ORBIS city intelligence

Walking Nancy: Four Doors, and Why the Order Matters

All four shops carry street addresses and the walk takes an afternoon. Take the two macaron houses at either end rather than back to back, because tasting them consecutively tells you less than tasting them an hour apart.

Maison des Soeurs Macarons: 21 rue Gambetta, first S1

Open with the older of the two macaron houses, working to a recipe held since 1793. Buy a small quantity rather than a box, because you will be comparing later.

Ask what makes the Nancy macaron different from the Parisian one. The answer will shape what you notice at the third stop on this walk.

Les Freres Marchand: 89bis Grande Rue, second S2

The cheesemonger sits in the old town and makes the natural middle of the walk. It also breaks the sugar, which is the point of putting it here.

Ask for vacuum packing and carry a cool bag on a warm day, since you have two more stops before you are finished.

Lefevre-Lemoine: 47 rue Henri Poincaré, third S3

Now compare. The same two city sweets are made here to a house founded in 1840, and the hour since your opening stop is what makes the comparison useful.

Ask which bergamote is theirs rather than bought in. Ask how long an opened tin keeps, because bergamote outlasts everything else you are carrying.

Alain Batt: 30 rue du Tapis-Vert, last S4

Chocolate closes the walk because it travels least well of anything on this list. Bergamote and macarons are made here too if you want a third opinion.

Ask for boxing rather than a bag. Ask what will survive the journey you are making, and buy accordingly rather than by appearance.