The Ultimate Guide to the Best Pastries in Paris 2020
Anyone who loves food knows that Paris is a culinary mecca of the world. And if it specializes in any food, it's pastries.
In a recent visit to this dessert capital, my husband and I visited over 20 pâtisseries, bakeries that specialize in pastries and sweets, and consumed at least as many pastries.
While I don't get to indulge in these pastries every day, some of them still make my mouth water.
To decide which of the thousands of pâtisseries & boulangeries to visit, I did a little research, which I've compiled in this Google Doc — to use it, make a copy and edit as you please. The research is taken primarily from 5 articles:
The Best Pastries in Paris, According to Top Chefs - we leaned most heavily on this one when choosing which places to go to
Many of the best shops are mentioned in multiple articles, and you can search for pastries you want to try to see which shops might be your best bet to find a life-changing pastry.
Many of these shops have multiple storefronts, but the address listed in the Google Sheet is the location of the main store, which usually has the best selection and is the most iconic.
For the tl;dr from the spreadsheet…
Recommended shortlist:
Du Pain et des Idées - Pistachio Chocolate Escargot
Pierre Hermé - Ispahan Croissant, Tarte Infiniment Vanille, Macarons
La Pâtisserie Cyril Lignac - Equinoxe, Chocolate
Poilâne Bakery - Tarte Aux Pommes, Shortbread Cookies
Ble Sucré - Madeleine, Croissant
Des Gâteaux et du Pain - Turnover, Tartes
(Boulangerie) Utopie - Baguettes
Honorable Mentions:
La Pâtisserie du Meurice par Cédric Grolet - Fruit (seen in cover photo)
Stohrer - Classic French Pastries
Macarons:
Chocolate:
Great places to get multiple pastries at once are Lafayette Gourmet (the fine food deli of Galeries Lafayette), and Fou de Pâtisserie (a boutique that sells pastries from the city’s best bakers and pastry chefs). These places may not have the full selections (as compared to the main stores), but if you're not picky, these are easy!