The walk
Iconic tastes that never go out of style, next to what the rule-breakers are up to…
Enjoy the sights and sounds of daily Parisian life as you learn how to source the best ingredients for a classic French meal.
We sweep through the backstreets of the covered passages, embracing the laid-back mood of the French flâneur…
Perhaps you will fall head over heels for French cheese (like us…)
You’ll find what only Parisians know: that our lesser-explored covered passages are outrageously elegant. Sample iconic tastes in the footsteps of Christian Dior and Coco Chanel (breathing in the memory of her scandals).
Paris’s first shopping malls, circa 1700.
Glass-roofed arcades, and the épiceries, chocolatiers and cheese stands still trading inside them.
We feel it’s time for Paris’s famed cuisine to take the driver’s seat – so together we embark on a food tour that will see you enjoying some of the world’s crunchiest baguettes and creamiest cheeses. This is the side of French flavours you wouldn’t see on your own.
We soak up the Parisian chic of the covered passages of the 2nd arrondissement near the Musée du Louvre – stunning architecture, gardens and culture – and explore the Louvre district …by mouth.
From the world-famous French croissant and pain au chocolat to the baguettes that have won awards, you’ll feel like you haven’t left a single cobbled stone unturned.
These are the finest spots in Paris to admire what we call ‘chic Paris’ – and taste a savoury Breton crêpe that is easily the best we’ve ever eaten.
The longer we write about the Paris food scene, the more our ‘edit’ of unmissable tastes swells.
You’re stepping into a place where heritage runs deep. It runs in the blood (like our equally renowned protests…).
Here we savour our collection of French flavours over a well-earned breakfast, lunch or apéritif-hour walk among our friends, les artisans – passionate experts (and a few rule breakers) – as they share their passion, their expertise, their craft.
For the most part our walks are en plein air, with many stops along the way, from table to market stall – the little food shops at the top of our list, the boulangeries on the tips of our tongues.
Weaving through narrow cobblestone streets scented with warm baguettes: a lyrical and literary journey through the gastronomic furnace of the city.
Savour The Louvre district: we swoop in to sample all of the iconic tastes that, like Paris, never go out of style – every French pastry you can imagine, opulent cheeses each more surprisingly delicious than the next, with charm and panache, with a welcome like you are a visiting friend…
Then we see what the rule breakers are up to. We move from one iconic spot to the next.
Instant gratification
- The passages
- Hidden nooks and crannies, former royal shopping arcades, scandalous storefronts, and cinematic passages.
- The tastings
- Chocolates once reserved for royals, pastry, a savoury Breton crêpe, a baguette comparison, a daringly delicious cheese board, something from a shop older than the Eiffel Tower.
- The detail
- Mosaic floors, iron and glass, the engravers and stamp dealers still at work.
- The weather
- Mostly under glass. The forecast is somebody else’s problem.
- The Polaroids
- Three Polaroid snaps for you to take home.
The passages
Glass roofs, mosaic floors, and the shops that never left.
Former royal shopping arcades, scandalous storefronts and cinematic passages, a few steps from the Louvre. Engravers, stamp dealers and chocolatiers still at work under the iron and glass.
Chocolates and pastry
Once reserved for royals. Now reserved for you.
The oldest pâtisserie in Paris, a chocolatier who once supplied the court, and croissants and breakfast viennoiserie pastries from young upstart bakers. Classics first, then a surprise.
The cheese board
Daringly delicious.
France’s most opulent cheese alongside the world’s most award-winning one, with a fresh baguette and a savoury Breton crêpe to keep things honest.
Coffee
A grand café, reimagined.
An award-winning indie coffee roaster shows us how it’s done today. Alternatives for non-coffee drinkers.
Les infos
- Duration
- About 3 hours.
- Guests
- Semi-private groups of up to 8, private groups of up to 15. Larger groups, please enquire.
- Includes
- All tastings, around seven stops. Instant Polaroid prints to take home.
- Booking
- Scheduled dates on the calendar, or privately arranged. Instant booking confirmation. Easy to change or cancel if necessary.
- Cancellation
- Individual spots on the public calendar: fully refunded up to 72 hours before. Private groups of up to 10: fully refundable up to 7 days before. Custom groups: please refer to your brief.
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Also available on Airbnb Experiences: Around a private Louvre morning, the rest of a Paris trip can hold the same unhurried feel. Airbnb Experiences gathers locally hosted activities across the city: a pastry workshop in a home kitchen, a small-group walk through Le Marais or the covered passages, an evening apéro guided by someone who lives on that block.
Each activity is led by a Parisian host, in small groups, in a specific neighborhood, which keeps the day personal rather than packaged. Paired with a bespoke museum visit, Airbnb Experiences turns a single landmark into a fuller sense of the city, with hours that feel closer to how Parisians actually spend them.
EnquireLouvre District Chic Covered Passages Food Walk — tell us about your group
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