Ladurée Paris Royale - Pastry Shop

Ladurée Paris Royale, the historic address

Ladurée Paris Royale is a shop opened in 1862. Louis Ernest Ladurée, born in Paris on 21 February 1836, a miller by trade, opened a bakery at 16 rue Royale. At the time, the Madeleine was a business district where French luxury products were sold.

It now features a shop on the ground floor and two salons upstairs, where you can enjoy lunch or afternoon tea.

The baker becomes a “pastry chef”

Following a fire caused by the riots of the Commune in 1871, the bakery was rebuilt. At the same time, it was transformed into a pastry shop. During the Second Empire, Jeanne Souchard, wife of Ernest Ladurée, son of Louis Ernest, and daughter of a Rouen hotelier, blended the art of Parisian café culture with that of pastry making.

Ladurée Paris Royale’s expansion

In 1930, a salon opened on the first floor at 16 rue Royale in Paris.

After the Liberation of Paris in 1944, Pierre Desfontaines, a cousin of Ernest Ladurée, took over the business, which was in decline due to a lack of raw materials.

The creation of the "macaron"

He revived the business and invented the Parisian macaron in 1960 with the help of his pastry chef Marcel Thébert. They came up with the idea of incorporating cocoa into the Italian meringue (shell), adding a chocolate ganache between the two shells, and then creating flavors such as coffee and raspberry.

The new owner: the Holder Group

In 1993, David Holder and his father Francis, founder of the Holder Group, acquired and expanded the Ladurée company.

Three years later, the company reported a turnover of 24 million francs and employed 140 people. Pierre Hermé became the head pastry chef at Ladurée.

In 1997, two boutiques opened in Paris, one on Champs-Élysées decorated by Jacques Garcia, the other on rue Bonaparte decorated by Roxane Rodriguez. In 2006, a boutique was established at Harrods in London, also decorated by Roxane Rodriguez. Pierre Hermé left the group the following year and was replaced by Philippe Andrieu.

From the 2000s onwards, the brand invested in diversifying its products.

In March 2021, Ladurée sold 100% of its shares to the LOV group owned by Stéphane Courbit.
In April 2021, Julien Alvarez, former chef of the Bristol Paris, became Ladurée’s international executive chef.
At the end of 2021, Mélanie Carron also joined the adventure as Managing Director. Appointed as CEO of the Ladurée House.

Ladurée and its production sites

Ladurée operates several production sites, including one in France and the main one in Switzerland.

In 2010, the company acquired a 2.05-hectare plot in Enney, in the municipality of Bas-Intyamon, in the canton of Fribourg, Switzerland, and invested 20 million Swiss francs to open at the end of 2011 the “Manufacture suisse de macarons”, a production and research site. The laboratory produces macarons sold outside Europe, and since 2020 those for the six Parisian boutiques.

The pastries intended for the Paris region boutiques, as well as viennoiseries, ice creams and confectionery, are produced in the 2,000 m² laboratory located in Morangis, in Essonne, south of Paris. Fresh pastries are prepared daily in local laboratories.

What to enjoy at Ladurée Paris Royale

Iconic pastries

The current menu notably features:

Ispahan – €15: macaron, rose cream, fresh raspberries and lychees.
Plaisir sucré – €15: hazelnut dacquoise, praline ganache and milk chocolate chantilly.
Tarte Passion Framboise – €15: sweet pastry, passion fruit cream and fresh raspberries.
Vanilla citrus entremet – 17 €: sable biscuit, caramel, orange-clementine marmalade and vanilla cream.
Blackcurrant delight – 15 €: macaron biscuit, violet mascarpone, black fruits and crystallised violets.
Vanilla custard tart – 15 €: crisp puff pastry and Madagascar vanilla cream.
Pistachio éclair – 15 €: choux pastry, craquelin, pistachio cream and pistachio praline insert.
Lemon flower – 15 €: salted butter biscuit, almond biscuit and lemon confit.
Strawberry flower – 15 €: sable biscuit, Genoise sponge, strawberry confit and tropézienne cream.

World-famous macarons

These are obviously one of Ladurée’s signature products. At the boutique, you can create your own assortments of:

coffee, orange blossom, salted caramel, chocolate, pistachio, rose, vanilla, lemon, raspberry, Marie-Antoinette tea, almond and passion fruit.

The assortments listed on the menu are 4 macarons: 15 €, 6: 21 € and 12: 38 €.

For breakfast

Until noon, you’ll find:

Ladurée croissant – 4 €
Pain au chocolat – 4.50 €
Apple turnover – 5 €
Walnut croissant – 5 €
Pistachio chocolate croissant – 5 €
Palmier pastry – 5.50 €

It is also possible to enjoy a Ladurée breakfast at 24 € or a brunch at 65 €.

For a snack / Tea Time

This is probably the most interesting experience for a visitor: Tea Time at 39 €, featuring pastry(ies), hot drinks and various gourmet treats depending on the selection. The salon also offers an extensive range of Ladurée teas, including Marie-Antoinette, Joséphine, Mille et Une Nuits, Rose, Jardin Bleu Royal, Othello and Roi Soleil.

You can also enjoy Ladurée hot chocolate with vanilla whipped cream, coffees, matcha latte, chai latte and other beverages.

Other sweet treats

The menu also features frozen desserts, including:

Vanilla-pecan
Pistachio
Chocolate
Ispahan (rose, lychee, raspberry)

The 16 rue Royale is not just a pastry shop

16 rue Royale is also a full restaurant/tea salon. You can enjoy lunch with eggs, omelettes, salads, avocado toast, smoked salmon, dishes and sandwiches, and finish with a pastry. The current average price is around 46 € per person.

For tourists, the three most sought-after products/experiences are: 1. the Ispahan, 2. a box of macarons, 3. the Tea Time in the historic salon on Rue Royale.

To see nearby

You can enjoy visiting the surrounding area by following our self-guided walks from Place de la Concorde:

Alternatively, you can also see or visit (and book online when available) the following Points of Interest:

Rue Royale

Cruise embarkations are also available within short distances:

Batobus Shuttle - River Taxi(Stop at Place de la Concorde) - Batobus River Taxi Booking (9 stops) (Hop-on Hop-off - 1 or 2-day pass - Easy to travel from one museum to another)
Seine River Cruise with Bateaux-Mouches - Pont de l'Alma Bridge - Seine River Cruise Booking – Departure Pont de l’Alma 75008 – Port de la Conférence – Bateaux-Mouches
Canal Saint-Martin Cruise from Musée d'Orsay - Seine and Canal Saint-Martin Booking – Port Solferino - Musée d'ORSAY - Parc de la Villette
Paris Sightseeing Cruises - Paris Booking: Seine Dinner Cruise with Panoramic Views and Champagne (Port Solférino – approx. Musée d’Orsay)

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