Paris. One of the cities everybody ends up in at some point. Everybody has its own expectations regarding Paris and their own memories. Different, since it’s a city of thousand faces. For me, Paris is the city where I first got about 7 years ago on my way to a surfing trip in Basque Country with my friends. We stayed in a small room with a bathroom in an immigrant district, ate omlette d’ambon and walked for ages. Then we had Paris for two, with raclette and fondue in the evening in Latin quarter. And finally, Paris with a 9 year old child and my mom. Long walks once again, this time with a pram, baguettes, seafood and mussels for two at Champs Elysees.
And here we are in Paris once again. We haven’t been here for a while, but as soon as we get to Champs Elysees it seems as if we have left only yesterday! This time we have a different plan for Paris. The walks that we love so much are no longer pointless. This time we have a plan and a mission. A sweet mission since we’re looking for Paris’ best confectioneries. And the best ones in Europe too since Paris is considered one of the capitals of modern confectioner’s trade. The one that’s inspiring, mind-blowing and remarkable. The one that makes you walk through the city in heat with a grumpy 4 year old in your hands. The one that deserves a place on your to-do list if you ever get to Paris. We have a whole list to check, but today one place was so incredible, that we decided to start writing already!
We’ve been walking from one confectionery to another since the early morning. Cake and ice cream here, pralines and macarons there and finally, we got to LA FABRIQUE on 32 rue Notre Dame des Victoires where we found ourselves in real éclair heaven. La Fabrique is production plant for a small chain of confectioneries specialising in éclairs and known as L’Eclair de Génie supported by Christophe Adam, one of France’s top confectioners. You will find the full list of their boutiques (there’s 6 of them!) here. Be sure to check it! La Fabrique is decorated in minimalist and simple style. It has nothing to do with exquisite confectioneries we’ve seen before… Here, you will find hardboards, posters and simple racks with jars full of various éclair creams. A salted caramel one for instance. Simply amazing!
There’s plenty of amazing éclairs on the counter.. hard to decide what to take since they all look incredibly tempting! Maks says he won’t be leaving without chocolate Grand cru du mois (5 euro) and we’re thinking of a salted caramel one – Caramel beurre salé (5 euro) or vanilla cream and pecan nuts – Vanille noix de pécan (5,5 euro). We eat and eat and they’re all so delicious that we have to try MORE! We can always take them home, right? We get a lemon flavour Citron Yuzu (4,5 euro) and Passion framboise (6 euro) – with passion fruit cream and raspberries. Passion fruit seems like a best shot for Łukasz! He absolutely loves it. For me, the vanilla one with pecan nuts is the winner. But you know, all are perfect! I even like the lemon éclair which may be a little weird since I never liked lemon cakes. Éclairs here come with heavenly-tasting creams and clever toppings. You can see that they like to play with the texture and combine things that are soft and melt in your mouth with crispy and even fizzy (the topping on caramel éclair reminds me of my childhood:)) stuff. And they look so amazing! Just look at them and honestly tell me that you don’t want to try all of them! 🙂
All éclairs cost between 4 and 6 euro depending on the ingredients used. The shop also serves les barlettes which look a bit like éclairs but opened up. They look incredible and cost 7 euro each. We didn’t try them unfortunately but you can see them HERE. Already started drooling? You can also buy éclair-flavoured ice cream on the spot. Since I loved éclairs and puffs when I was little, this place is close to heaven for me! The French achieved absolute mastery in this field!
We spent quite some time in La Fabrique but we weren’t just eating éclairs. We also took some time to go through Christophe Adam’s cookbooks. One of them (“Éclairs”) is dedicated to éclairs ONLY! several dozen sweet versions but also savoury ones. Éclairs with salmon and wasabi, egg or ham and cheese? Everything is possible there! There’s also a hot-dog éclair with a wiener or one imitating an American hot-dog but sweet at the same time! The book is amazing, same as the place… I wonder how would a savoury éclair taste like.. For a moment I think about ordering one but I’m too full. The staff packs up the ones we didn’t finish and they make for a perfect evening companion.
We walk along and turn from Rue Reaumur to Rue Montmartre where we find another L’Eclair de Génie confectionery. Right here! You simply can’t miss it since there’s a window with huge colourful éclairs stuck to it! Makes you wanna walk in immediately! The interior is once again simple and minimalist with red brick and colourful éclairs and pralines all around.
We fell in love with this place and you must come and visit it too! 🙂 Eiffel Tower and Champs Elysees are a must but L’eclair de Genie is too! 🙂
On Facebook, you asked where are we staying
. The place is perfect, especially when it comes to location – near Varenne subway station, quite close to Eiffel Tower. And it’s not a hotel! This time we booked our stay through HomeToGo website, our partner during our search for the best confectioneries in Europe. We already wrote that in many cases we prefer renting a home or a flat instead of booking a room in a hotel. And that’s precisely what HomeToGo is for. It’s the biggest search engine for houses and apartments which browses through offers available on various portals such as Interhome or HomeAway. We found a tiny flat (a studio) for 100 euro per night! A good shot considering the prices in France… Add breakfasts and dinners with French cheese, cold cuts and crispy baguettes and it won’t be hard to feel at home 🙂 Really 🙂
* the entry was written in cooperation with HomeToGo
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