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Itinerary for Tea…Chocolate… Paris!
A week of sipping, savoring and tasting
all over the French Capital
2009 Tour Dates March 22 to 25
Day One: Sunday March 22
Introduction to Tea and Chocolate in St. Germain des Pres
Tour commences at 11:00 with a welcome and orientation by your leader, Sally Peabody, President of Your Great Days in Paris. Today, we will explore notable Tea and Chocolate treasures in and around Saint Germain des Prés.
We’ll start our tour with a walk through the Luxembourg Gardens and then down the Rue de Seine. We’ll stop at one of Paris’ premier patisseries, and also at the shop of a master chocolatier. Next, we will explore the rue de Seine/rue de Buci market streets, stopping in small gourmet shops featuring artisanal oils, regional French wines, and more. We will stop in the chic new boutique and salon of Kusmi Teas and point out a serene salon for Japanese green teas, a hip salon featuring fine Chinese teas and also a companionable salon serving tartes, salads and nice teas. Light lunch in a café or tearoom on or near the rue de Seine.
We’ll cap off the afternoon with tea and patisserie at the St. Germain salon of the venerable Mariage Fréres tea firm. Mariage Fréres is credited with the creation of the French Art of Tea. You will see why!
Day two: Monday, March 23
Tea, Chocolates and All Things Gourmet Around Madeleine
Meet at 10:30. Today we will taste premium first flush Japanese green teas with Carol Neigar of Chajin, and visit the world famed gourmet and tea shops that cluster on and around the Place de la Madeleine, including Laduree, Fauchon, Hediard, Betjeman and Barton. We’ll have lunch in the tea-room at prize winning artisanal chocolatier Jean Paul Hevin and then enjoy a stroll through the Tuileries gardens, along the rue St. Honore and up the Champs Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe.
Day three: Tuesday, March 24
Palais Royal/rue Montorgueil/Galleries Vivienne, ‘So-Pi’
We’ll start this central-Paris day with a morning stroll up the rue Montorgueil, one of Paris’ best market streets. Among the many top food shops there are, of course, terrific stops for chocolate and patisserie.
We’ll walk or metro over the to beautiful Galleries Vivienne, a classic and lovely 1890’s passage couvert, to enjoy lunch at Á Priori Thé, a beloved tea salon. Galleries Vivienne is also home to excellent small fashion and wine shops including Wolf et Descourthis selling one of a kind scarves and shawls of your dreams. Next, we’ll walk through the beautiful Palais Royal, enjoying the gardens and exploring the shops under the historic arcades. We will stop in a venerable herboriste shop where, for over 120 years, fine herbal teas, herbs and ‘remedies’ have been sold.
Then, we will hop on the 63 bus to the heart of So-Pi (South of Pigalle in the 9th) to visit Natier, a sweet little chocolate shop selling French chocolates and Palais de Thé teas for a talk and tasting with the charming owner, Dominique Letterrier.
Day four: Wednesday, March 25
Tea and Chocolate in the 6th and 7th, Fine Oolongs in the Latin Quarter
Meet at 10:30. The 6th arrondissement is full of fine tea and chocolate temptations. First, we will stop at a patisserie famous for green tea eclairs and mille-feuilles flavored with tea. Then, we will visit the shops of chocolatier Christian Constant and the boutique of a second master-patissier/chocolatier with a gorgeous selection of temptations. We’ll walk via the rue du Cherche Midi with a stop at Lionel Poilane’s famed bakery, and at La Maison du Chocolat.
Afternoon, shopping along the quintessential Paris shopping street, the rue de Bac, including a stop at M. Chapon’s chocolate boutique. The rue de Bac is lined with sweet small shops for tablewares, fashion, food, design, items for daily (Parisian) life and more. We’ll also visit the astonishing block-square Grand Épicerie of the Bon Marché department store that has an excellent tea selection.
Later in the afternoon, we will celebrate our time together with stop for fine Taiwanese and Chinese teas at La Maison de Trois Thé in the Latin Quarter. La Maison des Trois Thés is a renowned tearoom and shop featuring fine, even rare, Chinese and Oolong teas, owned by tea master Madame Yui Hui Tseng. Generally 600 to 1000 white, yellow, blue-vert (Oolong) and black Pu Ehr teas are available, some extremely rare and costly.
Note, the Louvre is open late on Wednesdays.
Join our April 2008 Tea... Chocolate... Paris Tour now
***Please note: This itinerary will involve a substantial amount of walking and use of public transportation. Our daily plans may be changed at any time by the tour leader to facilitate scheduling tastings, meals or other activities. And, we strongly advise guests to purchase travel insurance. |
