Culinary Tours: A Paris Food Tour of St. Germain
Saint-Germain-des-Prés is a stunning district in Paris. Located in the north-central area of this city it's located near the Seine and is known for its historic buildings that add a beautiful charm to it.
While here, you'll find many incredible stops you can enjoy thanks to the wide variety of cafes, restaurants, patisseries, and shops. You'll find plenty of kid-friendly. If you're interested in learning about some places you can visit during a culinary tour of St. Germain, keep reading.
Below you'll find some spots you might be able to venture to.
What is St. Germain Known For?
St. Germain is known for mixing historic and modern times together well. You'll find many culinary spots that are nestled between art galleries, bookshops, and cathedrals and some which are situated in historic buildings.
It's especially known for being a foodies dream visit because it offers such a wide selection of the street food selection you can try out. Your culinary tour guide will point these highlights out as you explore St. Germain's cuisine.
Places to Travel
- Café de Flore
This café is one of the oldest in Paris. It was once the haunt of many classic authors and artists like Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso. Its interior is elegantly designed and its menu has a wide variety you can select from. You'll find creative salad and sandwich creations you can try and delectable desserts like Coupe Flore, an ice cream dish that features a mouthwatering mixture of dark chocolate, Chantilly cream, and pistachios.
- Marché Couvert St- Germain
This covered market in Paris is one of the top stops here to find fresh ingredients and be able to interact with local farmers and cheesemakers. It's opened almost every day of the week and has a large selection of fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, meats, and cheeses. You'll also find some experts here that can help you with planning the perfect charcuterie or with pairing cheeses and wines together.
- La Dernière Goutte
This classy wine store is known for selling many locally created wines. It offers samplings of their unique selections and even holds a class that tells more behind the history of this drink and how you can best enjoy it.
- Josephine Bakery
The Josephine Bakery is a very chic place in Paris to grab a fresh sandwich, salad, or sweet treat from. While a little pricey, the menu here is made fresh daily so you'll be eating only the finest of meals. When here you'll definitely want to try their buttery croissants and foamy café au lait.
This section in Paris, France is not only stunning with its landscape and architecture, but it has an incredible cuisine scene which makes it one of the best places to go on a culinary tour in the world. You'll be able to experience a mouthwatering array of culinary selections that will help you better acquaint yourself with the local cuisine.
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FAQ
- What bakery is the best in Saint Germain?
Though you can find excellent food throughout Paris, you will find some of the best markets, restaurants, and bakeries in the 6th Arrondissement, which is commonly called Saint Germain. Naturally, then, choosing a bakery in Saint Germain can be a difficult task since you have so many options to select from. Boulangerie La Parisienne is one of the best-known bakeries, and it’s certainly earned its popularity by being one of the best bakeries in Saint Germain—and throughout Paris. Boulangerie Gosselin is another Saint Germain staple, offering traditional breads as well as soup, cakes, and macarons. You should also visit Meert—one of the oldest patisseries in Paris—to try a variety of baked goods, including their famous Madagascar vanilla-infused waffles, and venturing off the beaten path to try La Tarte Tropezienne is well worth your while. For the most part, it’s hard to go wrong when you choose a bakery in Saint Germain.
- What do you find in Saint Germain covered market?
Marche Saint-Germain is a historic covered market in Paris’s 6th Arrondissement that is well-known for selling high-quality goods. In the market, you’ll find a variety of stands and specialty shops that sell produce, fish, roast meat, international foods, and cheese. Since this market is well-known for the quality of its products, you’ll find no shortage of excellent food to sample as you explore, but prices can be quite high—even by Parisian standards. In addition to Saint Germain’s culinary offerings, several retailers have opened shops in the market after it was remodeled in 2017, including a brand-new Apple store. Because this market has so much to offer, we highly recommend taking a guided tour through the Saint Germain covered market. Your tour guide will be able to show you which products are worth the price, and many tours will educate you about the fine products found within the market.
- What are the best restaurants in Saint Germain?
In addition to its famous covered market, Saint Germain is also home to excellent cafes and restaurants. For a nice cafe meal in a historic setting, head to Cafe de Flore. This restaurant serves excellent traditional French fare in an upscale, vintage atmosphere, and it was once a popular hangout for French philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre. Across the street you’ll find Les Deux Magots, another historic French cafe, or you can head down the street to Le Procope - the oldest cafe in Paris. If you enjoy tapas, head to Le Comptoir - a tapas bar with Anthony Bourdain’s seal of approval. Then, you can head to Le Comptoir or Josephine Chez Dumonet for traditional French cuisine, or you can check out international fare from Shu, a contemporary Japanese restaurant, and Marcello, a well-known Italian joint. Finally, for dessert, you can head to one of Saint Germain’s many chocolatiers and patisseries, such as Pierre Marcolini, Patrick Roger, and Meert.
- What are the best wine bars in Saint Germain?
Saint Germain is also home to a variety of excellent wine bars. Le Cafe Tournon is a cafe and wine bar known for its extensive selection of regional wines and its role in the Paris jazz scene. In fact, Duke Ellington even played here during his time in Paris. If you like to enjoy your wine with appetizers, head to L’Avant-Comptoir, which is best known for its focus on natural wines and its excellent tapas. Au Sauvignon is best for those who want high-quality wine at a reasonable price; a glass of wine here will typically cost less than 7 Euros. For a lively atmosphere, head to Chez Georges to socialize with students, elites, and everyone in between. Freddy’s also offers a huge selection of wines in a fun atmosphere. For a more educational and relaxed experience, check out Dilettantes La Maison du Champagne, where you can taste fine, rare champagnes, or you can enjoy wine and cheese at laid-back Bar Etna.
- Where to find the best street food in Saint Germain?
Although Saint Germain is known for its high-end cafes and restaurants, you can find plenty of cheap and delicious street vendors here, too. Many of Saint Germain’s street vendors can be found near its metro station on the area’s main road, Boulevard Saint-Germain. La Créperie Saint Germain, which boasts the best crepes in the city, sits just across the street from the subway station and historic Cafe Deux Magots, and here you will enjoy a delectable crepe for just a few Euros. You can also find a handful of street food vendors in Marche Saint Germain. In the market, you will find plenty of stalls selling roast meat as well as street foods from countries such as Greece and Italy. Although it’s not proper street food, you can also find plenty of gourmet breads, cheeses, and charcuterie to sample in the market, and you can easily buy a quick picnic meal for yourself and your companions.
- What are the best deli stores in Saint Germain?
In addition to its swanky cafes and chocolate shops, Saint Germain is also home to a number of delis. Delis - or as the French call them, epicerie fine - often sell a variety of specialty products, such as spices or olives, and some delis may also sell sandwiches, salads, and other light fare. Tomat’s is one of the best epiceries in Saint Germain, and the owner personally tests all goods sold in the store to ensure that they are high-quality. This shop sells a variety of products from mustards to craft beer, and most of them are made locally. If you want to enjoy a sandwich while you shop, head to Pasta Luna. This deli sells take-home products like charcuterie meats and cheeses along with a small selection of sandwiches and paninis. Finally, Bellota-Bellota is a deli that doubles as a wine bar, making it an excellent stop along your tour of Saint Germain.
- Where can you find the best chocolates in Saint-Germain?
Saint-Germain is perhaps best known for its many fine chocolatiers. Award-winning chocolate maker Patrick Roger, for instance, has one of his flagship stores in this neighborhood. In his chocolates, Roger frequently incorporates unique flavors like citrus or hot peppers, making his shop a must-see in Saint-Germain. Likewise, Pierre Marcolini is another creative chocolate maker with a flagship store in Saint-Germain. Chocolate lovers should also check out Debauve et Gallais – one of the oldest chocolatiers in the city. In fact, this shop once exclusively catered to French royalty. If you enjoy both chocolate and ice cream, then head to Chapon Chocolatier, where you can try Patrice Chapon’s famous ‘mousse-in-a-cone.’ Finally, for a full-fledged chocolate experience, visit Un Dimanche à Paris. This chocolate shop also has a bar, cafe, and restaurant that feature the shop’s delectable treats, and you can even try chocolate foie gras. Throughout Saint Germain, you’ll find plenty of excellent chocolate shops to sample some of the finest that Paris has to offer.
- Should you book your hotel in Saint-Germain?
Whether you should stay in a hotel in Saint-Germain depends on your ideal trip to Paris. Saint-Germain is a lively neighborhood filled with tourists and Parisians alike, and if you stay there, you’ll surely be located next to plenty of excellent restaurants, shops, and bars. Saint-Germain is also next to the 7th Arrondissement, which is home to major attractions like the Eiffel Tower, so it can be an ideal location for visitors planning to sightsee as much as possible. However, while choosing a hotel in Saint-Germain can be advantageous for some, there are a handful of drawbacks to staying here. Saint-Germain is one of the most active areas of the city at night, so travelers who prioritize a good night’s sleep may want to stay elsewhere. Additionally, as with any tourist-heavy area in the city, hotels can be expensive, and many of them are of poor quality. You should therefore be sure to carefully research hotels in the area before booking to avoid walking into a tourist trap.
