As I was starting to plan our dream trip to Paris, there was immediately one special activity that came to mind that I knew I had to experience. I wanted to celebrate my birthday by going to an upscale afternoon tea at one of the amazing five-start luxury hotels in Paris. Ryan and I ended up getting to have afternoon tea at The Four Seasons George V, and it was a phenomenal experience that I will always remember!
From the moment that I first booked our September 2026 Paris trip, I knew that I wanted to celebrate my birthday a few days early in France by going to a fancy afternoon tea. I've been a big fan of going to afternoon tea at various special venues throughout Virginia for many years now, and getting to do something like this while in France seemed like the perfect memorable early birthday activity. The only hard question? Which luxury Paris hotel to go to afternoon tea at!
I narrowed the options down to three iconic and luxurious 5-star rated Paris hotels: The Shangri-La Paris, The Ritz Paris and The Four Seasons George V. Here's how I was able to make the tough decision on which afternoon tea experience to go with:
- The Shangri-La Paris - A historic former luxury palace turned five-star hotel that overlooks both the Seine River and the Eiffel Tower. Their afternoon tea venue looked absolutely stunning, and I was also intrigued by the fact that their tea menu is said to combine French pastry techniques with Asian flavor profiles. The main reason that I didn't book The Shangri-La is because they only offer afternoon tea on the weekends, and as our France trip schedule came together it became evident that it made the most sense to do tea during the midweek part of our trip.
- The Ritz Paris - Possibly the most iconic and well-known luxury hotel in Paris. An independent property (not affiliate with Marriott's Ritz-Carlton chain) that has been one of the most high-end and fancy places to stay in Paris since 1898. Their afternoon tea is served in Salon Proust, which is a wood-paneled, historic library styled room. While I think Ryan might've enjoyed tea here the most with the masculine vibes of the setting, I wanted an atmosphere that was a bit more airy and light and feminine feeling for this special early birthday tea.
- The Four Seasons George V - Another iconic luxury Paris hotel, located just off the Champs-Élyées. It is known for its extravagant designer floral displays (hotel staff were actually installing a new one in the lobby while we had tea!). Their afternoon tea is held inside the beautiful and airy La Galerie restaurant, and I knew this was the perfect vibe for what I was looking for. The Four Seasons George V also offers their afternoon tea on weekdays (which worked better for our trip schedule!), and was the closest of my three options to the hotel we stayed at.
Finally the day had arrived for this special afternoon tea! While Ryan and I either walked or took the metro to get to most destinations in Paris, we did opt to Uber to the Four Seasons George V, because of our nicer clothes (and the fact I was carrying my grandma's vintage Chanel purse!). One of the kind bellmen offered to take out picture in front of the hotel sign right when we arrived, and this ended up being one of my favorite pictures of the two of us from our trip!
The hotel is known for it's large marble courtyard in the center of the property, and the table we had at La Galerie had a wonderful view of this area! After being seated, we were greeted with glasses of delicious champagne to start, and I knew that we were in for a treat of an afternoon.
We were served multiple courses of delicacies! First they brought out savory items. The middle item was a fancy egg salad tart. Unfortunately I have a strong aversion to eggs in their natural state (I eat them baked into things, but never individually), but I still had to get a separate picture of this item because the presentation was just so beautiful! On the left was a lobster roll, and on the right I believe was a cheese croquette type thing (I am struggling to remember what that one was, but it was delicious!).
Then came the main event, tea and pastries! First up they brought out a course of mini pastries that were all fig-inspired, as part of a special season menu, Then they started bringing out all sorts of other treats. In the first picture below you can see a delicious chocolate hazelnut mousse pastry, as well as a phenomenal apple tart.
They had a variety of luxury teas from around the world to pick from. I went with the Earl Grey Superieur, which was rich and delicious. Ryan selected one of their Japanese green tea varietals. He isn't a big tea drinker, but he enjoyed the one that he selected!
The icing on the cake was that after multiple pastry courses, the staff brought out a little plate of macarons with a birthday candle and chocolate birthday sign for me! I couldn't think of a more memorable way to welcome in turning 32 (a few days early)!
At this point in the experience, I was so full from all of the other food that I could barely enjoy the macarons. They were so kind to box them up for us to take with us, and they even threw in a few extra ones too! Truly 10/10 service.
And finally, look at the stunning ladies restroom in behind me in the photo below! Every part of this property seemed just so lovely and luxurious.
A quick note as well about my outfit. I purchased the coordinating Lilly Pulitzer tweed suit set that I wore for tea earlier in the year during one of their big sales. I found in just a couple weeks after I had booked the Paris trip, and I thought this outfit just screamed Paris! While my exact outfit is now sold out, this tweed set and this other one have very similar vibes (and better price points).
And that was our wonderful experience having afternoon tea at the Four Seasons George V in Paris! While it is not a cheap experience, I think it was well worth the cost for a special vacation and birthday memory, and would highly recommend it. I will truly remember this afternoon forever!
I'm excited to recap more from our Paris trip here on the blog soon! In the meantime, here are some of my past luxury-focused travel posts that you might also enjoy:
God Bless,
xoxo Annaliese
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