Despite what its name might suggest, A la Reine Astrid is not a Belgian chocolate shop.

The store on rue de Washington was in fact founded in 1935 by Fernande Gobert, daughter of a Lille-based chocolatier who opened shop in Paris to sell her father’s confections.

That same year, the very popular Queen Astrid of Belgium, the first wife of King Léopold, died in a tragic motor vehicle accident in Switzerland.

Mademoiselle Gobert, a staunch admirer of the queen, wanted to honour her memory in some way.

She wrote to the Belgian court asking for permission to rename her chocolate shop after Astrid.

Permission was granted on the condition that her chocolates be of the highest quality, and they remain so to this day.

Specialities include chocolate “caviar,” made of tiny pearls of dark chocolate, candied chestnuts, ganaches and pralinés.


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A la Reine Astrid
24, rue du Cherche-Midi, 75006 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 01 42 84 07 02
Métro: Sèvres-Babylone
Hours: Mon. to Sat. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

33, rue de Washington, 75008 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 45 63 60 39
Métro: Georges V
Hours: Mon. to Sat. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.