Your Weekly Voilà: My 5 Favorite Tea Salons in Paris ☕️💕🇫🇷

PASSION • CREATIVITY • INSPIRATION

It was a pleasant café, warm and clean and friendly.

- Ernest Hemingway in A Moveable Feast

That is a lot of adjectives in a Hemingway sentence. This is the same author who believed that if you have to use an adjective, you've chosen the wrong noun. But A Movable Feast, Ernest Hemingway's memoir as a young American writer living in Paris in the 1920s, is filled with descriptions. It includes his observations and stories of his favorite haunts, many still exist in Paris today. He describes walking in the rain down the Boulevard St. Germain, past the Cluny museum, and then the Place du Panthéon, arriving at La Closerie des Lilas, more a piano bar and expensive restaurant than a tea or coffee shop today but worthy of a look and a drink.

When you visit Paris, you have to have a small carnet or notebook with you. A place to jot down your ideas when inspiration hits, little sketches from serendipitous moments, or details of a favorite spot that you might want to share with friends when you return home. Paris is a very big city. You need a respite from the crowds in order to digest all that you're experiencing if only for a short break to record your thoughts with a cup of tea . . . or a café au lait . . . or in the case of Hemingway, a coffee and a rum St. James.

La Closerie des Lilas was Ernest Hemingway's home away from home in Paris. It is still one of the most legendary cafés in Paris.

When you visit Paris, it's important to make time to stand still. I know there is so much to see and experience. But you need to take an hour or so to relax with a pot of tea and connect with the city. I have a few of my favorite tea salons where I sit and recharge and make my notes. Some are famous places such as Laudrée right on the Champs Elysées or Angelina's right across from the Louvre. But there are several places that are not so readily known and present a wonderful escape.

Ladurée has been a place to gather and be seen since 1862. The upstairs tea room must be experienced and be sure to have one of their world-famous macarons with your beverage of choice. The list of teas, coffees, and hot chocolates goes on and on. Be forewarned: the choice is next to impossible. For me, I usually pick something new but a favorite is their rosebud herbal tea and a rose macaron. Bien sûr. It will be crowded but I still make a point to stop every time I am in Paris.

Angelina takes you back to the early 1900s. The location still feels like a place where once writers, painters, and intellectuals gathered. You can't help but be charmed. (It is one of my daughter's favorite places in Paris.) The interior was designed by the famous Belle Epoque architect Edouard-Jean Niermans, and it captures the period's devotion to romanticism and elegance. It has to be on your list to visit. My recommendation is to throw caution to the wind and have their divine hot chocolate.

Let's tuck into one of Paris' remaining 19th-century covered passageways. Each one seems to house a beautiful tea salon. À Priori Thé is located in the Galerie Vivienne in the 2nd arrondissement. You can sip your beverage beneath the exquisite glass ceiling and take in the 19th-century mosaic floors. The setting is perfect, especially if you need to escape a Parisian rain.

Or maybe you're in the 9th strolling the Boulevard Montmartre. The Passage Jouffroy is another picturesque 19th-century shopping arcade. Head to Le Valentin where everything is made on the premises. Enjoy a pot of Dammann Frères tea. (We need an entire Weekly Voilà to extol the delights of this tea company which is part of the history of France itself since 1692.) My selection is a green tea perfumed with bergamot, peaches, and orange blossom and violet flowers. The name is Nuit à Versailles - Night at Versailles - and this highly fragrant blend is truly worthy of its name.

I love Paris' 18th and 19th-century galleries with their boutique shops and beautiful architecture. Les passages are a bit hidden. You duck into one and then find yourself in a completely different spot when you arrive at the other end. Fantastic. It's a tiny glimpse of Parisian life 100 years ago.

It's difficult to narrow my choices to just 5 Paris tea salons. There are so many from which to choose. You can have a full afternoon tea experience at one of the grand hotels such as the Ritz, Bristol, or George V. The servers will spoil you to death . . . or so I hear. I have never been because it will require a small fortune to partake. But if you are willing to splurge, I have no doubt it will be an amazing experience. For me, I'll save the almost $100 price tag and head to the Marais.

If we're keeping count, I need one more tea salon on my list and we're standing in the northern part of the 4th arrondissement, the Marais. Easy. Let's go to a hidden jewel or Jardin Secret, Bontemps' Secret Garden opened in 2018 directly behind their pâtisserie. Unfortunately, it wasn't kept a secret for long and I recommend making a reservation for this salon. It is located in a courtyard filled with light and orange blossoms in May. Their specialty is lightly salted sablés or butter cookies. Pure heaven. Here you can also enjoy a delicious breakfast. Make it your first stop before exploring this historic part of Paris.

I love the vintage feel of Bontemps' Jardin Secret. For 8 euros, I indulge in a teapot of their house blend, Matin au Jardin Secret.

My carnet is filled with favorite places that I have stumbled upon on my trips to Paris. These are my slices of the city. My familiar haunts that feel like "home away from home." Sometimes favorites close but then I discover a brand new surprise. Paris is a city that is never without something magical to do; yet, she also presents the opportunity to rest and reflect. Jot that in your notebook.

Take some time for a good book and a hot beverage this weekend.

À bientôt mon amie,
Karen ☕️💕🇫🇷