Bon appetit! A gourmand’s guide to the best foodie attractions on The Paris Pass

Start your day as you mean to go on: with a classic Parisian ‘petit dejeuner’ at Café Louise in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, ground zero for Paris’s legendary café culture. You’re in fine company: writers, artists, philosophers and dreamers alike have haunted the bars and cafés here for decades, drawn in by the intimate eateries and atmospheric cobbled lanes. You might even find yourself coming over all Jean-Paul Sartre or Simone de Beauvoir as oven-warm pastries, fresh fruit and punchy just-brewed coffee lead you on the path to wisdom and enlightenment. Or, at the very least, a full stomach.

The café’s décor is effortlessly Parisian — think velvet banquettes, exposed brick, Art Deco accents and terrace seating that overlooks bustling Boulevard Saint-Germain. Walk off breakfast with a stroll to the nearby Pont des Arts or Luxembourg Gardens, or give your Paris Pass a workout at other essential local attractions like the Panthéon, Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie.

Top tip: come back in the afternoon to channel Hemingway and Picasso over classic French apéros.

Find out more about what’s included with The Paris Pass.

Can you even say you’ve been to Paris if you haven’t tasted at least one (and ideally more) of these delicate, decadent and oh-so-Parisian treats? No, dear reader, you cannot. Macarons have been keeping French dentists in business for centuries, but it wasn’t until the early 20th Century that the familiar sandwich-style confection we know and love today was born. Where better then to sample these meringue-based marvels than at the very top of Paris in the boho Montmartre district? That’s right: nowhere. 

Drop by Moulin de la Galette on cobbled Rue Lepic to ‘Lepic’ up your box of four macarons (and a hot drink) before taking a snack-fueled stroll around the storied sights of Montmartre itself. Don’t miss the opportunity to whisper ‘je t’adore’ in more than a hundred different languages at the Wall of Love, or to nab a selfie beneath the Sacré Cœur’s soaring white dome and the iconic sails of the Moulin Rouge.

Pro-tip: your Paris Pass also includes access to top Montmartre attractions including and informative guided walking tour and a ride on the ultra-cute Petit Train.

Come for the croque monsieur (or croque madame — we’re all about gender equality for toasted sandwiches here), stay for the kir royale Champagne cocktail and sweeping views across the Seine. Au vieux Châtelet is a classic Parisian Brasserie, all dark-wood paneling, bright-red awnings and sidewalk seating for maximum people-watching (and Gauloise-smoking) opportunities. Part of the 150-year-old Théâtre du Châtelet, it’s an ideal setting in which to tuck into one of France’s finest inventions: the gruyère, smoked ham, béchamel and mustard masterpiece that is the croque monsieur (or the croque madame, if you chuck a fried egg on top). 

The views here are something else: great widescreen panoramas that take in several of the Île de la Cité’s bucket-list attractions just across the Seine, among them the medieval Gothic melodrama of Saint-Chapelle and the mighty Notre-Dame herself.

Still hungry for more? Here’s another opportunity to take in an iconic Paris attraction or two, all while exercising little more than your mandibles. Le Bistro Marbeuf in the 8th arrondissement is your perfectly Parisian pitstop for a crêpe, coffee and orange juice, before continuing your sightseeing adventure. And oh, what an adventure awaits: suitably fortified by your Nutella, banana, butter or sugar laden treat, you’ll be well fueled for the 15-minute stomp to some of Paris’s most iconic attractions. We’re talking the imposing Arc de Triomphe, glitzy shopping (and further macaron-munching opportunities) along the grand Champs-Élysées boulevard, and the kaleidoscope of indigenous art and artifacts at the utterly unique Musée Quai Branly.

Pick up a Paris Pass for savings on access to Quai Branly, the Arc and dozens more essential attractions.

Did you know chocolate has been around in one form or another for more than 4,000 years? Well, now you do. To put it into perspective, that makes chocolate older than Jesus, the USA, DVDs and your nan combined. Much older, in fact. For a slightly more in-depth history lesson on the sweet stuff, mosey down to Paris’s excellent Gourmet Chocolate Museum to discover its entire origin story via ancient Mayan and Aztec originals right through to the 16th-century ‘Eureka’ moment when sugar was added, leading to the thousands of varieties we pig out on today. Critically, your visit includes a sample of delicious chocolate at the end of the tour. Frankly,  after all that chocolate history, it would probably count as some sort of human rights violation if it didn’t!

You don’t need an excuse to visit Place du Tertre in Montmartre, the arty former hangout of Picasso, Renoir, Van Gogh, Degas and many other greats. But, if you did, the opportunity to grab a glass of Champagne and a platter of sweet pastries at Au Cadet de Gascogne would surely be it. As well as splendid views of the Sacré Cœur Basilica from the restaurant’s terrace, there are also some quite sensational people-watching opportunities to be had here. Gaze on as street performers wow passers-by and artists squirrel away behind their easels, painting commissioned portraits and lively street scenes. Heck, if you’re feeling game you can even lay your soul bare to one of the Place du Tertre caricaturists, who are more than willing to capture your very best (and worst) features for posterity in exchange for a few euros. But beware: the easily offended need not apply.

Pair a visit to the world’s best art museum with an opportunity to sample some of the world’s best wines at Les Caves du Louvre, just a short stagger from the mighty Louvre itself. Tours of these historic cellars take place before lunch, and include a trio of tastings (one white, two reds) led by an expert sommelier, there to provide tasting notes, wax lyrical about the Frances many vino-producing regions, and settle that age-old question: which is better — cork or screwtop?

All exposed stone, vaulted ceilings and low lighting, Les Caves du Louvre is an atmospheric venue for sampling the very finest French wines, and provides the perfect aperitif before visiting the Louvre’s vast art collection. And, who knows, after three wines, you might even convince yourself that the Mona Lisa is smiling just for you.

Pro-tip: entry to the Louvre is included with The Paris Pass Plus.

Cheese (and cheesy pun) lovers will brie in their emmental at Ô Chateau, with a selection of French fromages that are sure to have you camembert for more. Sorry about that. Anyway, this experience — also handily close to the Louvre, sightseeing fans — includes several fine French cheeses and a glass of wine to wash it all down. Or, for an extra €20 you can upgrade to a paired experience, which twins an expertly picked French wine with each fine fromage. And ewe really can’t say fairer than that.