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Saint-Germain-des-Prés takes its name from an abbey founded in the sixth century, whose bell tower is among the oldest in Paris. Farmland, then a great trading fair, then the quarter of printers, booksellers and post-war cafés: this ground has changed trade several times. Wander Gourmet accompanies you through it by pedal-assist electric bike, for two, three or four houses, depending on the format, with artisans of bread, cheese and chocolate.
The neighbourhood is larger than it looks. From rue de Buci to rue du Cherche-Midi, from the Odéon crossroads to the edges of the Luxembourg gardens, a walking food tour picks one street and gives up the rest. A pedal-assist bike changes the scale: you link the artisans of the northern streets to those of the south without tiring, you keep your appetite from one house to the next, and you step off the moment a street gets too busy. The route uses streets open to traffic: you need to know how to ride a bike and to be at ease in city traffic.
The prés of the name were the fields of the Benedictine abbey, beyond the city wall. In the late fifteenth century the Saint-Germain fair settled here and became one of the great trading events of Paris for nearly three centuries. Cutting boulevard Saint-Germain through in the nineteenth century split the quarter without erasing its market streets. In the twentieth century the publishing houses, the fine arts school, the post-war literary cafés where the Left Bank existentialist writers crossed paths, and the jazz cellars made its literary name. You ride where a great deal was written, and where people have always eaten well.
The route leans on traditional bread, aged cheeses, often from protected-origin appellations depending on the season, and chocolate, with a specialty coffee and, depending on the season, a pass through a market street or a covered hall. What you read here are types of artisans, never brand names: the exact houses visited are confirmed at booking, because they depend on the season, opening days and each house's availability.
Four formats run in this neighbourhood, and for each of them the tour draws on the houses described below. The Jaunt, about 2 h 30, two houses, from 140 euros per person, all taxes included. The Ride, about 3 hours, three houses, from 165 euros per person. The Grand Tour, about 3 h 30, four houses, from 185 euros per person. A private or group tour, from 180 euros per person, billed for at least three people, with more generous portions; companies receive a quote. These prices are indicative; they include the tastings and the use of a pedal-assist bike and a helmet. The final price, all taxes included, is confirmed to you in writing before any payment. Wander Gourmet designs and accompanies the tour, with a guide. Each tasting is prepared and served by the artisan who welcomes you, on their own premises. Wander Gourmet neither prepares nor handles any food.
The houses described below are examples of the types of artisans and products involved. The make-up of the tour, the techniques used (sourdough, wood-fired baking, roasting, cheese ageing) and the products served depend on the season, opening days and each artisan's availability: they are not a commitment as to content.
You taste the bread plain first, then with a touch of butter, to feel what the crust adds; depending on the house, the baking may be done in a wood-fired oven. Your guide explains what the French bread decree of 13 September 1993 allows and forbids in a pain de tradition française, and recalls that these streets were still the abbey's fields eight centuries ago.
Two to three cheeses served in order, from the freshest to the most mature: depending on the season and on what the artisan has in the cellar, a goat's cheese, a bloomy-rind soft cheese or a cooked pressed cheese, most often from protected-origin appellations. What is on the board depends on availability on the day and is not guaranteed in advance. Some of these cheeses are made from raw milk: they are not advised for young children, pregnant women or people with weakened immune systems: tell us when booking and we will look for an alternative with the artisan. Your guide talks through the cellar work, the role of ageing, and what an appellation's specification requires of the producer.
A couverture chocolate and a single-origin bar tasted side by side, then a ganache bite. Your guide tells how cocoa reached Paris through the royal court in the seventeenth century, and the difference between an artisan who works with bought couverture and one who roasts the bean himself.
A short filter coffee on a seasonal bean, with enough in the cup to compare two origins. Your guide recalls that coffee was already being drunk publicly in Paris in 1672, according to the most widely repeated accounts, served by a merchant from the East under a tent at the Saint-Germain fair, and that the post-war literary cafés later built the reputation of the quarter.
A glass poured by the merchant on his own premises, from a grower's estate, or a grape juice if you prefer: this house is optional and is replaced by a soft drink on request. The drink is served by the merchant, on their own premises. No alcoholic drink is served to minors, and none is consumed before or during the riding sections, since handling a pedal-assist bike calls for the same sobriety as any other vehicle. Alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health, to be consumed in moderation (L'abus d'alcool est dangereux pour la santé, à consommer avec modération). Your guide brings up the vineyards the abbeys around Paris once owned, and the trading fair held on this very spot for nearly three centuries.
Depending on the season, a bite of something unadorned: churned butter, fruit, a regional charcuterie, served by the trader at his own point of sale. Your guide points out where the old Saint-Germain fair stood before it became a covered market, and explains why the quarter's market streets survived the boulevard.
Booking is a request, not a firm reservation: the tour details, date, meeting point and final price are confirmed in writing before any payment. Prices are indicative, per person, all taxes included, and cover the tastings and the use of a pedal-assist bike and a helmet.
Yes, within limits we would rather state plainly. You can tell us about allergies, intolerances or a diet when you book: the field is optional, and we pass the information to the artisan concerned before the tour. A vegetarian route is straightforward. However, we do not guarantee the absence of traces and cannot promise that a given allergen will be fully excluded: a bakehouse and a cheese cellar work with gluten and milk every day. So we never promise a gluten-free, lactose-free or peanut-free tour. You can also ask your questions on the spot, at the moment of the tasting, and if your allergy is severe we may advise against a particular house or the whole tour.
It can be, as a glass served by a wine merchant or a restaurateur on their own premises. That house is optional: a juice, water or a coffee replaces it, and a fully alcohol-free tour is possible if you say so. No alcoholic drink is served to minors. None is consumed before or during the riding sections, because handling a pedal-assist bike calls for the same sobriety as any other vehicle. Alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health, to be consumed in moderation (L'abus d'alcool est dangereux pour la santé, à consommer avec modération).
No. Wander Gourmet designs the route and accompanies you from house to house, with a guide. Each tasting is prepared and served by the artisan who welcomes you, on their own premises. Wander Gourmet neither prepares nor handles any food, and transports no foodstuffs.
Your booking request commits you to no immediate payment: we first confirm to you in writing the availability, the details of the houses and the final price, all taxes included. Because our tours are leisure activities that must be supplied on a set date or during a set period, article L. 221-28, 12° of the French Consumer Code excludes the fourteen-day right of withdrawal; you are told so before any order is confirmed. The applicable cancellation, rescheduling and refund terms and deadlines are set out in our terms of sale, which we invite you to read before confirming. If a dispute could not be settled with us, you would be free to refer it at no cost to the consumer ombudsman whose contact details appear in those terms.
Yes. The route uses streets open to traffic, in the middle of the city: you need to know how to ride a bike and to be at ease in city traffic. A pedal-assist bike takes a little getting used to, which is what the hands-on start and the safety briefing are for. A helmet is provided and we ask you to wear it for the whole tour. If you have not ridden for a long time, tell us when you book: we take it into account in the pace and in the streets we choose.
Booking is a request, not a firm reservation: the tour details, date, meeting point and final price are confirmed in writing before any payment. Prices are indicative, per person, all taxes included, and cover the tastings and the use of a pedal-assist bike and a helmet.
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