Where to eat standout macarons in Paris

The definition of a French macaron, beyond a base recipe of almond flour, egg white and sugar, depends on where you are. In Amiens, they come in a puck-like shape with honey-infused sweetness; in Nancy, the dome-like creations are closer to Italian amaretti biscuits; and in Paris, they’re plump, fairytale-coloured sandwiches, filled with ganache, jam or buttercream.

While food historians disagree on their origin story, like many almond-based sweets, the delicate confections may have come from the Arab world — arriving in Europe when southern parts of the continent were under Islamic rule in the Middle Ages. But the modern Paris macaron, created in the 1930s, has become a cultural icon that’s inspired both fashion and film (from Vera Wang’s designs to Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette).

Classic flavours include chocolate, raspberry and pistachio, but at the more experimental establishments, the spectrum of colours might now belie unexpected flavour combinations like sriracha and salted caramel or wasabi and grapefruit. Vegan and naturally flavoured options are available, too, with creativity at the fore in Paris’s best macaron shops.

1. Pierre Hermé

Pierre Hermé’s macarons are soft and delicate, with a crispy outer shell and a faintly chewy centre. The celebrity pastry chef’s creative, signature flavours include Ispahan (rose, lychee and raspberry) and Mogador (milk chocolate and passion fruit), but he’s also earned a reputation for bold flavour combinations, with limited-edition creations including fig and foie gras, wasabi and grapefruit, and walnut water with caviar. Individual macaron €2.80 (£2.30).

2. Jean-Paul Hévin

This chocolaterie offers 14 different varieties of chocolate macaron, including premium ‘grand cru’ or single-origin versions like the Chanchamayo, made from Peruvian cacao; the Millot, which showcases Madagascan chocolate; and the Super Amer, a deep, dark chocolate that hits you with an intensity that lingers long after the first bite. Other standouts include raspberry and dark chocolate, and milk chocolate creme brulee. Individual macaron €2.80 (£2.30).

3. Hugo & Victor

The colours of the macaron shells at this upmarket patisserie — beige, peach, yellow — are noticeably muted compared to many others, but for good reason. The ingredients are all natural, with no artificial colours or preservatives. Instead, pastry chef and owner Hugues Pouget uses powdered fruit, spices or flowers to create unsaturated watercolour hues. Alongside the classics, flavours include black Amarena cherry and organic pomelo. Individual macaron €2.50 (£2.05).

4. Dalloyau

This patisserie and delicatessen’s heritage can be traced back to 1682, when Charles Dalloyau was appointed pastry chef to King Louis XIV. Four generations of the Dalloyau family went on to serve the French royal court with delicate almond, sugar and meringue biscuits at meals and feasts at Versailles, before Jean-Baptiste Dalloyau opened the family’s first fine foods shop in Paris in 1802. Today, the hand-filled macarons are made with Valencia almonds and come in classic flavours such as Sicilian pistachio, coffee and Madagascar vanilla. In 2021, the brand opened a restaurant tucked away in a footbridge at Saint-Lazare train station. Individual macaron €2.50 (£2.05).

5. Ladurée

Louis-Ernest Ladurée opened the original location of his bakery-turned-empire at 16 Rue Royale in 1862. It was also here that Ladurée's daughter-in-law opened one of the first French tea salons where women could socialise without a male chaperone. In 2024, the site underwent a major renovation, reviving the tea salon’s belle époque exuberance under the creative vision of Dior Maison’s Cordelia de Castellane. Expect interesting macaron flavours including orange flower water and Marie-Antoinette tea (infused with a Ladurée blend of black tea, rose petals and citrus fruit). Individual macaron €2.90 (£2.40).

6. Gem la Pâtisserie Paris

Chef Gemilyn Guina ran a tearoom in the Philippines, her home country, before moving to Paris to train at Le Cordon Bleu, later opening Gem la Pâtisserie. She marries the tastes of Southeast Asia with classic French dessert flavours: salted caramel is either punched up with a hint of sriracha, for instance, or used as a base for an ube (purple yam) macaron. Other flavours that will transport curious palates to Southeast Asia include durian, pandan, tamarind and calamansi. Individual macaron €2 (£1.65).

7. Land&Monkeys

This modern establishment, with exposed brick walls and hanging plants, is one of the most popular plant-based bakeries in the French capital: everything on the shelves is made without butter, milk, cream or eggs. Since going vegan in 2014, pastry chef couple Rodolphe and Yoshimi Landemaine have expanded the Land&Monkeys brand significantly, and now have numerous establishments in both France and Japan. Like the rest of their baked goods, the macarons are very similar to the originals. A box of six macarons includes classic flavours such as dark chocolate, raspberry and pistachio, and costs €14 (£11.60).