This bar was my local for many years when I lived in the 6^th arrondissment. It is a great little street to come and have a drink after work, meet up with friends, make new ones. If there is a table free, grab it right away and then make plans around that. 

I never really stopped to think that this might also be a great place for breakfast, not just after work drinks, until I was visiting recently as a tourist. My traditional baguette with bread and jam was accompanied by a pleasant hot chocolate that wasn’t trying to be anything more than just a good, solid, morning chocolate. I watched everyone rushing to get to work, looking perfectly elegant and put together as I sipped slowly. I had no where to be and all the time in the world. A perfect little moment. 

Bar du Marché, 75 Rue de Seine, 75006, Paris, France. Open daily from 8am to 2am.

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Pierre Hermé is a world-renowned French pastry chef, often called the “Picasso of Pastry”. He is most famous for his macarons and has shops throughout the city that sell only these, offered in a range of different flavours, both classic and surprising.

The hot chocolate on offer is based on the in-store version made with 67% dark chocolate with vanilla and prepared with water. It was served from one of the clear glass containers that heats and continuously mixes pre-prepared hot chocolate, ready to serve when an order comes in, rather than made to order. The machine was almost empty, even though it was soon after opening, and the chocolate inside, which ended up in my cup, was thick and gluggy, like a sweet pudding. It wasn’t good, and should never have been served to anyone, but it was served to me. 

With no staff around to comment on this (perhaps they were out back preparing a new batch?) we left after enjoying our cakes and macarons, which were, as one would expect, beautiful.  Given it is Pierre Hermé, I expect, when properly prepared, this is likely a nice hot chocolate. I’ll have to wait until my next trip to try it again.

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Every time I visit Paris, I usually try to enjoy a breakfast and a hot chocolate at Les Deux Magots. The name, Les Deux Magots, refers to two statues perched on pillars in the middle of the café since 1884 when the café opened. 

Popular with tourists and local alike, it is best to arrive early in the morning to grab a table outside, perfect for people watching. And there are plenty of people to watch. Saint Germain is always buzzing with activity, and this café has long been the meeting place for artists and intellectuals historically, and today a general mix of interesting people. The breakfast of champions is their “Le Classique” which comes with a hot chocolate, a Danish, a small baguette, some Poitou Charentes butter and a selection of jam and honey. A freshly squeezed orange juice can also be added for a few euros more. It is perfect lingering food as, unlike a warm breakfast such as eggs, you can sit and make this breakfast last for as long as you’d like to sit here, which is why the line to get in often gets very long. 

The hot chocolate is not just great, it is generous. You get a little pitcher of it which fills not just one, but two full cups of hot chocolate. The chocolate itself is 55% Equatorial Valrhona chocolate, mixed with water. It is thick and satisfying. 

In the evenings, Les Deux Magots has live jazz and often hosts literary events and is open until 1am. So there are plenty of opportunities to sit down and enjoy a hot chocolate. 

Les Deux Magots, 6 Pl. Saint-Germain des Près, 75006, Paris, France Open everyday from 7:30am to 1am

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While visiting Paris for the Salon du Chocolat, I was lucky enough to join a small group of chocolate makers on a personalised tour of Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse. Here, Ducasse’s team roast, grind, conche, temper, and transform cacao into a range of bars and bonbons. Large glass walls surrounding the shop allow visitors to watch much of the process unfold in real time. It is a stunning store and I highly recommend you plan a visit if you are in Paris. Every time I have visited, staff have come around and offered samples, if you need even more reasons to visit. 

You can’t sit down for a hot chocolate at the chocolate manufacture itself, but a block away on Rue Saint-Sabin is Le Café Alain Ducasse, his coffee-focused café. Ducasse approaches coffee with the same philosophy he brings to chocolate: single-origin beans sourced from around the world and roasted on site. Unlike the chocolate shop, the café has a small seating area where visitors can properly settle in and experience the coffees on offer.

There is also a hot chocolate on the menu, made using Ducasse’s chocolate. It was surprisingly light in flavour, though still very enjoyable. I couldn’t help thinking it would have been wonderful to see a few more options highlighting the different chocolate origins, much like the way the café showcases its coffee beans, especially with the chocolate manufacture just nearby.

The hot chocolate arrived with the best madeleine I have ever tasted. Now I wish every hot chocolate camewith a madeleine.

And if you still need more Ducasse, there is also an ice cream shop and a cookie shop right next door. The smells drifting through that street in the morning must be unbelievable. If I lived upstairs, I’d never leave.

Le Café Alain Ducasse, Rue Saint-Sebin, 75011, Paris. Open Monday to Saturday, 9am to 7pm, and Sunday from 11am to 6pm.

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My favourite Sunday morning activity is to visit the Marché Bastille. Oysters, cheese, bread, tea towels, very, very good churros, this market has everything. After you’ve had your fill, walk over to Boulevard Beaumarchais, then continue along Rue du Pas de la Mule to Place des Vosges. Linger at Place des Vosges for a few minutes. One of the city’s most beautiful squares, it is also the older planned square in the city build in the early 1600s. It’s perfectly symmetrical. Sit on the grass for a few moments to take it all in (if you are allowed, often the block off the grass to let it “rest”). When you are ready, keep going straight as the street becomes Rue des Francs Bourgeois and then turn right on Rue Pavée. That’s when it’s time to stop for a hot chocolate, and a few chocolates at Petite Manufacture Cluizel.

The little shop feels like stepping into a small, deeply personal luxury boutique, but still feels relaxing and approachable. Behind the counter, the chocolatier slips on a pair of immaculate white gloves before carefully arranging the expertly crafted enrobed chocolates into large display cases. He treats us like regulars, even though it is our first time meeting him. He has found the perfect balance between allowing us to browse in silence and volunteering interesting information about the chocolates.

While he prepares our hot chocolates, we explore the range of chocolates on offer. There are bars made with beans from the Los Ancones cocoa plantation in the Dominican Republic, another from São Tomé, and many more origins besides. The enrobed chocolates are exquisite, and even the added flavours are thoughtfully sourced: honey from Lorraine, coffee from Mexico.

We leave with a few treats to take home too — a tin of chocolate sardines (thankfully only shaped like sardines), marshmallow bears dipped in chocolate (a necessity when in Paris), and mushroom-shaped chocolate caramels that are almost too beautiful to eat.

When you are ready, take your chocolate filled bags and walk back up to Rue des Francs-Bougeois and continue along it. This road, which eventually brings you to the vibrant 2nd arrondissement, is lively and full of interesting shops and hidden courtyards.

This particular location of Cluizel has since, sadly, closed. But Cluizel chocolate is sold in many other stores around Paris (including the chocolate hall at Galleria Lafayettes). If you have time, visit The Chocolaterium at 7 Avenue Michel Cluizel about 2 hours away from Paris in Mesnils Sur Iton for the full Cluizel experience.

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There are 19 locations of Chapon Chocolatier in and around Paris, and I’ve visited several of them. My favourite is the boutique in the 7^th arrondissement. I used to live just around the corner, so visiting always feels a little like coming home. It’s probably their smallest location, maybe even one of the quietest, but I see all of that as positives. 

The hot chocolate is excellent; thick, rich and decadent, especially on a cool day. There is no space to sit inside, so it’s served in a paper cup that inevitably carries a faint cardboard smell, which I always feels takes away from the drink. But the good news is, that it is easy to take away with you. Walk across to Jardin Luxembourg and enjoy your drink there. The gardens which cover 23 hectares have many green metal chairs scattered throughout that anyone can pull up to, sit, relax, and take in the views. Highly recommended. 

What Chapon is truly famous for, and the reason you should absolutely visit, is for their bar à mousse au chocolat. Served almost like an icecream and scooped into a cone shaped cup, each mousse is made with a different origin and cocoa percentage. It is unbelievably good. 

The packaging at Chapon is gorgeous and stepping into the shop feels like opening a treasure chest. They have bonbons and chocolate covered nuts. Teddybear shaped marshmallows dipped in white, milk or dark chocolate. The walls are lined with bars made form cacao beans sourced from around the world. I especially love the back wall lined with vintage chocolate moulds. If they were for sale, I’d buy those too. 

Chapon Chocolaterie, 69 rue du Back, 75007, Paris Open daily from 10am to 7 or 8pm depending on the day.  www.chapon.com

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The best hot chocolates are made by bean to bar/craft chocolate makers. This is a not so secret secret. They are making the chocolate they use to make your drink from scratch, rather than buying pre made chocolate and melting it down, or even cocoa powder mixes. Every decision they make, from which beans they source and from where to how they create your drink, are all made with a focus on flavor. A word of warning though. Once you have had a hot chocolate from one of these growing number of quality makers around Paris and around the world, you will not only find it hard to drink any other hot chocolate (they just won’t taste good), but you will begin falling into the wonderfully delicious rabbit hole which is the world of craft chocolate. You are welcome. 

Ara Chocolate is one of the best, tucked down a quiet street in the 9th arrondissement. Ara was founded by Andrés and Sabrina who moved from Venezuela to Paris many years ago, founding Ara Chocolate in 2015. They recently moved from a tiny shop not too far away to this much larger, but still very small space. Most of their bars are open for tasting, and make sure you taste. All of them have won numerous awards for a reason. Andrés was there, more than happy to answer all of our questions, and the numerous questions posed by the stead stream of customers coming through the doors. Interestingly, of the 6 or so different groups that came in while we were sitting enjoying our drink, half were very obviously die hard fans, passing by to stock up their daily dose of Ara. The other were first timers, entering to buy a gift for a friend who likes chocolate. As Andres walked them through their approach and insisted they taste the products, you could just hear the fireworks going off in their heads as they realised that this quick little stop to buy a random chocolate bar for a friend might just have changed their life (at least the chocolate part of their life.).

Their signature hot chocolate (5.5 euros take away, 6 euros drink in) is a water based drink with one of their chocolate, based on a family recipe. The use of water, rather than milk, allows you to really taste the chocolate without any distractions (milk has its own taste).  They switch up which cacaos they use to make these regularly, but it is always based on one of their own (and you can also buy it in little bags to bring home). They have bonbons and icecream, mousse, cake and all sorts of other chocolate goodies.  

Ara Chocolate: 41 Bis Rue Condorcet, 75009, Paris, France. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 11am-18H30

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We had not planned to visit Royal Turenne in the Marais. Instead, the original plan was to try the instagram famous Carette to have their hot chocolate. We weren’t the only ones. Despite there being dozens of empty tables, the staff insisted on keeping a long line of primarily tourists waiting. In front of us were over a dozen “influencers” with expensive handbags, masks of makeup, pearly smiles and phones at hand, obviously all recently out of some sort of event, carrying bags of samples. After 30 minutes, we lost interest in what I decided would likely be an overrated hot chocolate anyways (if only to justify the loss), and wondered forth in search of whatever else the area might offer up. We didn’t have to walk far as we found an empty terrace with a nice view calling in the form of Brasserie Royal Turenne.

This typical, welcoming Brasserie offered up a mediocre version of a very typical French hot chocolate. Not quite as chocolatey or warm or rich as it should have been, and perhaps brought down slightly by my high expectations and desire to have the rich decadent drink that the instagrammers had promised me at Carette. But this moment without the pretentious waiters or surrounded by tourists and ending not in an overpriced but quite reasonable drink stop was very enjoyable. While we didn’t order anything else, the food looked and smelled fantastic and not a tourist in sight (always a good sign in Paris).

Royal Turenne, 24 Rue de Turenne, 75003, Paris, France. Hours: 7:00-2:00 royalturenne.fr

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L’Esperantine is a beautiful little chocolate shop located in the Panier neighbourhood of Marseille, one of France’s biggest and most interesting cities. Within a few blocks they have both a shop front and a cafe where you can sit and enjoy their chocolates, ice creams and, of course, hot chocolate. The company, founded in 1999 by Francesco Martorana, is famous for their chocolates made with added olive oil and shaped like olive leaves. They also put the flavours of local almonds and orange front and centre in many of their products. They don’t make the chocolate itself and are chocolatiers, making products with chocolate they buy. No information was shared in store about where that chocolate is from or how it is made.

There are three hot chocolates on the menu, one made with dark chocolate and almond milk, another with milk chocolate and hazelnut milk and the last a moka made with coffee. I admit I was disappointed that the chocolate they use isn’t their olive oil chocolate, or paired with a milk that would highlight this fascinating pairing. But the hot chocolate was lovely, made with chocolate melted down to order. The cafe space itself is stunning with high ceilings and exposed wooden beams reminiscent of a cathedral. The staff are warm and friendly and all the products we tried were delicious, especially the ice creams.

L’Esperantine de Marseille-Provence, 17 Bd Jacques Saade, Marseille, France. Hours: 10am – 7pm. www.esperantine.co.uk

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