Treats For The Armchair Traveler

The weak dollar discouraged many an American in Paris this summer. If your wallet won out over your wanderlust, take heart (and stomach): you can enjoy some of Europe's most famous treats without leaving your apartment! (That is, if you're willing to shell out for shipping.)

• Vienna's most famous chocolate cake, the apricot-jam-filled sacher torte, can be yours in just a few mouseclicks. Although you can't order the 8-foot-wide version that made it into the Guinness Book of World Records in 1998, there are four (much smaller) sizes available. (I have a dark-chocolate-coated "Size 1" cake sitting right next to my computer right now.)


• I have no idea why these ultra-buttery cookies are called "punishments" (if these are punishments, what is the reward?), but world-famous bakery Poilane will ship you two boxes for... 74 euros. (Hey, it's less than the price of a hotel room!) They don't ship their lovely apple tarts, but you can order currant bread, rye bread, delectable hearty walnut-studded boules, and sourdough so tasty it needs no butter. And if all you want is a half-loaf of Poilane sourdough, you can find it much closer to home at Agata & Valentina (1505 First Ave., 212-452-0690).