Rive Gauche, Paris

The Epicurean's tour of Rive Gauche

🕒 Mid morning, Lunchtime, Mid afternoon

This tour will take you to the most coveted destinations ensuring you don't miss a thing in a city known to have endless gastronomy offerings

As an established food writer with culinary training who calls Paris home, Eileen eats in this city for a living. The places listed in the tour here highlight the best of French terroir and savoir-faire, the two things that make the food here so internationally renowned. Paris is smaller than you would imagine but incredibly dense so she's zoomed into the Rive Gauche, her favorite area that really shows off the best of Paris when it comes to restaurants and attractions.

This tour will take you to a boulangerie (bakery) with the best croissant in the city, a fromagerie (cheese shop) by a decorated cheese monger, a traditional market, a walk through a park, a luxury food emporium, a chocolate shop by the most famous living French chef, and two tapas style bars by Michelin-approved French chefs all in under five hours

Practical information

Come hungry and with good walking shoes.
Bring a reusable bag to keep your food purchases all in one place.
The opening hours of the Jardin du Luxembourg is dependent on the time of the sunsets so make sure you look into that in advance
Expect a lot of walking — wear comfortable clothes and good shoes

5 hours

2.0 miles

Next available

Thursday 28 May 2026

Class/Price

standard

Physical activity level

moderate

Itinerary

La Maison d’Isabelle

A celebrated bakery that uses organic flour and butter. They won first prize for best all-butter croissant (croissant au beurre) in 2018 and still make the best croissant in the city today

Stay for 10 minutes

Fromagerie Laurent Dubois

Laurent Dubois is the first cheesemonger to win the award Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman of France), the highest honor for artisans. His shops are still the best in town. Taste samples before you buy

Stay for 20 minutes

L'avant Comptoir De La Mer

This seafood tapas bar is standing only with eccentric menu boards hanging on the ceiling. If seafood isn't your thing, peak in next door to its older sibling, ...De La Terre. The Chef-Owner Yves is very celebrated here

Stay for 1 hour

Marché couvert Saint-Germain

Although it may seem a bit sleepy from the outside, step in and really pay attention. Watch the shop owners and go where your nose takes you. Buy some olives, tapenade, or jam to go with your cheese and bread

Stay for 30 minutes

Le Jardin du Luxembourg

Spacious and stunning, this garden is a great place to catch your breath and enjoy a small apéro (only on the benches, not on the grass!) and truly be a flâneur

Stay for 30 minutes

Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse

From bars to gift box creations to new inventions like black sesame praline bars, this place is a chocolate lover's dream. If you like nuts, make sure you try anything with toasted nuts

Stay for 20 minutes

La Grande Épicerie

Spend some time perusing the many aisles, taking you on far flung adventures of every corner of the world. If you're looking to take back food souvenirs, this is the place

Stay for 30 minutes

La Boucherie Grégoire

Owned by Michelin starred Chef Antonin Bonnet on a street that also is home to Ferrandi, one of the top culinary institutions, this is the best butcher shop in Paris, offering top products that are sourced ethically

Stay for 1 hour

Route map

Map for The Epicurean's tour of Rive Gauche

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