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You are here: Home / Destinations International / Paris Food Experiences You’ll Love – from $ to $$$$
Paris pastries are memorable but not expensive
Memorable Paris pastries for about $4 (Photo Philadelphia TMOM Sarah Ricks)

Paris Food Experiences You’ll Love – from $ to $$$$

September 8, 2016 //  by Sarah Ricks//  14 Comments

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Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • Memorable Food in Paris – a Bakery
  • Memorable Food in Paris – a Pastry Cafe
  • Memorable Lunch in Paris – a Rooftop Cafeteria
  • Old World Elegant Dining in Paris – in a Train Station
  • This One Will Break the Bank – Dinner Inside the Eiffel Tower

Food in Paris is delicious. But some food or places we ate in Paris were truly memorable. The food or meals that linger in memory were not necessarily expensive. Some of the most unforgettable food experiences we had in Paris were at an excellent patisserie, a superb cafe, and a department store cafeteria. Others were a splurge, once-in-a-lifetime experiences,worth it only to celebrate being in Paris.

Paris food lingers on the palate and in the memory.
Old world elegance in a Paris train station restaurant (Photo Sarah Ricks)

While nearly every meal we had in Paris was delicious, some food memories were extraordinary. And the most memorable foods weren’t necessarily the most expensive.

Memorable Food in Paris – a Bakery

One of my family’s favorite Paris food experiences was at Eric Kayser, a bakery with about 15 locations throughout Paris. Eric Kayser is famous for excellent bread and pastries, but also sells sandwiches and salads. We headed to the Eric Kayser location across the street from the Gare de Lyon train station to stock up on treats to sample during our four hour train ride from Paris to the South of France. Our takeout lunch – three salmon salads, two prepared sandwiches, drinks, and an ample dessert of seven (!) pastries – lemon tart, plum tart, chocolate croissant, chocolate tart, chocolate éclair, chocolate financier – cost 48 euros.

Paris food - including delicious pastries - is made to be experienced.
Memorable Paris pastries for about $4 (Photo  Sarah Ricks)

A tiny chocolate bundt cake, called a financier, was slightly crisp on the outside rim, moist and almost chewy inside, with depths of chocolate flavor. If you ever taste a chocolate cake as good as Eric Kayser’s, let me know, and I’ll make a pilgrimage to try your discovery.

Memorable Food in Paris – a Pastry Cafe

For a taste of luxury without breaking the bank, indulge yourself at Carette, a pretty pastry café across from the lively city square Place des Vosges. This café feels like an authentic Parisian experience, from its décor to its opportunities for people watching. Lingering here over a coffee and a pastry is affordable elegance and will be a delicious memory.

Enjoy memorable pastries in Paris, France
Enjoy pastries at a Paris cafe (Photo Sarah Ricks)

Memorable Lunch in Paris – a Rooftop Cafeteria

Even if you don’t go up on the roof, you’ll want to visit the Galeries Lafayette department store to see its spectacular stained glass ceiling. But while you’re there, visit the roof terrace for a sweeping view of Paris. You’ll see the Eiffel Tower in the distance and the famous Parisian boulevards laid out below you, lined by elegant apartments and offices. To appreciate the view even more, stop by the cafeteria to pick up fresh salads, hearty sandwiches, or hot dishes, for about 10 euro per person. On a warm day, you can eat outside while you take in the view. If it’s chilly or windy, you can enjoy the view through a big picture window from the comfort of an inside table and chairs.

Enjoying Paris food at the restaurant at the Eiffel Tower
Paris glowing, seen from the Eiffel Tower restaurant – see its shadow? (Photo Sarah Ricks)

Old World Elegant Dining in Paris – in a Train Station

If you want to celebrate being in Paris and splurge on old world elegance that seems completely foreign from the casual style of the U.S., try Le Train Bleu. This restaurant is – where else? – inside a train station, the Gare de Lyon.

Its design is European glamour from another era. The restaurant’s towering ceilings are covered with frescoes of romantic nudes and pastoral scenes, lush plaster curly cues, all brightly colored. Huge arched windows on one side frame a quintessential Paris view. On the other side, windows look down at the bustling train station traffic. The six of us lingered over a delicious 3-hour meal, from appetizers to dessert, and drank two bottles of good French wine for $450. The food was good but the real draw was the chance to revel in the luxurious Europe of an earlier age and enjoy good conversation. (If you’re curious about how you can eat delicious French food for every meal, on a French river cruise, click here.)

See the Eiffel Tower in the distance? Paris views are as good as Paris food!
Paris from the rooftop of Galleries Lafayette and cafeteria (Photo Sarah Ricks)

This One Will Break the Bank – Dinner Inside the Eiffel Tower

Did you know there’s a restaurant INSIDE the Eiffel Tower? If you’re willing to skip paying the mortgage to spend it on dinner instead, try Le Jules Verne, located on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower. It’s run by the famous French chef Alain Ducasse, and the food is memorable.

I’m not kidding that dinner here costs a month’s rent. We justified it by thinking of the experience as a once-in-lifetime, full evening family entertainment, as well as a great meal with terrific service. The theatrical show was the view. We arrived at 7, when the sun was still bright. We watched the sun’s golden light make the cream stone of Paris glow. Then as the sun set over the city, the city lights turn on.

This elegant train station has an equally elegant restaurant with great Paris food.
Inside this Paris train station is an elegant restaurant (Photo Philadelphia TMOM Sarah Ricks)

Paris illuminates its big monuments with floodlights. After nightfall, the Eiffel Tower itself is illuminated and, for 5 minutes every hour, it puts on a light show. The sparkling lights are fun to watch from the outside, and enjoyably odd to watch from the inside, as if you’re seeing lightning strike. After our 2 ½ hour meal, we walked outside on the terrace to enjoy the night view of Paris from the 2d floor (so we didn’t have to wait in line). Dramatic view that gave me chills.

Entering and exiting the Eiffel Tower restaurant was just as dramatic. Restaurant goers take a private elevator up the inside of the Eiffel Tower. It’s like riding inside a gigantic sculpture, with marvelous views of the crowds and Paris below. The elevator ride was part of the adventure.

Le Jules Verne is usually booked months in advance. An advantage of visiting Paris in August was fewer tourists. At any rate, I was able to reserve a table for 4 with only 6 weeks notice. To walk off all that food, I was glad to take a 3-hour walking tour of Paris.

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Food in Paris is delicious, and some of most memorable food experiences were not expensive. (If your trip to France takes you south of Paris, to Provence, check out this walking tour of Aix en Provence.)

Have you ever had a meal on vacation that lingered in your memory? Tell us about it in the comments.

 

 

Category: Destinations International, FoodTag: Europe, France, luxury, Paris, restaurants, teens

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14 Comments on “Paris Food Experiences You’ll Love – from $ to $$$$”

  1. Judy Antell, Vegetarian TravelingMom says:
    April 25, 2018 at 8:36 am

    Never knew you could eat in the Eiffel Tower. Tres jolie.

    Reply
  2. Liana Moore says:
    April 23, 2018 at 11:51 pm

    Wow, how cool to eat in the Eiffel Tower! It has been a long time since I’ve been to Paris. Would love to take the kids one of these days.

    Reply
  3. Dia says:
    April 11, 2018 at 8:53 am

    I love the Galleries Layfette tip. Many European department stores hides the best cheap eats in the city.

    Reply
    1. Sarah Ricks, World TravelingMom says:
      April 11, 2018 at 9:21 am

      What a good tip! When we get to Europe again, I’ll have to be sure to check department stores for good, inexpensive food.

      Reply
  4. Diana Rowe, Traveling Grandmom says:
    April 7, 2018 at 8:06 pm

    Oh wow, the Eiffel tower foodie experience sounds over-the-top — and who needs to pay the mortgage, right? Great suggestions, I’ll bookmark for when I finally take my first trip to Paris.

    Reply
    1. Sarah Ricks, World TravelingMom says:
      April 11, 2018 at 9:22 am

      Yes, the sticker shock on that Eiffel Tower meal, oh my. But a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

      Reply
  5. Diana Rowe, Traveling Grandmom says:
    April 7, 2018 at 8:06 pm

    4.5

    Reply
  6. Katelyn says:
    October 3, 2016 at 5:44 am

    Hi Sarah,

    Thanks for featuring Galeries Lafayette! We’re glad to hear that you enjoyed lunch and the stunning view from the terrasse. We hope to welcome you again soon!

    Kind regards,

    Katelyn
    Community Manager, Galeries Lafayette Haussmann

    Reply
    1. Sarah Ricks, Philadelphia TravelingMom says:
      October 3, 2016 at 8:50 am

      We loved that view, and the food was healthy, delicious, and reasonably priced. I hope more families learn what a fun way this is to appreciate the beauty of the Paris cityscape.

      Reply
  7. Wanda Bee says:
    September 24, 2016 at 12:35 pm

    We were just in Paris a month ago. I didn’t know about some of these places to eat. I wish we would have had time (and money) to eat dinner in the Eiffel Tower.

    Reply
    1. Sarah Ricks, Philadelphia TravelingMom says:
      September 24, 2016 at 1:29 pm

      The 2 wonderful patisseries and the cafeteria mentioned are all places I’d return to in a heartbeat, next time we (hopefully) get to visit Paris. The Eiffel Tower dinner was a special, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Eric Kayser now has a patisserie in New York -and yesterday I got to eat a raspberry tart from there. Yum! Delicious, and delicious memories!

      Reply
    2. Sarah Ricks, Philadelphia TravelingMom says:
      October 3, 2016 at 8:52 am

      Dinner inside the Eiffel Tower was a wonderful experience, for us definitely once-in-a-lifetime. But the view is spectacular from inside the Tower, and next time we might just go inside with a pastry in hand, and call it “dinner inside the Eiffel Tower.” Much more affordable!

      Reply
  8. Sarah Ricks, Philadelphia TravelingMom says:
    September 10, 2016 at 3:20 pm

    5

    Reply
  9. Anonymous says:
    September 9, 2016 at 9:22 am

    5

    Reply

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