I think there’s one memory almost every French person shares: that magical moment as a kid when we got out of school at 4:30 p.m. and finally got our hands on a pain au chocolat. Usually, one of your parents had brought it for you, and you absolutely would not wait to get home to eat it. Sometimes it was an éclair, maybe a croissant, and for the fancier kids, a full-on tarte aux framboises.
This sacred ritual has a name: le goûter. Basically, it means eating something sweet every day around 4:30 p.m. You’d probably call it “snack time” in English—but honestly, I feel like in the U.S., “snack time” happens... all the time. I remember going to Chicago as a high school student for ten days, and I saw a girl eating a puff pastry with jam and a ton of sugar at 8:30 a.m. It was basically a perfect goûter, just at what felt like a completely unhinged hour.
As we grow up, we French people don’t really give up the goûter habit. And once you have your own credit card? It’s game over. Who’s going to stop me from buying two pastries at Yann Couvreur for 6 euros each?
We might not admit we still eat a goûter, because it feels a bit childish—but trust me, we all do. And honestly? We love it. Maybe even more than that 6 p.m. beer.
So if you’re a tourist in Paris this summer, take a break from walking around Montmartre or the Eiffel Tower, grab a pain au chocolat, sit on a bench, and enjoy your goûter like a true French person.
What to eat for the goûter in Paris?
Yann Couvreur has the best pastries you’ll ever eat, and probably the best croissants. Forget the line at Cedric Grolet, it’s not worth it!
Bubble tea delight at Laïzé, for the real Taiwanese shit.
Manteigaria for the real pastel de nata. Very, very hard to only eat one.
Berthillon for the best ice creams in the world, yeah better than in Italy. Sorry!