Laduree
The two most well known macaron shops in Paris are Pierre Hermé and Ladurée. Of course I had to try both.
One good thing about Ladurée is that it is very accessible. Not only do they have many locations in Paris, but they also have several locations inside the airport as well.
We actually attempted to stop by one of the main restaurant bakeries but the hours listed on the website were clearly wrong. We went by two locations only to find them closed.
I did however, visit two of the airport locations. The set up is like a walking into a little girl’s dream tea party, but all grown up. Pastel colors, cute shaped desserts, and many many macarons.
Macarons!
A while back, they did a promotion with Hello Kitty where they made Hello Kitty macarons. But it ended in the spring. All that was left when I was there were notebooks with designs of Hello Kitty sitting on macarons. Super cute but not worth $25 a book.
While there were many cute dessert options, I stuck to the macarons.
The flavors weren’t as unique as the ones at Pierre. One thing different was that several of them had a marshmallow cream filling rather than buttercream.
Overall, I was a little disappointed. I thought they were solid macarons. The shells were chewy, with pretty feet. But I didn’t think they were unique enough considering all the hype. I would get them again if they are nearby, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to get them and if I were asking someone to bring me macarons home from Paris, I’d request Pierre Herme ones.
Cool! I checked out their shop in NYC and was captivated by the amazing decor and beautiful uniforms but I was pretty uninspired by the macarons, they were too sweet, especially with the marshmallow filling! I preferred the ones at Bouchon and Francois Payard…
I’m currently on my own macaron odyssey so if you ever want to taste test and offer some constructive criticism, I’m all ears!
So glad you are doing macarons. I’m sure they are wonderful. I would love to try some sometime!
Actually all image look fascinating and feeling tempting with cookies from bakeries. I’m a little desperate with your bad experience with macaron shops in Paris are Pierre Hermé and Ladurée.
I didn’t have a bad experience at Pierre. I loved Pierre. I thought Laduree was okay but too much hype.
Was that the line for Laduree at the airport? I was at their store in New York earlier in the summer, and it’s also decorated in similar pastel colors. They had Hello Kitty gift boxes, but I decided to pass on them even though they were super cute.
Ah, no. Oh that would be scary. That shot was actually the Laduree at the Musée du Louvre and that line was a tour group waiting for the Louvre tour. I was tempted to get the Hello Kitty notebook, but DH looked at the price and said no way.
The place does look like a tea party fantasy come to life! At least you had the opportunity to try both Laduree and Pierre Herme.
The blue macarons in the display case looked quite cool, but the flavor (glacial mint?) seems like it would be ‘toothpastey’ (that is a new word, ha ha).
Yeah I actually tried that one. I was not a fan. It did remind me of toothpaste. I can definitely see the appeal of this place and it seems like a fun place to dine at, but also overpriced.
It’s probably better you went to the airport location. You’re not allowed to take pics at the Champs Elysees location. They shield their macarons from paparazzi.
Oh really? Actually I’m not surprised. Pierre Herme didn’t allow pictures either. I had to sneak some with camera phone. Actually I think most of these were also with DH’s camera phone.