- Mariage Frères at 30 rue du Bourg-Tibourg in the Marais is the classic Paris tea salon: a tea house trading since 1854, with more than 1,000 teas at the counter and a Tea Time menu listed from about €39.
- Palace hotel tea times cost far more. In October 2026 they ranged from €68 at the Mandarin Oriental’s Camélia to €125 at the Ritz’s Salon Proust, and €138 for the Crillon’s limited edition with champagne.
- Book the palaces ahead. Le Bristol requires a reservation for Café Antonia, and the Ritz charges €105 per person if you cancel a table for 1 to 4 people less than 48 hours before.
- For a cheaper sit-down, Angelina on rue de Rivoli (open since 1903) serves its Mont-Blanc and hot chocolate all day. The Grande Mosquée de Paris tea salon pours mint tea in a tiled courtyard for a few euros.
- Go on a weekday between 3 pm and 4 pm. It is the calmest window at walk-in salons, and several palace afternoon teas start at 3 or 3:30 pm.
Paris has two tea cultures, and visitors often book the wrong one. The first is the salon de thé: a tea room or pâtisserie where you order a pot and a cake from a menu, usually without a reservation. The second is the palace hotel tea time, a set menu of pastries, finger sandwiches and a hot drink. It runs for a fixed window each afternoon and costs about as much as a dinner. Below: Mariage Frères first, then prices, hours and booking rules for both. Prices and hours were checked in October 2026 against the sources linked below. Confirm on the venue’s own page before you travel, because seasonal menus change every few months.
What to Expect at Mariage Frères in the Marais
The Mariage Frères Marais store is at 30 rue du Bourg-Tibourg, 75004 Paris. The nearest metro is Hôtel de Ville on lines 1 and 11. The house dates its art of tea to 1854. The building splits into a shop at the front and a dining room behind it. You walk in past the tea counter, lined with tins. The counter carries more than 1,000 references. Behind the counter is the restaurant and tea room, with antique woodwork, patinated counters and old tins.
On its official store page in October 2026, Mariage Frères listed the tea counter from 10:30 am to 7:30 pm and the restaurant and tea room from noon to 7 pm. Some older guides list salon service from 3 pm only. The same page listed the upstairs tea museum as closed. Plan your visit around the salon and shop, not the museum.
How the menu works
The tea list is long, so it helps to know what you like before you sit down. It runs from single-origin teas, such as Darjeeling and Japanese sencha, to the house’s flavored blends, which make up a large part of the menu. If you like scented teas, our guide to scented teas explains how jasmine, bergamot and fruit scenting differ. That makes the flavored half of the list much easier to read.
The food menu is made in house. Paris Select Book’s December 2025 review listed a Tea Time formula from €39, a full tasting menu with your choice of tea. In winter the tea comes in porcelain teapots with fine crockery. Seasonal specials change through the year.
Buying tea to take home
Most visitors leave with a tin from the front counter, where loose tea is sold by weight as well as in sealed tins. Ask what sizes are available if you want to try several teas instead of buying one large tin. Our tea souvenirs guide covers how to carry loose tea through customs and keep it fresh on the way home. Other Mariage Frères addresses in Paris include rue des Grands-Augustins (6th), rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré (8th), Place de la Madeleine (8th), rue Montorgueil (2nd) and rue Cler (7th).
Paris Tea Salons Compared: Prices, Hours and Booking
Palace prices below come from Paris Select Book’s comparison of 21 October 2026; Mariage Frères, Angelina and Ritz details come from official pages unless noted.
| Venue | Area | Price (Oct 2026) | When it is served | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mariage Frères, Marais | 4th, rue du Bourg-Tibourg | Tea Time from €39 (Dec 2025 review) | Tea room noon to 7 pm daily | Phone +33 1 42 72 28 11; walk-ins common |
| Angelina, Rivoli | 1st, 226 rue de Rivoli | À la carte | Mon to Thu 8 am to 7 pm; Fri to 7:30 pm; Sat and Sun 8:30 am to 7:30 pm | Expect a queue at peak times |
| Ritz Paris, Salon Proust | 1st, Place Vendôme | €125, champagne brut and hot drink included | 1 pm to 7 pm daily | Card guarantee; €105 per person late-cancellation fee |
| Le Bristol, Café Antonia | 8th, Faubourg Saint-Honoré | €95, champagne coupe included | 3:30 pm to 6 pm, Monday to Sunday | Reservation mandatory: +33 1 53 43 43 42 |
| Le Meurice, Le Dalí | 1st, rue de Rivoli | €95 with coffee, tea or hot chocolate; champagne from €36 extra | Afternoons; confirm when booking | Book ahead |
| Plaza Athénée, La Galerie | 8th, avenue Montaigne | €75 pastries and drink; €95 with finger sandwiches; children €35 | Afternoons; confirm when booking | Book ahead |
| Mandarin Oriental, Camélia | 1st, rue Saint-Honoré | €68 with a soft drink; €88 with champagne or French Bloom | Afternoons; confirm when booking | Book ahead |
| Hôtel de Crillon, Marie-Antoinette edition | 8th, Place de la Concorde | €108; €138 with Rare Champagne Rosé 2014 | Thursday to Sunday, until 22 November 2026 | Limited edition, book early |
| Grande Mosquée de Paris tea salon | 5th, 39 rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire | A few euros per glass and pastry | All day, every day | Walk-in |
Booking Information
The rule is simple. Book the palaces, walk in to the salons, and phone Mariage Frères if you are a group or have a fixed time.
Palace hotel tea times
Palace tea services run for a fixed window of a few hours, and their dining rooms are small. On weekends and in December they fill days ahead. Le Bristol says a reservation for Café Antonia is mandatory. The Ritz Paris Salon Proust page explains that a credit card imprint guarantees tables. It charges €105 per person if a reservation for 1 to 4 people is cancelled less than 48 hours ahead. The Ritz also has a smart dress code, so plan to dress up a little. Elegant shorts are allowed only in its restaurants until 5 pm. A new Tea Time menu replaced the summer goûter à la française on 1 September 2026.
Salons and pâtisseries
Mariage Frères takes bookings on +33 1 42 72 28 11. Couples arriving mid-afternoon on a weekday usually just join the line at the door. Angelina’s Rivoli flagship is busiest from late morning through mid-afternoon, especially at weekends. The line moves, and it is usually shorter in the morning and in the last hours before closing. The tea salon at the Grande Mosquée de Paris is walk-in only. You order at the counter or from the servers who carry trays of mint tea through the courtyard.
Costs and What Is Included
The price gap between a salon and a palace is large, and so is what you get. A salon de thé is à la carte: a pot of tea and one pastry per person. A palace tea time is a full set menu, and the price nearly always includes a hot drink. Some also include champagne, which explains much of the spread.
| Budget level | Example | What you get | Approximate cost per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low | Grande Mosquée de Paris | Glass of mint tea and a pastry such as baklava or corne de gazelle | A few euros (pastries about €2 each in mid-2025) |
| Mid | Mariage Frères Tea Time | Full tea menu with choice of tea | From €39 |
| Upper | Mandarin Oriental Camélia | Palace tea time with soft drink | €68 (€88 with champagne) |
| Upper | Plaza Athénée La Galerie | Pastries and a drink, or the full version with finger sandwiches | €75 to €95 |
| Top | Ritz Paris Salon Proust | Tea time with champagne brut and a hot drink | €125 |
Two money notes. First, service is included in French restaurant prices by law, so tipping is optional. Rounding up or leaving a few euros for good service is common. Second, champagne is the usual add-on. At Le Meurice a coupe starts at €36 on top of the €95 formula. A palace tea for two with champagne can easily pass €250. If you are comparing Paris with London, our London afternoon tea prices guide breaks down the Ritz, Claridge’s and the Savoy on the same basis.
Tips for First-Timers
Know the vocabulary. Salon de thé means tea room. Goûter is the French afternoon snack, traditionally at about 4 pm. Palaces use tea time for their set menus.
Order loose-leaf deliberately. At Mariage Frères, tell the server whether you want something plain (a Darjeeling or a sencha) or scented.
Mind the clock. Le Bristol serves from 3:30 pm to 6 pm, and the Hôtel Lutetia’s afternoon tea runs from 3 pm to 6 pm on Saturday and Sunday only.
Dress one level up. Salons are relaxed. Palaces expect smart casual at minimum, and the Ritz states a smart dress code.
Plan a route. Angelina, Le Meurice and the Mandarin Oriental are a short walk apart on or near rue de Rivoli and rue Saint-Honoré. Mariage Frères in the Marais is roughly a 20 to 30 minute walk east, past the Hôtel de Ville. The Grande Mosquée is in the 5th, next to the Jardin des Plantes, so pair it with a morning there.
Best Time to Go
Time of day: walk-in salons are quietest from opening until late morning and again after about 5 pm. The 3 pm to 4 pm slot on a weekday is the best balance between a free table and the full afternoon menu. Palace tea times run in fixed windows. The Ritz serves from 1 pm to 7 pm, so it suits a late lunch, while Le Bristol starts at 3:30 pm.
Day of the week: weekends are busiest everywhere. Some special menus run only part of the week, such as the Crillon’s Thursday-to-Sunday edition and the Lutetia’s weekend-only service. That makes Thursday and Friday afternoons the best days for choice without the Saturday crowds.
Season: November and December bring winter and Christmas tea menus, Yule logs at Mariage Frères and the longest queues at Angelina. Autumn has new menus too. The Ritz’s Tea Time launched on 1 September 2026, and several palaces run limited editions into November. In summer the menus turn to iced teas and lighter pastries, and the Grande Mosquée’s courtyard terrace is at its best.
Alternatives and Similar Experiences
Angelina. Antoine Rumpelmayer opened this pâtisserie café at 226 rue de Rivoli in 1903 and named it after his daughter-in-law. The Paris Region tourism page for Angelina lists hours from 8 am on weekdays (8:30 am on weekends) until 7 pm or 7:30 pm. It names the Mont-Blanc (meringue under chestnut cream vermicelli) and the traditional hot chocolate as the signatures. Proust and Coco Chanel are among its famous past customers. Angelina also runs tea rooms at the Louvre, the Musée du Luxembourg and the Palace of Versailles. That makes it the easiest tea stop to fit into a museum day.
Grande Mosquée de Paris. The tea salon at 39 rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire serves sweet mint tea in small glasses with North African pastries. You sit on a shaded terrace and in a tiled courtyard open to the public every day. It is the cheapest sit-down tea in this guide.
Tea at home. If you want to recreate the experience after your trip, our guide to how to host the perfect afternoon tea party at home covers menus, tea choices and timing. Pair it with a Mariage Frères tin.
Planning more of Europe? See our Edinburgh afternoon tea guide. The Paris tourist office listing for Mariage Frères confirms the Marais address.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most famous tea salon in Paris?
Mariage Frères is the most famous tea salon in Paris, and its flagship is at 30 rue du Bourg-Tibourg in the Marais. The house dates its tea heritage to 1854 and stocks more than 1,000 teas at its counter. The tea room behind the shop serves a seasonal homemade menu, with a Tea Time formula listed from about €39.
How much does afternoon tea cost in Paris?
Afternoon tea in Paris costs about €68 to €138 per person at palace hotels, based on October 2026 prices. The Mandarin Oriental’s Camélia starts at €68, Plaza Athénée at €75, Le Meurice and Le Bristol at €95, and the Ritz at €125 with champagne. Salons such as Mariage Frères cost less, from about €39 for a full Tea Time.
Do I need a reservation for tea in Paris?
You need a reservation for palace hotel tea times but usually not for salons de thé. Le Bristol makes booking mandatory for Café Antonia, and the Ritz guarantees tables by credit card with a €105 per person late-cancellation fee. Mariage Frères takes phone bookings, but walk-ins are common, and Angelina works on a first-come queue.
Is the Mariage Frères tea museum open?
The Mariage Frères tea museum was listed as closed on the brand’s official Marais store page in October 2026. The shop and the restaurant and tea room were open. The tea counter was listed from 10:30 am to 7:30 pm and the tea room from noon to 7 pm. Check the official page before visiting in case the museum reopens.
What is the best time for tea in Paris?
The best time for tea in Paris is a weekday between 3 pm and 4 pm. Walk-in salons are past the lunch rush then, and palace afternoon menus are just starting. Thursday and Friday give the widest choice, because some special menus run only Thursday to Sunday. November and December bring festive menus and the longest queues.