Raimo, the oldest ice-cream producer and vendor in Paris, dates back to 1947. Although the Raimo(ndo) family were of Italian origin, their recipes, some of which date back to the 19th century, are from a pure French tradition. These recipes, along with a selection of new flavours each season, are still the same today.

The establishment is divided into two parts; a cafe which was first opened in 1948, and a take-away shop. You can choose from around 35 different flavours, but this number varies from month to month as only fresh, seasonal produce is used. As the ice-creams and sorbets are so rich in the principal ingredient, and contain only around 15-30% air, you can smell and taste the difference with standard ice-creams and feel the difference in texture. My favourites are the sorbets which are like frozen versions of the fruits themselves, but also the ginger ice-cream which has a real kick.

Raimo may be situated slightly outside the central zone of the city, and prices may be slightly higher than you would pay for a factory produced ice-cream in the touristic zones, but it is well worth a few extra stops on the Metro and a few extra centimes for such an exceptional product.

If the idea of ice-cream doesn’t appeal in the winter, the cafe also has cocktail happy hours – although some of these drinks also include sorbets!