LV Dream is a one-year pop-up exhibition (it opened November 16, 2022) presented by Louis Vuitton. The exhibition celebrates the 160 years of the house with a nine-room display of its history, designs, and its collaborations with artists and designers starting in the 2000s. I have seen numerous and similar Louis Vuitton exhibitions in past years at museums and other venues in Paris. Much of it looked familiar and I moved through it rapidly. At the end I treated myself to a decadent pastry at the café upstairs.
Maxime Frédéric, the acclaimed and award-winning pastry chef from the five-star Le Cheval Blanc hotel has created a special pastry menu for the café. On a long, white marble counter each gorgeous dessert, a jewel in itself, is individually displayed on a pedestal, covered with a glass dome. It was very difficult to choose just one (I was alone and didn’t have the benefit of sharing another pastry with someone else) and finally settled on chocolate entrement. While I waited for my pastry and coffee, I took in the colorful and beautifully appointed décor with eggplant color leather banquettes dotted with fun patterned and print throw pillows, and almost a jungle of lush trees and plants, making me feel I was a tropical, outdoor terrace, which made up for the gray skies and cold temperature outside. The elegant table setting had ruby red, woven placemats, blue and purple water glasses (so beautiful, I was tempted to buy a set in the gift shop) and Christofle flatware. The pastry, embossed with the LV logo, was served on a Bernardaud, white china plate. To say it was sublime is a gross understatement and I savored every morsel.
Prices are steep and range between 16 to 20€ for a pastry and coffee starts at 6 euros (my café crème was 9€!) but absolutely worth it for the experience.
After my pastry, I sauntered over to the chocolate boutique with glass vitrines filled with tempting chocolates, which cleverly had the LV logo stamped and sculpted on them. I bought Vincent a box of four chocolates, each one in a different color and with a different flavor. Vincent generously shared them with me.
There’s also a gift and product shop attached to the Pastry Bar.
Tickets are free for the exhibit, but you must reserve online. https://eu.louisvuitton.com/eng-e1/magazine/articles/lv-dream
You can visit the pastry bar independently without seeing the exhibit.
2 rue Pont Neuf, 75001 (just across the street from La Samaritaine)
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