Pierre Hermé’s tiny, ultra-chic showcase boutique on rue Bonaparte is filled with spectacular pastries, cakes and hand-made chocolates. Small gem-like macarons in a rainbow of colors are especially popular.

It’s hard not to be tempted by such mouth-watering treats. Chocolate lovers owe it to themselves to try Carrément Chocolat, a rich, sublime square of alternating chocolate textures.

Often referred to as the “Picasso of Pastry” or the “King of Pastry,” Hermé is a fourth-generation pastry chef who began his career as an apprentice with French chef Gaston Lenôtre at the age of 14.

By age 24 he was directing the pastry kitchens at the luxury traiteur Fauchon, later moving to the Ladurée restaurant on the Champs Elysées.

Today Pierre Hermé operates five shops in Paris as well as several retail outlets in Tokyo. A much-anticipated shop in London will be opening on Lowndes Street on 1 September 2010.

Speciality chocolate: “Intense” – a bitter ganache

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From left to right: Désiré, combining wild strawberries and lemon; Plaisir Sucrés, made with milk chocolate and praliné filling; and Isaphan, a glorious raspberry and macaron creation.

Pierre Hermé
72, rue Bonaparte, 75006 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 43 54 47 77
Métro: Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Mabillon, Saint-Sulpice
Hours: Mon. to Sun. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sat. open until 7:30 p.m.

Other locations:

4, rue Cambon, 75001 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 58 62 43 17
Métro: Tuileries
Hours: Mon. to Sat. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Macarons et Chocolat
39, avenue de l’Opéra, 75002 Paris
Métro: Opéra

Publicis Drugstore location – macarons and chocolates
133, avenue des Champs Elysées, 75008 Paris
Tel. +33(0)1 44 43 79 00
Métro: Charles de Gaulle-Etoile or Georges V
Hours: Mon. to Sun. 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Galeries Lafayette – Espace Souliers
40, boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 43 54 47 77
Métro: Chaussée D’Antin-La Fayette
Hours: Mon. to Sat. 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Open Thurs. until 9 p.m.

185, rue de Vaugirard, 75015 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 43 54 47 77
Métro: Pasteur
Hours: Tues. and Wed. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Thurs. to Sat. 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.;
Sun. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed on Monday.

58, rue Paul Doumer, 75016 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 43 54 47 77
Métro: Trocadéro or La Muette
Hours: Mon. 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.; Tues. to Thurs. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Fri. and Sat. 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

13, Lowndes Street, Belgravia, London
Tel. +44 (0)20 7284 0317