag, which opens up to a perfectly wide bottom, wide enough for your box of chocolates to stay flat. It's the first time that I've seen such a nice touch in a shopping bag. Most bags simply don't have such a wide bottom.

Actually this gets the best shopping bag award along with the shopping bag from Christie's.

The article portrayed Angelina as being a bit faded, and whereas that is true (and part of its charm!), I don't remember the silverware being in such bad shape.

I don't remember the bit about the silverware either, but I've only been to Angelina once.

That bit had me laughing though.

This is the quote on Angelina:
"one happily ignores the worn carpeting, scuffed wainscoting and cutlery so flimsy that only a chemical analysis would prove is really made of metal"