Berthillon Ice-Cream Shop

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Ice cream from this shop, Berthillon /bɛʁtijõ/, on the quaint and quiet Île Saint-Louis in the middle of the Seine River, is widely considered to be the best in Paris, and I tend to agree. All of it is homemade here by the Chauvin family, descendants of the eponymous Monsieur Berthillon. The store is a family-owned and family-operated business that has never chosen to expand beyond the small scale of its original operation (begun in 1954). This operating philosophy, along with the excellent taste of the ice cream, explains why there is always a line in front of the store, when it is open. Recently a dining room expansion was made.

The only ice-cream flavors I usually eat myself are chocolate and vanilla, but both of them are quite heavenly at Berthillon. There used to be a Häagen-Dazs right down the street, but it never attracted the crowds that Berthillon attracts, and it eventually went out of business, even though it kept more convenient hours than this shop. There are other, more successful competitors, though, such as Ben & Jerry's, Amaretto, and Tutti Sensi, all nearby.

Is it worth waiting in line? Well, it's pretty good ice cream, but I usually prefer to wait for days when I don't see a line to buy ice cream there—and there are also quite a number of other shops in the area that sell Berthillon ice cream (which they buy from this shop, of course), so you can get it elsewhere, and with more convenient hours.

You'll find Berthillon at number 31 on the rue de Saint-Louis-en-l’Île, in the fourth arrondissement. Obviously, that's where this picture was taken.

Photographed on July 12, 2008.