This establishment is as essential as Brasserie Lipp or the Eiffel Tower, and all the more precious since there isn’t an outlet in London or the US (lots in Japan, though). France’s first importers of tea (est. 1660) opened their original teahouse and shop on the narrow Marais rue du Bourg Tibourg in 1854, and have been supplying chic Parisians with their special brews ever since. Serious tea-drinkers wouldn’t dream of coming to Paris without spending an hour here, not only to sit in the colonial-style tearoom, but also to stock up on their favourite Darjeelings and Earl Greys to take home. Hundreds of black tea cans line the oak shelves, and you can lean over the counter and stick your snout into each and every one of them, time and patience permitting; in the old-fashioned style, you pay at a kiosk, once your purchase has been packaged. The salon offers the same cosmic selection of tea, as well as tea-scented cakes, light snacks and salads. Three other tea rooms have opened in the 6ème and 8ème, at 13 rue des Grands Augustins; 260 faubourg Saint-Honoré; and 17 place de la Madeleine.