Tour Details
Duration
2.5 hours
Product Type
Tour
Venues
- Left Bank
- Saint-Germain specialty shops
Photos & Highlights
- Gain insider knowledge about French cuisine, traditions, and the best places to taste from a gastronome, chef, or food writer
- Bring home stories of otherworldly artisanal chocolates, charming neighborhood cheese shops, and the history of Parisian food culture
Select a date
Tour Description
It would be unusual to recount a trip to Paris without a single mention of the food–French cuisine is too revered a subject to simply gloss over it. And yet, so many visitors to the city return home with tales of disappointment, of rude waiters, of tourist traps, and half-frozen bowls of French onion soup.
Context food experts are passionate about sharing authentic and undeniably delicious French cuisine with clients. Each tasting on this journey through French cuisine varies by expert, reflecting the personal relationships they have built with local vendors, and their own favorite tastes and trends. You won't visit a prescribed list of stops with a frugally controlled number of tastings, but rather experience curated and generous visits to a local expert’s favorite purveyors-from historic or modern chocolate shops, to bustling neighborhood bakeries, to cheesemongers stacked from floor to ceiling with the finest of each French region.
Let our experts ensure that you return home with only positive memories of French food, and a list of addresses and bites you’ll be eager to share with friends and family.
Let our experts ensure that you return home with only positive memories of French food, and a list of addresses and bites you’ll be eager to share with friends and family.
Choose this tour if…
- You want to avoid tourist traps and be certain you are tasting the real deal, hand-picked and vetted for you by a local expert
- You’d like to learn how to approach the rest of your trip like a local, gathering tips on where to go and what to order
- You want to learn about Paris in a different and deeply enjoyable way, like going on a hunt for delicious snacks with an old friend
- You want to discover hidden food spots you’ll be proud to recommend (or keep as your little secret)
Starting off in the heart of the Left Bank, your route for the day will be in the hands of your expert, influenced by both your tastes and the season. You may head directly for your first sweet taste of the day, experiencing a bite of the same chocolate that helped to make Marie-Antoinette’s morning medicines a bit more palatable. Or perhaps you will start off in search of the unmistakable odor of a freshly baked baguette wafting down a narrow, cobbled street.
Whatever route you take, you can be certain that your expert will treat you both to the finest version of French classics, as well as surprise you with new or different flavors you may not have dared to try without their seal of approval. You will discuss the importance of cheese in French culture, and perhaps witness some locals as they go about their weekly cheese purchases. You might have a bite of a new and trendy macaron flavor or perhaps tuck into a classic and comforting apple tart. But whatever you taste on this unique and curated visit, you will most definitely get a window into local neighborhood life, fill your stomach with high-quality, delicious foods, and finally understand what it is that makes French cuisine just so special.
Whatever route you take, you can be certain that your expert will treat you both to the finest version of French classics, as well as surprise you with new or different flavors you may not have dared to try without their seal of approval. You will discuss the importance of cheese in French culture, and perhaps witness some locals as they go about their weekly cheese purchases. You might have a bite of a new and trendy macaron flavor or perhaps tuck into a classic and comforting apple tart. But whatever you taste on this unique and curated visit, you will most definitely get a window into local neighborhood life, fill your stomach with high-quality, delicious foods, and finally understand what it is that makes French cuisine just so special.
What you’ll taste
Please note all tastings are expert and availability-dependent. Each tour is truly an individual experience, but please let us know in your reservation notes if there is anything in particular you would love to taste or prefer to avoid! Here is a sampling of what previous travelers have tasted on this experience:
- Samples of French artisanal breads
- Freshly baked goods, from fine pastries to rustic apple tarts
- Decadent cheeses of all ages and origins
- Charcuterie + pâtés
- Chocolate, both modern and traditional
- Wine or armagnac
Logistics
Tastings
All tastings are covered in the cost of the tour, except should you wish to indulge in a treat or two to take home with you (we wouldn’t blame you!).
Transportation
This is an all-outdoor walking door. If you’d like a transfer service from your hotel to the tour meeting point, please check the ‘Private Car from Your Hotel in Paris’ option at check-out.
We understand that some of our valued guests may have mobility concerns, and we want to ensure you have a comfortable and enjoyable experience throughout your tour. If there are any accessibility concerns that your tour guide will need to be aware of, please let our team know at the time of booking.
Wheelchair accessibility
Some of the shops we visit are small and many will have a step up to access them. The general route may include small streets with narrow sidewalks. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding accessibility. We have routes that can be adapted to all levels of accessibility.
Service dog accommodations
This is an outdoor walking tour, therefore service dogs are welcome. Please let us know if you are attending the tour with a service animal so we can be sure to choose accommodating shops and restaurants.
Can I participate in your Paris food tours if I have food allergies?
Yes. If you have any specific allergies/intolerances please indicate these in the Notes section when you're booking and your guide will do his or her best to accommodate. Vegetarian, gluten-free, and nut-free diets can certainly be accommodated, although the shops we visit do use wheat flour and nuts in the kitchen for other items. Vegan diets are more difficult to accommodate.
How much food will I taste on this tour?
While exact tastings vary by guide and your tastes and interests, we can guarantee that you will come away from this tour with a full and happy belly. You could likely skip a meal following your tour, but you are in Paris, so why would you?
Will this tour include a sit-down lunch in a bistro?
The duration of the tour will not allow enough time for a sit-down lunch in a bistro, however, we will do tastings along the way and we might also stop in a local bakery for a sit-down tasting or end our tour with a picnic.
What if it’s raining?
Tours operate rain or shine, but in the case of inclement weather, your guide will modify the tour so more time is spent indoors. It never hurts to have an umbrella on hand.
There are 7 in my group but your website won't allow me to include more than 6 participants. Can't you make an exception?
Unfortunately not. The mom & pop shops we visit on our tour are small and prefer we keep our group sizes to 6 maximum for the best experience.
Cancellation Policy
Book with confidence — see Context's flexible cancellation policy here.
Where You'll Start
–
973 Reviews
Reviews can only be left by Context customers after they have completed a tour. For more information about our reviews, please see our FAQ.
Our guide was a chef with good knowledge of how and what to buy. Would liked to have spent a little less time stopping for coffee and more time shopping but had it was wet and cold.
John
Reviewed on:
May 8, 2017
Enjoyed it very much!
Gretchen
Reviewed on:
Apr 24, 2017
<p>Hi Marion,</p>
<p>I hope you've been well.</p>
<p>We just received some feedback from clients who were, unfortunately, not very happy with their Baguette to Bistro tour last month. First, please don't be alarmed by their comments. I know there are always two sides to every story, and you normally get excellent feedback. That said, I'd love to have your thoughts on this tour. Here is the feedback:</p>
<p><em>The pastry shop tasting was very good. The cheese and charcuterie shops themselves were amazing, but the guide chose some very pedestrian meats and cheeses. We were given white ham (same as the ham in the US) and camembert cheese (which you can find in any grocery store in the US). The other meats and cheeses weren't very exotic, as in we knew most of them by name. The chocolatier was excellent and we bought some chocolates. The tour ended with a nice Cote du Rhone in a bar/restaurant. Overall, probably the worst food and wine tour we've done, and we've done many. We contrast this with a food and wine tour in Nice, on the same vacation, which was exemplary.</em></p>
<p>I honestly don't see any issue with offering camembert as part of the cheese selection. The quality of the camembert we find in small stores in Paris is much better than the industrial camembert we find in the US. Same with jambon de Paris. So I don't think you need to eliminate these from your tastings. But, if you don't do this already, this could be a good thing to discuss: French imports to the rest of the world and how they compare to what's available here.</p>
<p>Since the client also mentions that there were no "exotic" tastings on the tour (though it's not clear what exactly she was expecting), could I ask what you normally include in the tastings? I think it is nice to offer something totally unusual and unexpected in addition to more familiar items.</p>
<p>I look forward to hearing from you when you have a moment. And again, don't fret about this feedback!</p>
<p>Best,</p>
<p>Sara</p>
Barbara
Reviewed on:
Apr 22, 2017
