Following a visit to the Palace of Versailles, my wife and I made our way to Boulangerie Julien for…read morea quick lunch. We did not realize that we could not dine in until we arrived, which was unfortunate because it was beginning to rain, but that did not dampen our experience. When we walked in, we were the only customers in the establishment, so we took our time deciding (and translating) menu items. The place VERY quickly filled up and we ended up waiting in line while we were deciding. We ended up just grabbing a couple of sandwiches on the run that turned out to be delicious. There was a bit of a language barrier, but as we were the visitors, we made due and had a great experience.

When I used to live in Versailles, it was my FAVORITE Boulangerie Patisserie…read more Located Rue de La Paroisse just few step away from The Famous and Beautiful Farmer Market of Versailles "le carre du marche de Versailles" The Boulangerie itself is Elegante with the Marble and the Mosaic, very Versailles. On Sundays the line to get the baguette is out on the street. Variety of breads, "Plats prepares" from quiches (so many option), salade maison, saumon a l'oseille, amazing, tasty and just delicious patries. Their croissants, chausson aux pommes, croissants aux amandes are to die for. On week-ends the pastries are always warm because of the orders flow, pastries don't have time to be displayed too long :-) For Christmas they have a large selection of breads, I will recommend to order it couple days prior so you can just pick it up on the D day. For some French occasion like 1- "la Fetes des Rois" they have the famous "Galette des Rois" with a little "collector feve inside" and a gold crown. Younger i used to collect them whoever get the feve, get the crown !! the Galette is made of almond cream in a puff crust. 2- "Buches de Noel" for christmas and New Year. They offer the open of cake Buche or iced Buche. Their buche (cake's one) is not too heavy creamy, I enjoy the Grand Marnier one or the Fruits one. 3- Easter, the pastry Chef always designs the cholocate Easter egg, they also do the "friture" those small chocolate of fish, turtle, schrimp in white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate or orange chocolate. Almost forgot about the easter liquor egg. Just had a flashback of my childhood All their products are really fresh and healthy (You are in France LOL) The staff is sometime overwhelm by the crowd but I never experienced anything "funny", just keep in mind french people are grumpy ah ah ah If you like to try a real french boulangerie and pastries in Versailles, Maison Julien Boulangerie Patisserie is the place to go!

We went all out and tried almost every macaron, and I have to say they were all incredibly fresh…read moreand delicious! I also took home one of their teas, which I really enjoyed, and a box of the Eugénies, which quickly became my favorite. I would absolutely get this again in a heartbeat. The ambience is very elegant and fancy, making the experience feel extra special. The staff were super friendly, especially since we weren't sure which flavors to try. After seeing how many items we ordered, they even gave us three free macarons which was such a sweet gesture! They also have super cute merchandise, such as keychains, and a cooler bag. Ladurée is definitely a must-visit for anyone who loves macarons and a charming, upscale atmosphere.

There seems to be some inconsistencies with Ladurée. I had the Marie Antoinette after our walk…read morethrough Versailles and wasn't impressed. However, the one in the box I purchased at the airport in Paris was a lot more flavorful, very fruit loop forward making me wonder which flavor was their intention as it's supposed to be a tea flavor.