“Let them eat cake” said Marie Antoinette, and we did, but did she?

There is some question as to whether it was Marie Antoinette who uttered that famous statement, but whether she did or not, my friends and I were in Paris so we were going to eat cake – or to be precise, Macaroons, from a very famous cake shop indeed!
Have you heard of Laduree? No? Neither had I but my friend Lindsay knew all about it and she was determined that we should visit while we were in the city recently – she took the lead, we followed like sheep.

Parisian tea rooms’ history is intimately tied to the history of the Ladurée family. It all began in 1862, when
Louis Ernest Ladurée, a miller from the southwest of France, founded a bakery in Paris at 16 rue Royale.
In 1871, while Baron Haussmann was giving Paris a ‘new face’, a fire in the bakery opened the opportunity to transformation it into a pastry shop – Laduree was born, and boy are we glad!

I have been in many cake shops in my time, even worked in one as a teenager but let me tell you Laduree is in a league of its own – we are not talking Greggs!

The selection is mind blowing, I couldn’t even begin to tell you what they all are but what I will say is that a finer collection of cakes I have never seen.

Laduree is particularly famous for its macaroons and this, my friend told me, is what we were going to indulge in.
At 32 euros for 16 of these gorgeous little delicacies you may think they are a very expensive luxury but I can honestly say they were worth every last cent, a little bit of heaven. There are about 17 different flavours to choose from,all of them absolutely divine.

Next time you are in Paris forget the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame and the Louvre, just head for Laduree on Champs Elysee and I promise you, you will be glad you did.
I would have saved you one but you know how it goes! For directions to Laduree or for information on cruises that call into Le Havre for Paris just call me on 0800 408 6084 or email me at [email protected].