Where to eat, what to taste, and what’s new in the city that wrote the rulebook on gastronomy
Beyond the tourist-menu bistros of the Champs-Élysées, a working city of bakers, chocolatiers and third-generation market traders goes about its business daily, and increasingly, a wave of ambitious young chefs and confectioners is opening shopfronts right alongside them.
This next instalment of our Great Foodie Destinations series turns to Paris, built for families who want their children eating well, not just entertained, and for food lovers who want the 2026 additions to a very old story: new chocolate boutiques from some of France’s biggest culinary names, marquee restaurant openings from Anne-Sophie Pic and Thierry Marx, and a bakery that has spent over two decades proving that doing very little, very well, is its own kind of ambition.
Because it operates at every level a family actually needs. Michelin-calibre openings sit a few streets from hands-on chocolate classes built for six-year-olds, market culture is baked into daily life rather than staged for tourists, and independent, family-run hotels offer real neighbourhood character instead of chain-standard amenities. Few cities let a ten-year-old and a serious food lover build the same day around different stops on the same street.
Two of France’s most decorated chefs are opening new addresses in Paris this autumn. Anne-Sophie Pic, whose Michelin-starred restaurant in Valence remains one of France’s most awarded, is opening a new restaurant and cocktail bar within the relocated Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, now on Place du Palais-Royal beside the Louvre.
Nearby, Madame Brasserie, chef Thierry Marx’s restaurant inside the Eiffel Tower itself, pairs sweeping city views with French cuisine built around local produce, an easy add-on to a family day at the tower.
For a quieter but equally ambitious table, Eskal, near the Chapelle Expiatoire in the 8th arrondissement, is chef Alexandre Chambat’s first restaurant after training at L’Astrance and Pavillon Ledoyen, built around maturation, curing and fermentation techniques applied to contemporary French cooking.
Du Pain et Des Idées, founded in 2002 by Christophe Vasseur in a listed 19th-century boulangerie at 34 rue Yves Toudic in the 10th arrondissement, has spent over two decades on a deliberately narrow philosophy: a short range, organic raw materials, long fermentation, and everything shaped by hand. The bakery now extends to La Table, a dining room built around what comes out of the oven, and L’Atelier, a glass-fronted workshop where the bread is visibly made each day. Every Wednesday evening, the bakery runs a two-hour hands-on workshop where participants knead, shape and bake their own loaf to take home, a genuinely different family activity from the standard museum-and-café circuit.
A cluster of new chocolate boutiques has opened within walking distance of each other around the Opéra district and beyond, elevating Paris’s claim as a rival to Brussels and Zurich for the title of chocolate capital.
Several operators now run classes built specifically around children rather than families tagging along to an adult experience:
Is Paris a good food destination for families with children?
Yes. Beyond the standard tourist circuit, Paris has a growing number of hands-on food experiences designed specifically for children, from chocolate-making classes to bakery workshops, alongside independent boutique hotels with real family-room options rather than token amenities.
What’s new in Paris’s food scene in 2026?
The two biggest openings are Anne-Sophie Pic’s new restaurant at the relocated Fondation Cartier and Thierry Marx’s Madame Brasserie at the Eiffel Tower, both landing in 2026. Alongside them, a wave of new chocolate boutiques from Cédric Grolet, Pierre Hermé and Jade Genin has opened around the Opéra district.
Where should food-loving families stay in Paris?
Maison Chomel in Saint-Germain-des-Prés and Monsieur Aristide in Montmartre are both independent, family-run boutique hotels with connecting family rooms and strong local food sourcing on site.
Can children do cooking or pastry classes in Paris?
Yes. Cook’n With Class and Le Cordon Bleu Paris both run classes designed specifically for children aged 6 and up, taught in English, covering chocolate work, pastry and croissant-making.
What’s the best time of year for a foodie trip to Paris with family?
Spring and early autumn offer the mildest weather for market visits and walking food tours, while a Wednesday stay allows access to Du Pain et Des Idées’ weekly bread-making workshop.
Ready to build your Paris itinerary? We design bespoke family and food-focused travel programs, pairing the right stay with the right table, at the right time of year.
Contact us to start planning.
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