Ladurée Tea Salon, Paris France

Without at least one stop at the quintessential Parisian Tea Salon: Ladurée, no trip to Paris is quite complete. What started as a humble bakery by Louis Ernest Ladurée in 1862, has grown into one of the most elegant and luxurious tea salons anywhere. When Paris was getting a structural facelift in 1871 by Baron Haussman, Ladurée switched focus from straight-forward bakery to higher-end pastry shop. Monsieur Ladurée even hired the famous French painter and poster artist Jules Cheret to decorate the original shop on rue Royale. His efforts paid off, as tea salons were soon all the rage with Parisian society heading out to see and be seen in public spaces.

In the early 1900’s, Monsieur Ladurée’s wife, Jeanne Souchard had an idea- combine the café concept with a pastry shop where women could also gather freely, with or without gentlemen companions. Today the tea salon is owned by David Holder and under his guidance, the Ladurée I visited on the famed Champs-Elysées was opened in 1997. Today, Ladurée is a tea salon, pastry shop, restaurant, chocolate shop and ice cream parlour all under one pastel-hued coloured roof.

So what’s all the fuss about, you may be wondering? Only the best macaroons your taste buds will ever be so lucky to sample. And no, I don’t mean those gooey coconut clusters we know and love so well in North America. I’m referring to delicate, round little cookies (they call them “cakes”), ever so lightly crisp on the outside and perfectly chewy on the inside with the added bonus of a cream-filled centre.

You’ve got a dizzying array of flavours to choose from including: pistachio, blackcurrant-violet, chocolate, coffee, raspberry, rose petal, hazelnut praline, bitter chocolate and even red fruits. I loved the coffee and the bitter chocolate, but one bite of the salted butter caramel and I was in another stratosphere. This is edible art amigos- no kidding!

A Religieuse Experience:

Mario and I also had to order one of the most gorgeous looking pastries they made called a “Religieuse” (see photo at the top of page). Two little cupola-looking domes of choux pastry, covered with a delicate icing are filled with various delights. I chose the strawberry version, but you can get tomato (no kidding), blackcurrant-violet, rose, black truffle, orange blossom and caramel to name a few. Think of a large cream puff with more flair. Light as air pastry and a tremendous crème studded with strawberries in the middle- very seductive indeed.

We finished up our coffees, wiped the crumbs from our mouths and looked around the fine room- complete with sage coloured walls, lots of grey/white marble, gold leaf and high end finishes everywhere. We noticed two very well dressed men sitting beside us, talking about work (one a lawyer, the other a banker). I recall commenting that only in Paris do you get two local businessmen in the middle of their work day (it was about 3pm), sitting down for a leisurely coffee and macaroons (they even bought some to take with them)! Now that’s part of living well no matter how you slice it!

For other locations (including the Ladurée at Harrod’s), and for a complete product listing including candles and room spray (I bought one violet-scented beauty thinking it was an Eau de Toilette for my mum- the most expensive ambience spray I’ll ever own!) visit the Ladurée website and be enchanted.

If you're looking for another cross-cultural shopping experience, read Gourmet Shopping Like the Celebs for more. And if it's Luxury Travel experiences you're after, our gal Jen Miner offers up tons of gems for the discerning globe trotter at: Luxury & Resort Travel.

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