Paris Food and Culinary Self Guided Walking Tour

To eat as a Parisian is to eat five meals a day. Breakfast, mid-morning snack, Lunch, Gouter (often just for children after the come home from school), and dinner. Lunch and dinner in Paris are often multi-course meals or a “menu” in France. If you dine at a restaurant and choose a menu, be prepared for several courses, including appetizer, main dish, and dessert. Dinner is traditionally consumed as a family with home-cooked food and a baguette from the local bakery. Most consumers in the U.S. have loyalty to the brand, such as Starbucks, but in Paris, the loyalty is to the chef or bakers themselves. Many Parisians form a close-knit bond with the local butcher or baker and will follow them if they move shops. French food is kept to such high standards that regulations dictate how to make a true baguette or cheese. It’s all so bizarre to me, hailing from the U.S., where a book called “The Jungle” was written about our food industry.

Our tour will make five main food stops with extra activities, like French wine tasting, in line with the traditional five daily meals. This Parisian food tour covers about 15 kilometers of walking, so be ready to work up an appetite, use the Metro as needed, and stop to see some nearby sights like the Louvre and Notre Dame.

Our tour’s second to last stop is in the Latin Quarter with the “Wine Tasting in Paris,” which starts at 5 pm. This activity must be booked in advance and happens on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and some Saturdays. So budget your time accordingly and try an alternate wine tasting if you’re in the city on a different day.

Looking for a Guided Food Tour?

This walking tour incorporates places Ganesh and I have discovered on our own during our visits to Paris and some highlights from a private guided food tour with a local. We both thoroughly enjoy carving our own paths and discovering places to eat in Paris with the help of a local. If you prefer to get to know Paris’ food scene with a local, I recommend booking a private or small group food tour around Paris.

Self-Guided Food Tour of Paris

But, for those who like to get lost, meander, and navigate the city independently, then without further delay, here is my self-guided walking tour of Paris.

The map below can be used as a reference for our stops. You can’t go wrong in Paris, so if another spot catches your eye, feel free to deviate from this map.

Our self-guided food walking tour of Paris starts around 8:30 am at Blé Sucré for real French croissants. Yes, those flaky melt-in-your-mouth croissants I was talking about earlier. Blé Sucré was recommended to us by a local foodie for staying true to the authentic croissant culture in Paris.

The French croissant is so complicated and laborious that it takes about 15-20 hours to make each one. This lengthy process means it is hard to find freshly baked croissants anymore. Even in Paris, croissants are often made in bulk, frozen, and shipped to bakeries. Blé Sucré is one of the gems that hand-bake croissants daily. In the morning, we lined up outside this tiny bakery along with others eager to get their freshly baked breakfast. The pain au chocolat or chocolate croissants at Blé Sucré are made with special bar chocolate that only melts at a high temperature. The chocolate crunch explodes into the bread’s layers as you devour it. Order the plain and chocolate croissant with some coffee, and you’re set to start the morning.

Are Croissants French?

The origin of croissants can be traced back to Austria. After the Austrian empire won a victory against the Ottomans, they created a kipferl, or the German word for crescent. The French were the first to make this with their traditional puffed butter pasty. So, while some argue that the croissant is, in fact, Austrian, others say that in its modern form, the croissant as we know it, is inherently French.

Marché Bastille, or the Bastille food market, is the next stop on our foodie tour of Paris. Make sure you pack your reusable tote and have some cash on hand as we will buy local goodies for a small late-morning picnic.

Worry not if you’re questioning another food stop so early in the morning. You can work up an appetite as you explore the market. But, if you have time, you can detour the adorable Rue Crénieux for a photo stop, view the Bastille opera house, or take a stroll through Le Marais on your way to the park for our picnic.

Paris is known for their food markets, and Marché Bastille is one of the biggest and best markets. With the Place de la Bastille’s Colonne de Juillet towering as a backdrop, grab your reusable tote and shop over 100 booths of fresh French cheese, veggies, meats, and seafood. Since this isn’t our lunch stop, I suggest you select only a few products to sample. The market can be crowded and chaotic, but relax and enjoy the culture. Most vendors speak some English and are very friendly. Feel free to buy anything that takes your fancy, but note that with some gentle light humor, most vendors will let you try samples; just tip them a few coins. You should get to the market around 9 am, and you could easily spend 1-2 hours here.

The market location has significant historical context for Paris and France the July column that you can see from almost anywhere in the market commemorates the Revolution of 1830.  Bastille square is known for its historical significance as the location of the Bastille storm in 1789. Enjoy shopping for the following recommended products below while immersing yourself in Paris’s history.

EDIT: I created this post almost six years ago. I am now a vegetarian. I edited those posts to include vegetarian alternatives for those like myself who no longer consume meat for ethical and environmental reasons. I suggest you reduce your meat consumption by packing olives, fresh fruit, veggies, maybe some cheese, and baguettes to take on a picnic.

The Best French Cheeses to Try

Pick up 50-100 grams (each) of Comté, Reblochon, Roquefort, and Camembert at any of the cheese stands.

Comté

Probably one of the most famous and heavily AOC-regulated French cheeses, Comté comes in several different varieties. Comté Extra is the highest quality, which also means it is often expensive and hard to find. Don’t get caught eating the thick rind on this complex cheese, the taste is better with no rind! Comté is made with cow’s milk with sea salt from Guérande brushed onto the rind. That gives it a notable salty, yet sweet undertones. The cheese is aged in humid caves in the French Alps for up to 24 months before being sold at markets like this.

This cheese is made with animal rennet, which most vegetarians choose to avoid. Some alternatives to try are Gruyère or Fontina.

Reblochon

With all the regulations on pasteurization in the U.S., this cheese is impossible to find as it is made from raw cow’s milk. Rbelochon is a washed-rind and smear-ripened cheese with a soft center.  The cheese is produced and aged in caves and cellars alpine region of Haute-Savoie. The find is covered in a white mould showing signs of being aged for 6-8 weeks. Reblochon is rich with a nutty and creamy flavor.

Roquefort

Roquefort is a sheep’s milk blue cheese. Widely regarded as one of the best blue cheeses, authentic Roquefort is aged in the Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur-soulzon. With no rind, this cheese crumbles and has a tangy flavor, with a salty finish. I am usually not a fan of blue cheese, but I was pleasantly surprised to find I enjoyed this delightful cheese.

Camembert

Like a Brie, this cheese is soft and watery in the center. While it can be rather pungent, real French Camembert has ruined all other soft cheese for me. To this day, I can’t eat Brie without comparing it to the real deal. Camembert comes from the Normandy region. Young cheese can taste mild, but the longer you leave it to age and ripen, the stronger the flavor.

The Best French Meats to Try

Again, I want to note I am vegetarian now and strongly encourage you to try alternatives to the meat while shopping at the market. If you avoid anything, please skip products made with Foie Gras, under global scrutiny for animal welfare violations. Additionally, reducing your meat consumption while supporting local vegetarian alternatives is one of the best steps you can take toward alleviating the global climate crisis.

Jamon de Bayonne

This specialty meat comes from the French Pyrenees. The regulations surrounding the breed of pig, including their diet, are very strict. Cured and dried for up to 20 months, you might expect to find it salty, but the only flavor that comes through is a hint of sweetness.

Saucisson Sec

This French sausage is dry-cured and can have some very interesting ingredients added to the mixture. Peppers, garlic, orange and other fruits, spices, nuts… etc. This is a good time to sample some pieces before choosing one.

Meat Alternatives

Thankfully for vegetarians, the market has many fresh produce and meat alternatives. Ganesh and I grabbed lots of olives and fresh fruit. The fruit and olives pair better with the cheese. When looking for olives, you will want to select Olive de Nîmes, whole green olives from the Gard and Hérault regions in France. They come from native French olive trees and are crunchy and crisp. Pairs are one of my favorite fruits to pair with French cheeses and are a delightful alternative to meat for our picnic.

Baguettes in Paris

Even baguettes are regulated in France. They must be a certain weight and size and baked with a certain type of grain to be classified as a true French baguette. Most of the baguettes at the market are authentic fresh-baked baguettes. They are shorter than you might think, with tapered ends and a thick center. The crust is crispy and golden, while the interior is airy and flaky. Make sure you grab a baguette before you leave the market.

Stop C. Picnic in the Park

It’s time to take your loot to a park and have a mini picnic. I suggest Square Du Temple on the map since it is nearby and is one of the few parks where you can sit and enjoy the grass. Many French gardens and parks have rules about whether you can sit on their grass. The Square Du Temple was a lovely local gem where we sat on the grass to feast on our farmer’s market haul. The park has a lovely botanical garden and a historic city hall building in the background. Be careful. Some wandering and hungry birds might try to steal your picnic.

Ideally, you start your picnic around 11 am, but feel free to take your time getting there, appreciating the lovely Le Marais neighborhood en route. Eventually, though, you will want to move on, walking to the Louvre.

Since we skipped the sweet pastry for breakfast, this is the time to satisfy your sweet tooth. I mentioned earlier that pastries are so unique in France that chefs go to school to specialize in the art of specific types of pastries, such as becoming world-class macaroon chefs. We had a local recommend Lenôtre, renowned for its sweet, authentic Parisian morsels. However, the one we visited on our last trip is no longer open. But, if you find one, stop in and enjoy a treat.

Instead, I’ll suggest my favorite place for macaroons in Paris, Ladurée. Several are around Paris, but we are heading to the one near the Louvre. Ladurée is the most adorable Parisian pasty shop, with iconic pastel green decor and lavish over-the-top decorations. Choosing your favorite flavor from the dozens of colorful macaroons will be hard, but you can grab a few to snack on or take an entire box to go. My favorite thing to do here is enjoying the architecture at Stop E., the Louvre, while munching on a macaroon. If you have time, meander through part of the Tuileries Garden before crossing the Seine River and heading into the Latin Quarter for lunch, wine, and dinner. Yes, we’ve already eaten a lot, but there is still more to come. This is a Paris food tour, after all!

If you want to learn to make macaroons or get up close and personal with a pastry chef, try booking a macaroon masterclass where you can learn to make your own!

Our lunch stop is later in the afternoon – it might be around 2 pm or so at this point. That is ok because, with a very boozy wine tasting waiting for you at 5 pm, you’ll want something to line your stomach before a late dinner. Crêpes are a staple in French cuisine, and so, for lunch, we will head to a Breizh Café where you can choose from sweet or savory crêpes. Breizh is a modern cafe specializing in Crêpes, but they still maintain that traditional Parisian feel with the wicker chairs and outdoor dining. Choose from the savory buckwheat folded pockets “Galettes de Sarrasin” served with a bio egg, or go for the traditional sweet Crêpes with banana and caramel. There are some vegetarian options, but if you are vegan, I suggest you skip this restaurant and try Naked Burger, which has some vegan options.

Crêpes are a traditional food consumed on the Le Jour des Crêpes – or the day of Crêpes. It marks the transitionary period from winter to spring, with the circular shape of the food representing the sun. This food is thought to have historically been given to French pilgrims by the Roman Pope in the 1st century and has been a part of the culture since.

Stop G: Notre Dame

As you walk through the Latin Quarter after lunch, enjoy the rich architecture that makes this neighborhood unique. If you have time before your wine tasting, visit Notre Dame. You can still see some facades as this historic monument recovers from the devastating fire. If you read this after December 2024, you are lucky because this monument is set to reopen its doors. Slowly work your way to Stop H. keeping an eye on the time. If you have extra time, just enjoy immersing yourself in the charming streets of the Latin Quarter and taking photos.