Last weekend there were two big vegan events in Paris, the Veggie Pride parade and market at Place Stalingrad overlooking the canal, and the Veggie World fair at Le Centquatre.
I went to the fair to find some decent vegan cheese for making pizza, and ended up going home with a whole grocery bag full of Tofurky sausages, Nakd raw energy bars in different flavors, bottles of Fils de Pomme artisan cider made an hour from Paris, different kinds of cheese, Rrraw raw chocolates (you can see them at this month’s see them at the Salon du Chocolate, October 28-Nov 1), and some baking ingredients that are now getting easier to find in Parisian health food shops (like egg substitute). There were also dozens of stands selling vegan dishes to enjoy sur-place, from burgers (the Dutch Weedburgers sold out) and hot dogs to sushi and pastries. Lines were long and the fair was as busy as any food and wine fair you’d attend in Paris. Here are just a few of the food stands:
www.funkyveggie.fr Meal prep baskets
www.veganbowl.com Vegetarian restaurant
www.gentlegourmet.fr Vegan restaurant
www.theveganshop.fr Vegan online shop
www.42degres.com Vegan bistro
www.ivlo.paris Vegan Italian restaurant
www.lolypopkitchen.com Vegan and raw caterer and cooking classes
www.unmondevegan.com Vegan food shop
www.supervegan.fr Vegan diner
www.nataparis.com Yoga and vegetarian cooking classes
http://www.lepagalou.bio Vegan deli and online shop
In addition to food, the fair also had organic, fair trade, and vegan clothing and accessories (the faux-leather shoes look like real shoes people in Paris would actually wear, not just hippie clogs), organic beauty and zero-waste personal hygiene products, gardening and cookbooks, vitamins and supplements, and many organizations who promote veganism, animal welfare and wildlife conservation. I stopped at the Sea Shepherd France stand to chat with the French volunteers and admire their new campaign t-shirts (Sea Shepherd is an international, direct-action ocean conservation organization that is 100% vegan).
The takeaway? Not only are more Parisians interested in vegan food (and let’s just say they’re a picky lot!), it’s also easier than ever to be meat and dairy free in Paris. If you’re interested in a healthy lifestyle, don’t miss the largest organic fair in Paris coming next month, the annual Salon Marjolaine, Nov 5-13). These fairs are great places to get these products for much better prices than you’d find in the shops, so bring your shopping trolley!
Two more websites to check out for more vegan resources and restaurants in Paris are Paris by Vegan and Happy Cow. For a very chic vegan experience, the Shangri-La palace hotel’s La Bauhinia hosts a monthly Vegan Dinner on the first Thursday of the month and a daily Vegan Afternoon Tea.
Hi Louann, I think Ladurée will be selling a vegan croissant. But they actually already exist (made with margarine, called "croissant ordinaire"), but that was mostly back when butter was more expensive than margarine, and they didn't taste great, so they disappeared from most bakeries. Maybe now they'll get a reboot with better vegan ingredients than margarine, lol!
I spent 2 months in Paris a couple of years ago and have also visited on vacations 3 times in the last 6 years. I have been vegan since 2012 and I have to say it was very, very difficult to enjoy meals eating in restaurants. The attitude didn't help as the waiters tended to no show any interest and were quite smug in helping me out and it was harder due to my poor French skills. I spent a lot of time at Arab places eating falafels and though delicious, it got tiring. I am very excited to hear Paris is finally coming around like so many other countries! I just returned after a 4 month vacation in 6 countries and the very BEST place to eat vegan was in Warsaw Poland! So, keep it up Parisian Restauranteers!!! This is the future for many because cutting down or eliminating dairy and meat is a huge help toward a sustainable environment. Don't think I'll ever find a vegan croissant in the near future, but I can settle for vegan French baguettes any day!
Vegan food is not boring, the only limit is your imaginationhttp://animal-welfare.org/vegan-food-boring/Paris is not boring too !!
Hello HeatherVery nice article!I'm very pleased to see that you See Lendemain Organic as something "people in Paris would actually wear, not just hippie clogs" as this is exactly what we are striving after!Have a good weekend and I will see you around!Best, Annawww.lendemainorganic.com
Thanks for this information! My first visit to France was last September, and I found it difficult to eat vegetarian, let alone vegan. I'm glad to have some new resources for my next visit!