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Understanding Paris Bakeries: Boulangerie vs. Pâtisserie
First things first, you know the first thing you do when you wake up is get a croissant. But where? Yeah, Google is a good start, but I learned a lot on the many many tours the basics about what to look for depending on what you are looking for there are distinctions between bakeries and pastry shops in France. You will find two types of shops: boulangerie and pâtisserie.
Boulangerie vs. Pâtisserie
Boulangerie: A boulangerie is a bakery that focuses on bread, this is where you’ll get those delicious baguettes but also will find croissants, pain au chocolat, etc. To be considered a boulangerie the bakery must bake their bread onsite. So, this is a good starting point when looking for a bakery.
Look for signs or stickers saying “Artisan Boulanger” or “Boulangerie Artisanale” this is an even further distinction that the bread is made from scratch on site
Pâtisserie: A pâtisserie is going to have more desserts and cakes, pastries, as the name suggests. If you’re looking for desserts, you want a pâtisserie.
If the sign has both boulangerie and pâtisserie it just means it is a hybrid and you can find both!
What the Awards and Stickers in Bakery Windows Mean
As you walk through Paris, you’ll often notice plaques, stickers, or certificates displayed in bakery and pâtisserie windows. These aren’t decorative — they usually indicate that the shop has placed or won recognition in regional or citywide competitions.
- Grand Prix de la Boulangerie: A broader recognition that may include multiple categories such as bread, viennoiserie, and overall craftsmanship. This award often signals a bakery known for consistency across its entire offering.
- Meilleur Croissant au Beurre (Grand Paris / Île-de-France): This is one of the most prestigious competitions for bakeries in and around Paris. It focuses exclusively on butter croissants. Even placing second or third is a major distinction due to the volume and quality of entries.
- Meilleure Baguette de Tradition: Awarded to bakeries producing exceptional traditional baguettes.
- Concours des Meilleurs Pains Bio: This competition recognizes excellence in organic bread, focusing on sourcing, technique, and flavor. You’ll often see this award in bakeries that prioritize organic or heritage grains.
Types of Pastries and Baked Goods
Classic Boulangerie Pastries (Bakery Staples)
Croissant: The classic icon of Paris. A flaky, butter-forward pastry with crisp layers and a soft interior; the benchmark of any good boulangerie.
Pain au chocolat: A croissant-style pastry filled with dark chocolate, richer and slightly more indulgent than a plain croissant.
Baguette de tradition: Of course you have to go for a baguette in Paris. But a baguette de tradition follows strict French regulations: it must be made on-site using only flour, water, yeast, and salt, with no additives or freezing. Because of this, it’s often more flavorful, better fermented, and has a crisp crust with an airy interior.
If a bakery offers both a regular baguette and a baguette de tradition, the tradition is usually the way to go and a strong indicator of overall quality.
Pain suisse: A laminated pastry filled with vanilla custard and chocolate chips, somewhere between a croissant and a dessert.
Chausson aux pommes: A puff pastry turnover filled with applesauce, lightly sweet and comforting.
Brioche: A soft, buttery bread-pastry hybrid that’s lightly sweet and often enjoyed plain or with minimal filling. Chocolate brioche is my personal favorite with delicious little bits of chocolate to make it even better.
Classic Pâtisserie Desserts (French Pastry Essentials)
Éclair: Choux pastry filled with pastry cream and topped with glaze, often flavored with chocolate or coffee.
Paris-Brest (my favorite!): A ring of choux pastry filled with praline cream, nutty, rich, and iconic.
Tarte au citron: A crisp pastry shell filled with bright, tangy lemon cream, balanced and refreshing.
Opéra cake: A layered almond sponge cake with coffee syrup, buttercream, and chocolate ganache.
Choux à la crème: Small cream-filled choux puffs, simple and classic
Macarons: Delicate almond meringue cookies sandwiched with ganache or cream, known for their smooth shells and bold flavors.
Chocolate-Focused Classics
Chocolate tart: A dense, cacao-forward dessert with a crisp shell and rich chocolate filling.
Chocolate ganache desserts: Pastries built around smooth, intense chocolate fillings rather than sweetness.
Bonbons and pralinés: Bite-sized chocolates filled with ganache or nut pastes, often handcrafted in-house.
Best Pastry Shops & Bakeries
Victoire Boulangerie
Victoire Boulangerie is not just another bakery — its croissants ranked second best in the Grand Paris croissant competition, and it also won top organic bread honors in Île-de-France in 2024, making it one of the most celebrated boulangeries in Paris.
Jeffrey Cagnes
Jeffrey Cagnes is a high-end pâtisserie from a former Ladurée pastry chef, blending classic French technique with modern presentation. This is where you go for refined versions of familiar pastries — think perfectly executed éclairs, tarts, and layered desserts that still feel approachable.
The Paris Brest is a favorite pastry of mine and I tried it from both Stohrer for a traditional version and here. I have to say the modern take here was my preference by far (but second to the one I had in Bordeaux).
Stohrer
Stohrer is the oldest pâtisserie in Paris, dating back to 1730. This is a historic stop where you’re tasting pastries with centuries of tradition behind them. The interiors are just as impressive as the pastries, and while it’s undeniably touristy, it’s worth visiting for the history alone.
Maison Aleph
Maison Aleph was a standout favorite on this trip. You won’t find traditional French pastries here — instead, expect Middle Eastern–inspired desserts with French technique. Think pistachio, orange blossom, sesame, and rose, all done with incredible balance.
They have an assortment of flavors of Coffret nids patissiers (I believe this is translated to pastry nest). It is a delicate nest of crispy kadaïf, baked in clarified butter, filled with fruit confit, and finished with a lightly fragrant whipped cream. Kadaïf is a shredded form of phyllo dough that becomes incredibly crisp when baked, often shaped into nests or layers for added texture. I had the salted butter caramel and vanilla and it was incredible!
Aux Merveilluex de Fred
Aux Merveilluex de Fred has a few locations throughout Paris and came to my radar because they bake fresh brioche throughout the day. This is a great option if you got a late start but still want to try warm, fresh, brioche goodness. They also have a variety of pastries and Flemish waffles to try.
Fou de Patisserie
Fou de Pâtisserie is a curated pastry shop, showcasing desserts from some of the best pastry chefs in Paris — all under one roof. Instead of committing to one pâtisserie, you can sample creations from multiple chefs in a single stop!
Jean Paul Hevin
Of all the chocolate we tried on the trip Jean Pau Hevin was my favorite! We tried the macarons, a dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and a hazelnut and man were they good. Personally, I am a big fan of the macaron! It was almost brownie like in taste and consistency that I have not found any where else.
Boulangerie-Pâtisserie Terroirs d’Avenir
At some point on your trip you need to end up on Rue du Nil. Rue du Nil is where Terroirs d’Avenir operates several specialty shops side by side, turning the street into a small hub for Paris’s ingredient-driven food culture. This bakery being one of them and PLAQ (mentioned later) is just across the street.
It was a 5-minute walk from our hotel so I stumbled in at 8AM and was only surrounded by locals getting their baked good for the day. Now this bakery will have the freshest croissants and brioches but DO NOT wait to eat them. After a few hours they will harden so just dive right in, eat it in the street if you must. I recommend the brioche in addition to a croissant and pain au chocolat.
PLAQ
Also on Rue du Nil, PLAQ is a bean-to-bar chocolate maker, not a traditional pâtisserie or bakery. Everything here starts with cacao beans that are sourced, roasted, and transformed into chocolate in-house.
While you’ll find chocolate bars, bonbons, and spreads, PLAQ is especially known for its chocolate-forward pastries and desserts, where the focus is on the flavor of the cacao rather than sugar or decoration.
If you love chocolate that has bright fruity notes, then look no further! I have truly never tasted chocolate like PLAQ before. My partner is not a chocolate fan but raved about the chocolate tart we tried here.
Personally I like a dark chocolate and felt the fruity notes were overbearing so kept in mind it is a very distinctive taste. Absolutely worth the try but I feel like the flavor was very polarizing, you are going to love it or hate it.
La Maison d’Isabelle
IT IS ABSOLUTELY WORTH THE LINE. The hype is well deserved. It was the best croissant we had in Paris and even at 2PM in the afternoon it was still warm and delicious. We only waited about 15 or so minutes and the line was nearly to the next block so it moves quickly. I recommend of course getting a croissant but also a baguette. Later that evening after a long night of drinking the baguette was still divine.
Poilane
Poilane is a gem in Le Marais (let’s be honest the entire neighborhood is a gem), my only regret is not making it over here in the morning when the croissants and pain au chocolat were fresh baked. Even well into the afternoon the buttery layers were still soft and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
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