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Our Paris Dessert Tour Experience: Chocolate, Pastries & a Food Tour Review
- Alyssa
- Jan 11, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Dec 19, 2025
During our trip to Paris, we wanted to experience the city through its desserts. We both love sweets, and instead of committing to just one bakery or chocolatier, we wanted a way to sample a variety of Parisian treats in a short amount of time. Wandering aimlessly sounded fun, but we also didn’t want to miss out on spots we might never find on our own.
That led us to a dessert-focused food tour combining chocolate, pastries, and classic Parisian sweets across several neighborhoods. We joined a chocolate and pastry tour with Secret Food Tours, paid €89 per person, and visited seven dessert shops throughout Paris.
Our group was small, just the two of us and another family of four, which made it easy to walk through the city, listen to our guide, and actually enjoy each stop.
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Dessert Tour Stops on Our Secret Food Tours Paris Experience
Meeting Point & Tour Start
The dessert tour does not offer pick up or drop off and is a walking food tour throughout the city. We were given a meeting point and told to look for a guide with a specific color umbrella. We got there early and spotted the guide immediately as she got there. The guide told us to look for the company umbrella. We were worried we might miss it, however the umbrella was bright and easy to spot. We waited a few minutes for the other group to show up, did some quick introductions, and then began our journey.
Aux Merveilleux de Fred – First Dessert Stop
Our first stop was at a bakery called Aux Merveilleux de Fred, and we each got to try one le merveilleux. A le merveilleux is a meringue with whipped cream and then dipped in a topping like chocolate shavings. There were multiple flavors and the guide explained each to us before we chose. We told the guide which flavor we wanted and she went inside to pick them up. We tried the chocolate and the coffee, and both were delicious! We ate them outside the bakery as our guide told us about the bakery and about the process of making a le merveilleux.
À la Mère de Famille – Classic French Éclair Stop
The next stop on the tour was from À la Mère de Famille, a well-known old-school French bakery to try a chocolate eclair. We were invited inside to look at what else the bakery offered when we arrived, as our guide picked up our eclair order. The bakery had a case of baked goods and shelves of chocolates, there was so much to look at but we did not have much time. Our guide led us outside the bakery and gave us all our portion of eclair (we each got ⅓ of one). I have never had an eclair in the U.S. that I liked, they always have a fake taste to them, but the one we tried from À la Mère de Famille was life-changing. I still think about this eclair daily!!
La Crêperie Mon Ami – Fresh Crêpes on the Tour
From À la Mère de Famille we walked to a small creperie between an Italian restaurant and a café. We sat on the small patio of the Italian restaurant since they had not opened for dinner yet and enjoyed a freshly made crepe and a bottle of water. The shop offered lots of different crepe flavors. We tried the traditional butter and sugar and the traditional with lemon. They also had a Nutella flavor! We sat and rested for a moment at the creperie before we moved on to the next stop, Chocolate Illene. The crepes were so good! The lemon cut perfectly through the sweetness for a delightful bite!
Chocolat Illèné – Artisanal Chocolate Tasting
At Chocolate Illèné we were able to try multiple unique flavors of chocolate. The chocolate shop is run by two women who bring their cultural background into their flavors. They were sweet and had so many beautiful chocolates for sale. Included in the tour we got to try four flavors of chocolate, and tried to guess what they were! For an additional fee we were allowed to try a few more flavors, we opted in and they were also tasty.
Les Choupettes de ChouChou – Chouquettes with a Twist
From Chocolate Illene we went to Les Choupettes de ChouChou to try choupettes. The dessert is the owner's take on the popular chouquette! They are crispy chouquettes topped with creamy whipped cream. We all sampled the original flavor but there were other flavors on the menu. We wanted to try the chocolate but did not have time! Our guide brought us inside the bakery to warm up and enjoy the dessert in the small but cozy atmosphere. The delightful ambiance and friendly staff made our visit even more memorable.
Christophe Roussel – Macarons & Hot Chocolate Stop
Our next stop was to sample some macarons and hot chocolate from a bakery called Christophe Roussel. We were all invited inside to sit and look at the different flavors of macaroons they had to offer. We each got to take two home (or eat them there) and tried French hot chocolate. We got to sit in the cafe for a few minutes and sip our drinks before moving on to our next location. We took our macaroons to go and tried the sea salt caramel, chocolate, double chocolate, and pistachio. They were all tasty but the sea salt caramel was our favorite!
Pierre Hermé – Surprise Final Stop
Our last stop was at Pierre Hermè to sample a unique flavor of chocolate truffles. This stop was a surprise stop on the tour according to our guide. We were all given a chocolate truffle and tried to guess the flavor. It tasted sweet and fruity. We found out it had a passionfruit filling. From here the guide wrapped up the tour and gave us directions on how to get back to where the tour started or where we needed to go to get back to the hotel. We all went our separate ways outside Pierre Hermé, and the tour ended.
Before You Book This Paris Dessert Tour
Walking Distance & Accessibility
This dessert tour is entirely on foot and covers close to a mile round trip, possibly a bit more. Some of the streets we walked were slightly uphill, especially in the later portion of the tour. While the pace was relaxed and manageable, this experience is best suited for those comfortable walking at a medium to slow pace. We would not recommend this tour for anyone with mobility issues due to the amount of walking involved.
What to Bring on a Paris Dessert Tour
Comfortable walking shoes
Extra cash or card if you’d like to purchase additional treats
An appetite, you’ll be sampling multiple desserts throughout the tour
Is the Secret Food Tours Paris Dessert Tour Worth It?
This was our first experience with Secret Food Tours, and based on our time on their chocolate and pastry tour in Paris, we would absolutely book with them again in another city. We paid €89 per person (€178 total), and the price included all dessert tastings and a knowledgeable local guide who led us through several Paris neighborhoods.
Throughout the tour, we sampled sweets from seven different dessert shops, ranging from historic bakeries to small specialty chocolate shops. Having a guide made the experience feel effortless, we could focus on enjoying the food while learning a bit about the city and the stories behind each stop. It also led us through parts of Paris we likely wouldn’t have explored on our own.
We genuinely enjoyed everything we tried, but the standout for us was the chocolate éclair from À la Mère de Famille, which is still one of the best desserts we’ve had in Paris. If you love sweets and want a relaxed, guided way to experience Paris beyond the typical sightseeing stops, this dessert tour is well worth considering.
Would you book a chocolate and pastry tour while visiting Paris, or have you already done one? Let us know in the comments below!
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