What is the best place to purchase chocolate in Paris?

My husband and I love dark chocolate, what is the best place to purchase and a good price? Thank you, Pippi

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There are some great chocolatiers in Paris:

Christian Constant

La Maison du Chocolat (you can get dark chocolate bars there)

Jadis et Gourmande

(to name just a few...)

Les

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Monoprix, best prices on known brands, Lindt etc. Not the same as getting lusicous hand made chocolates at a shop, but, the cheapest way to bring some home.

PS I am of the rare breed that does not actually love chocolate, its ok, but, I do not treat the subject with the reverence that I am sure some do, so therefore please excuse my pedestrian choices!

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This is one of my favourite things to seek in Paris too. Enjoy!

La Maison du Chocolat, 8, boulevard de la Madeleine, www.lamaisonduchocolat.com.

Jean-Paul Hévin, 231, rue Saint-Honoré, www.jphevin.com.

Pierre Hermé, 72, rue Bonaparte, 6th arr (pastries and chocolate), http://www.pierreherme.com/

Christian Constant, 37, rue d%26#39;Assas

Michel Chaudun, 149, rue de l%26#39;Université

DeBauve %26amp; Gallais, 30 rue des Saint-Peres, and 33 Rue Vivienne, http://www.debauve-et-gallais.com/v1/

Dalloyau, http://www.dalloyau.fr/

Pierre Marcolini, 89 rue de Seine

Richart Design et Chocolat, 258 bd St Germain

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Chocolate is my life!!!! And it is healthy for you too, physically and mentally!!!!!!!!! ;)

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Good list already.

Here%26#39;s the URL for Pierre Marcolini:

http://www.marcolini.be/

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Even the better chocolate you buy at a Monoprix or Franprix won%26#39;t break the bank and is miles away from what you can get in the States. Lindt is not my favorite (too Swiss and unnecessarily %26quot;fancy%26quot;). Look out for dark chocolate and the percentage that the package boasts: 70 %, 80 %, etc. It stands for the proportion of actual cocoa in the chocolate (your usual chocolate bar seldom goes beyond 25 % ). IMHO, the higher the better. My favorite brands are Poulain and Côte d%26#39;Or. In some bakeries, you%26#39;ll find Valrhôna, at a fraction of what you would pay for it in the States.

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Is there such a thing as %26quot;unnecessarily fancy%26quot;?

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I had a client who used to bring me Cote d%26#39;Or from his business trips all the time. He told me it was cheap over there, and each bar was basically 2 big slabs of the best dark chocolate I%26#39;ve ever eaten! It ruined me for Hershey%26#39;s forever. Does anyone know if you can buy this brand at Monoprix? I will be there in May and want to stock up.

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Fellow U.S. Paris lovers: I hate to be a party pooper,but you can get good chocolate -- Vahlrona and Cuizel among them, with 70 and 80 percent cacao content -- at Trader Joe%26#39;s in the States, for a fraction of what they cost in France. Why? TJ buys in bulk and tax add-ons are lower.

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I second the TJs idea, I always buy Vahlrona there.

And I think Bob is referring to the fillings, etc., that Lindt tends to use in its chocolate.

Jeff de Bruges is also very good.

Les