The Solo Scale:

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If you’re going to Paris, one of the seemingly non-negotiable things to do is to eat macarons. The question of where you plan to do that might come up. I’m always a fan of going to Paul, which is franchised and in multiple high-traffic areas. On this last vacation, I made a bit of an error. Rather than asking a local, I took advice from a fellow tourist, which led me to Ladurée on Champs-Élysées. This was an error for two main reasons:

1. This is every bit as much of a franchise as Paul is, but the prices were a lot higher than what I got at Paul. You’ll see locations for Ladurée in the airport, train stations, and even in international cities. It’s not quite the exclusive Paris treat that my source led me to believe
   
2. The quality really disappointed. I was heading to a dinner, so I tucked my macarons for consumption at a later time. It was only 36 hours later when I cracked them open, but even by then, they’d already become stale and not very flavourful at all

If you head to the Champs-Élysées location, you might be a little alarmed by the long line out the door. This is for the sit-down experience. If you head around the corner from the main street, there’s a separate entrance where you can buy pastries to-go.

If you do want macarons from such an iconic location, they have a decent number of flavours available to select from. However, I would recommend that you avoid my mistake and eat them right away. There’s also no lack of fantastic patisseries in Paris, so if you want the iconic Ladurée, then you can absolutely venture to this location. They’re also pricy here, but in general, macarons tend to run a little higher in price point. I didn’t find them exorbitantly more expensive than anywhere else I visited.

Speaking of other places — I recommend that it become one of your tasting stops and not the only one. After all, the best part of being on vacation is the indulgences that you might not be able to get at home.

Ladurée on the Champs-Élysées is still a fun little diversion if you’re shopping your way up and down. It’s definitely worth a visit, but they were far from the best macarons I’ve ever had in my life. Don’t set your expectations too high and their pastry case will absolutely meet your standards.

Then, it’s time to head on to see what the rest of Paris has to offer — and hopefully, you’ll have left room to try as much as you can.

If you do want to try Ladurée in Paris or even in your hometown (because they’re a far-reaching chain), you can visit their website to see their location and decide for yourself if they’re overrated or worth the price!

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