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Paris Baguette To Bistro Food Tour

If you’re curious about Paris’ food scene, we recommend taking a Paris food tour like the one we experienced in the St. Germain des Prés neighborhood.

Maison Guyard - Paris Food Tour
Tour Guide Cassandra Choi poses with Maison Guyard’s Colette during our Paris Baguette to Bistro tour. This tour provided us with tremendous insight into Paris’ food culture. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Our recent trip to Paris was short – just four days. We’ve done many of the typical touristy things (Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Père Lachaise Cemetery, etc.) on previous trips to France, and we wanted to do something different.

As we quickly learned after overloading on the city’s amazing art museums, there are a lot of unusual things to do in Pairs beyond the museums. Options include visiting one of the world’s most historic cemeteries to shopping for antiques at a Parisian market.

After researching these activities and other fun things to do in Paris, we decided to take one of the many food tours in Paris. Although we love to travel, we don’t usually love to travel with groups and culinary tours are not usually our thing.

So, it was with mild trepidation that we booked a Paris Baguette to Bistro tour. Let’s cut to the chase. This Paris food tour was awesome.

Tour guide Cassandra Choi masterfully curated our Paris walking food tour from beginning to end, not only enlightening the small group of participants on Paris’ prodigious food scene but also allowing meaningful dialogue about the role that food plays in our lives.

This was not some dumbed-down tour, but rather a total experience that gave us a taste of Paris while stimulating our minds along with our palettes.

Pro Tip
Come hungry to the Baguette to Bistro tour. This Paris tour is filled with some of the best food in Paris. Keep reading to see what we ate during the tour.

Baguette To Bistro Paris Food Tour

We began the tour with a brisk 25-minute walk from our centrally located apartment to the meeting spot in the charming St. Germain des Prés neighborhood. Arriving a few minutes early, we didn’t wait long before we were warmly greeted by über competent, adorable tour guide Choi.

A native Californian, Chio discovered her passion for pastries after moving to Paris for culinary school. Yes, our Paris tour guide was a pastry chef who lives and works in the city – the perfect person to give us the kind of inside culinary scoop that we appreciate.

Discover the best French desserts and pastries.

Maison Guyard – Married To The Season

Within seconds of us walking into Maison Guyard, shop matron Colette greeted us with tastes of the traiteur’s award-winning foie gras. The creamy bites melted in our mouths and left us wanting more.

That shouldn’t be a surprise since the shop is literally loaded with a variety of house-made foods ready to be taken home and eaten that night – some of the best Paris food like escargot, pâté en croûte, smoked fish terrines, vegetable terrines, quenelles en brochet and boudin blanc.

Pastries at Maison Guyard in Paris France
A feast of prepared foods for sale at Maison Guyard. The Paris ‘Traiteur’ sells prepared items to be served at home with little preparation such as terrines, escargot and quenelles. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

We had fallen in love with the emporter concept while we lived like locals in Lyon, but we didn’t truly understand the traiteur concept until this Paris food tour. Choi explained that a traiteur is a shop that sells takeaway food, designed to be eaten at home with minimal additional preparation work and cooking.

These shops seem similar to the prepared foods section of a supermarket but so much better. It’s hard to imagine all the intricate preparation involved with the large variety of items at a shop like Maison Guyard and their enormous variety of sausages, terrines and salads – it’s clearly a huge, coordinated effort.

Colette at Maison Guyard - Paris Food Tour
Maison Guyard’s Colette sliced Foie Gras terrine during our Travel’s Baguette to Bistro tour. A visit to the Left Bank traiteur is one of many tour highlights. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Maison Guyard takes the traiteur concept to a higher level by only selling fresh foods that are “married to the season.” Like Colette, the owners respect French traditions, local products and their customers.

Maison Guyard is located at 42 Rue de Verneuil, 75007 Paris, France.

Erik Kayser – Fourth Generation Artisanal Baker

There are 91 Eric Kayser stores across the world, but there’s nothing like eating a baguette in Paris where the empire started. Taking it to the next level, there’s also nothing like eating Eric Kayser pastry with a pastry chef.

Eric Kayser Chouquettes - Paris Baguette to Bistro Food Tour
Chouquettes from Eric Kayser bakery are paired with coffee during our Baguette to Bistro tour. Along with insightful knowledge about Paris’ food scene, the tour also provides a unique forum for discussions about what Paris’ food culture means to the world. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Through Choi, we learned the fascinating history of the humble baguette from its early 20th century origins. When the French government changed labor rules to prevent bakers from working straight through the night, the invention of the slender, quick-rising baguette allowed bakers to have bread ready for sale to early morning customers.

We also learned that the literal translation of baguette is wand. (Trivia: Chopsticks are called baguettes in France, too.) This makes perfect sense to us since a baguette is a magical instrument, albeit one that must be eaten within a day of purchase before going stale.

Choi also taught us about the four ingredients in a baguette and provided a great tip for repurposing stale baguettes. We’d tell you the tip, but that would spoil the tour.

Erik Kayser has multiple locations in Paris. We visited the location at 10 Rue de l’Ancienne Comédie, 75006 Paris, France.

Getting Cheesy At Androuet

Did we mention that we love cheese? We feel passionate about the stuff and believe that France makes the best cheese in the world. We have a love affair with France, and cheese is a big part of our passion.

Androuet Cheese - Paris Food Tour
MOF Fromager Androuet features a wide variety of world-class cheeses. During our Baguette to Bistro tour, we sampled a wide variety including Roquefort Blue, Aged Comté and Fresh Chèvre (Goat Cheese) from Provence. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Androuet is a cheese shop with a respected MOF (Meilleur Ouvrier de France) designation. Open since 1909, the shop ages its cheese in basement caves. We peeked into the tiny shop and ogled at the myriad of fromage openly displayed without glass barriers. After breathing in the fabulously pungent scent, we stepped outside to a picnic.

Yes, we tasted several French cheeses along with Paris baguettes and saucisson that Choi had just purchased at Maison Guyard and Eric Kayser. We’re not talking your basic cheddar.

On this tour, we feasted on 32-month aged Comté, truffled Brie from Sauvignon, a Roquefort blue cheese, washed rind cow cheese from Burgundy and chèvre (goat cheese) infused with thyme and lemon from Provence. Each cheese was perfectly ripened by affineur Androuet and downright delicious.

Cheese - Paris Food Tour
A plethora of cheeses awaited us at Androuet and was quickly inhaled by our group. This fromagerie sells a wide variety of cheese from all over France. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Since Daryl worked as a cheesemonger in a previous life, Choi graciously let him explain the cheeses to the group. It was a special moment that only a competent, mature tour guide could orchestrate.

Androuet has multiple locations in Paris. We visited the location at 37 Rue de Verneuil, 75007 Paris, France.

Cheers To Ryst-Dupeyron

We were feeling a bit thirsty after our savory picnic, so a drink was in order. Normally, we might drink some wine to fill our alcohol quota. But on this Paris food tour, we drank Armagnac, a regional French brandy distilled from wine made with four grapes and then aged in oak barrels.

We never tasted Armagnac before this Paris food tour. Thanks to Choi and Ryst-Dupeyron, a century-old negotiant, we have now filled that hole in our culinary repertoire.

Ryst-Dupeyron - Paris Food Tour
Paris wine merchant Ryst-Dupeyron features a wide variety of spirits including the French brandy Armagnac (Shown Above.) | Images: ©2foodtrippers

Tasting a selection of Armagnac, including a 20-25 year blend and a 1979 batch, gave us a quick education in this special type of brandy. Ryst-Dupeyron sells Armagnac bottles dating back to 1868.

As a bonus, they personalize labels for gifts. Plus, the old line wine shop sells all manner of spirits including whiskeys, port wines and a huge selection of dry wines from top-shelf producers.

Rhyst-Dupeyron is located at 79 Rue du Bac, 75007 Paris, France.

Confectionary Heaven At Jacques Genin

For us, entering Jacques Genin was like entering Parisian confectionery heaven. The swanky shop artfully displays an eclectic assortment of chocolates with options like chestnut honey, Schechuan pepper, gingerbread, almond praline and more.

Jacques Genin - Paris Food Tour
Jacques Genin catapulted us into sweets heaven with the shop’s amazing pâtes de fruits (shown) and chocolates. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

This shop doesn’t stop with chocolates. Jacques Genin also offers a full array of caramels, nougats, marshmallows and extraordinary pâtes de fruits (more on these later), which colorfully line the shop’s shelves.

Jacques Genin has multiple locations in Paris. We visited the location at 27 Rue de Varenne, 75007 Paris, France.

Living the Dream At La Pâtisserie Des Reves

We have a thing for Parisian pastries. After eating trendy eclairs from L’Eclair des Génie, we were ready to taste more, and insider Choi guided us to some of the best in Paris.

At tiny La Pâtisserie des Rêves, pastries are whimsically displayed under glass domes. Browsing in the shop was like a dream – a dream filled with classic yet modern Millefeuilles and Financiers along with beautiful new cakes like the pristine white Gran Cru Vanille.

Gran Cru Vanille at La Patisserie des Reves - Paris Food Tour
The pastries at La Patisserie des Reves in Paris’ left bank captivated us enough to return the next afternoon to buy one to share. Pictured: The Gran Cru Vanille. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

These pastries are among the most stylish and pretty that we have seen in all of France. Choi saved us a taste for later. We couldn’t wait!

La Pâtisserie des Rêves has multiple locations in Paris. During the tour, we visited the location at 93 Rue du Bac, 75007 Paris, France.

Last Bites Of The Paris Baguette To Bistro Tour

Choi ushered us to the nearby park and started passing out chocolates and pâtes de fruits from Jacques Genin. We tried some of her favorites – basil dark chocolates, rhubarb pâtes de fruits and mango passion fruit caramels.

The Pâté de Fruits were like none we’ve ever tasted. These were not just sugary jellies but cubic essences of fresh fruit with deep, concentrated flavors. After the confectioneries quickly disappeared, Choi then passed around pieces of a huge Paris Brest from La Pâtisserie des Rêves.

Were the last bites of the creamy, sandwich-like pastry good? Let’s just say that we returned to the left bank patisserie for more the next day.

 Basil Dark Chocolate from Jacques Genin - Paris Food Tour
At the end of our Baguette to Bistro tour, we stopped at a local park to enjoy some of the sweets we had viewed during the tour. Pictured: Basil Dark Chocolate from Jacques Genin. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

As we sat under the trees and enjoyed the sugar high, Choi continued to share her Paris cuisine knowledge with our group of eager food lovers. We lingered, chatting and sharing stories until it was time for us to depart for an afternoon of Paris fun. We left the tour feeling smarter about Paris food culture and overjoyed to meet a new friend in Choi.

The Paris Baguette to Bistro tour impressed this pair of food tour skeptics. We’re eager to discover more food tours in the future. Until then, we will keep eating baguettes, pining for the French ones, as we continue to taste the world.

Eiffel Tower Selfie
Paris never disappoints. Plan ahead and enjoy it all. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Paris Planning Checklist

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Cheap Eats
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Restaurants
About The Authors

About The Authors

Daryl & Mindi Hirsch

Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on the 2foodtrippers website. Since launching the site in 2012, they’ve traveled to over 40 countries in their quest to bring readers their unique taste of the world.

Disclosures

Article Updates
We update our articles regularly. Some updates are major while others are minor link changes and spelling corrections. Let us know if you see anything that needs to be updated in this article.

Sponsorship
We thank Context Tours for hosting us to facilitate this article.

Original Publication Date: June 9, 2016

JJ Johnson

Friday 15th of July 2016

A delicious experience!! Food is such a social event and it's equally good when people.have the opportunity to interact with other food lovers.

Armagnac Ryst Dupeyron

Monday 20th of June 2016

Thank you for your visit in our shop 79 rue du Bac 75007 Paris. It was a pleasure to welcome you and to share with you an Armagnac and Wine Port tasting. Hope to soon you in our shop.

Mona Peters

Saturday 18th of June 2016

This is the most beautiful and well articulated blog post I have ever seen.

Vicky and Buddy

Friday 17th of June 2016

I would love to take this tour! All of the food looks amazing, and I love that you learned so much as well. Food is such an important part of a country's culture!

Mags

Friday 17th of June 2016

This looks just amazing. I'm going to be in Paris for the first time in over 10 years in September and I've been seriously considering a food tour. Seems like a great way to soak up the culture, especially in a culture as serious about food as Paris!

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