Overview
Spend just five minutes in Paris, and odds are you’ll stumble upon one the thousands of boulangeries or patisseries in Paris.
In fact, it takes some effort to find a block without one in most neighborhoods.
If you have a sweet tooth for French pastries, you’ll definitely want to discover Paris’s warm cinnamon buns, the salted caramel apple turnover, fruit tarts, and the classic French pastries such as a flaky pastry filled with cream.
These are delicacies that only a trained pastry chef from Paris can create.
For breakfast, some fresh, French baking is an obligatory staple for at least a few mornings during your time in Paris. French bread goes nicely with some high quality butter, a coffee, and perhaps a crepe if you’re feeling daring.
Boulangerie is the french word for bakery, and at a boulangerie, you’ll usually find just bread (du pain) and some basic baked goods. You won’t find cakes, pastry cream, or even a pastry chef usually.
However, in some boulangeries, you might find buttery croissants or a pain au chocolat.
The word pâtisserie means pastry shop, and there, as the name suggests, you’ll find sweeter things, like freshly baked pastries and desserts. Just imagine pain au chocolat, salted caramel drizzle, whipped cream, and breakfast pastries and try not to drool.
You’ll notice that in the United States, we don’t typically have a distinction between those two places. Actually, most American bakeries will resemble a pastry shop or cake stop more than a French boulangerie.
For Parisians and the French in general, du pain from a boulangerie is a way of life. The French don’t usually buy the supermarket’s pre-sliced breads.
In France altogether, it’s a ritual to serve fresh baguette or other loaves of du pain with breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
The three most common baked breads are the croissant, pain au chocolat, and the baguette, of course. If you’re looking for pastries like macarons, we have a guide to the best spots for macarons.
All three of these items are essentials to Parisian life, and there’s even a national and city-wide contest for each category.
Time has told us that what elevates a baked good is the quality of ingredients and the way it’s made. Even among places claiming to be the best bakery in Paris, there’s a tendency among some bakeries to industrialize their process.
By industrialize, we mean that some bakeries are using machinery and unnatural ingredients. Some places even serve reheated frozen items!
Don’t be fooled by the outside looks of some of Paris’s bakeries. Many vintage-style bakeries are only decorated to look traditional while in actuality they’re lacking in tradition and quality.
By that we mean— you won’t find any authentic, French du pain from a place that uses machines. You’ll want to read up on the methods of a bakers and confirm that the process is natural and authentic.
We’ve put together a list of some of the most popular and highly-rated bakeries in Paris. These have traditional methods, and some are even boulangeries and patisseries in one.
Blé Sucré
Address
7 Rue Antoine Vollon, 75012
Why we love this place
Something this place is famous for— elevating simple-looking, basic French baked goods into gourmet delicacies.
Since French baker Fabrice Le Bourdat founded Blé Sucré, her pastries have earned prestige. She’s won best croissant, best pain du chocolat, and best madeline.
This place is located just on the edge of the Bastille neighborhood. This part of Bastille is definitely bustling, but you won’t find it overly crowded with tourists as with other parts of Paris.
Blé Sucré’s location feels more on the residential side, with nearby shops and parks. In other words, it’s an easy place to kick back and relax.
While the cafe has indoor and outdoor seating, many opt to take their pastries and coffees to go and head to Square Trousseau, a nearby park.
Besides these delectable pastries, you’ll find terrific baguettes and sandwiches, as well as coffee.
The pastry chef Fabrice Le Bourdat formerly worked for the iconic and prestigious Parisian bakery— Le Bristol.
However, at Blé Sucré, you’ll find fine pastries at a reasonable rate.
What to order
Many reviewers praise the croissants and chocolate du pain. After all, these are French classics and award-winning here at Blé Sucré.
However, Blé Sucré also has simple pastry known as the madeline. Croissants are great and all, but many Parisians visit this bakery just for the delicious madelines.
Pollâne
Address(es)
8 Rue du Cherche-Midi
Why we love this place
Since 1932, this bakery has sat on a quiet corner in the Saint Germain-des-Prés neighborhood. The founder and namesake, Pierre Pollâne, offered baked goods to local artists in exchange for their paintings to be hung up in the bakery.
Owner and Granddaughter of Original Founder / Image Source: AFAR Magazine
Today, Pollàne’s granddaughter, Apollonia, has taken over the family business. The bakery’s now been expanded to three different locations in Paris and a fourth in London.
If you want to enjoy these fresh goods but aren’t in the Saint Germain area, check out these other locations. You can now try it all over Paris, whether you’re at the Eiffel Tower, in Le Marais, Buttes Chaumont, or Belgravia neighborhoods.
Another thing Apollonia is working on— overnight ordering. Restaurants will soon be able to ship the goods overnight, even internationally.
What to order
It’s no secret that Pollâne is more of a bakery (boulangerie) than a patisserie. What put this place on the map was their sourdough loaf.
You can spot Pollâne’s signature sourdough loaf by the “p” branded on the top. It’s made with four simple ingredients— sourdough, stone-ground wheat flour, water, and Guérand sea salt— and they’ve even shared the recipe.
The sourdough is perfect for a sandwich or even just as buttered toast.
Another popular good is the rye-raisin bread, made with correnth raisins and sourdough.
Du Pain et des Idées
Address
34 Rue Yves Toudic, 75010
Why we love this place
The name Du Pain Et Des Idées translates to Bread and Ideas.
This award-winning bakery is a must-stop if you appreciate a warm, inviting space and a unique spin on traditional French goods.
To start, Christophe Vasseur was voted best Baker of Paris in 2008 (Gault & Millau), Baker of the Year in 2012 (Guide Pudlo), and Best Galette de Rois in 2014 (Le Point Magazine).
Du Pain et des Idées dates all the way back to 1875, on the corner of Rue de Marseille and Rue Yves Toudic, and it still has its original beveled ceilings and painted glass ceilings.
This bakery works mostly with sourdough and sometimes with yeast, and its variety is limited. Du Pain et des Idées strives for simplicity and specialization, which is how these breads have earned so much prestige for their quality.
What to Order
While Du Pain et des Idées does the classics, such as croissants and pain du chocolates. However, one of the most popular pastries is its pistachio chocolate escargot.
Escargot literally means snail, hence its swirled shape. This bakery offers escargots in several flavors, including seasonal flavors, but the popular ones remain the pistachio escargot and the pistachio chocolate escargot.
Either way, you can’t go wrong here.
Boulangerie Utopie
Address
20 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 75011
Why we love this place
This bakery’s dynamic, forward-thinking spirit is why it’s so many Parisian’s favorite spot.
It has innovative pastries, classic, fresh bread, and even something it calls travel pastries.
Founders Erwan Blanche and Sébastien Bruno started off as classmates back in culinary school. When they graduated, they realized that Paris really didn’t have enough shops that sold both bread and pastries.
Blanche and Bruno set off to create a space that provided both but still maintained quality and specialization.
While these bakers are surrounded by over 30,000 others in the same profession in Paris, their bakery stands out for its one-stop-shop character.
It’s actually the norm in Paris to go to three separate shops for your bread, baked goods, and pastries.
Also, Blanche and Sébastien vowed to never use industrial methods for their goods. Everything, even the basics, have been carefully researched and formed by hand, out of raw ingredients.
What to order
This may be a cliché, but it’s a cliché for a reason— the croissant. The founders Blanche and Sébastien worked on making their ideal croissant for months.
What sets their croissant apart is its texture, which is more breadlike than average croissants. They wanted to make a croissant that didn’t flake everywhere and make your hands greasy when you ate it.
If you want something different than your average croissant, it’s definitely worth stopping in Boulangerie Utopie and checking it out.
After all, you can find bread, goods, pastries, and more in here.
Chambelland
Address
14 Rue Ternaux, 75011
Why we love this place
Founded in 2012, Chambelland is a truly unique Paris bakery, as well as one of the best bakeries in Paris, for one big reason— it’s gluten free.
Thomas Teffri-Chambelland and Nathaniel Doboin met just back in 2012. The two had just recently left very different career fields to become bakers.
In fact, Chambelland was previously a biologist, and Doboin had started out in advertising.
The two shared a vision— sustainability, quality, and health. They worked with suppliers and farmers to create a bakery that was completely gluten-free.
Their breads are all organic, with natural yeast and either rice or buckwheat flour.
Customers can also rest assured that Chambelland does everything as eco-friendly as possible. The founders don’t want bread-lovers to compromise on sustainability, or vice versa.
What to order
The baguette: What makes Chambelland’s baguettes so unique is their shape.
The bakers have a philosophy of letting the bread bake into its own shape, instead of forcing it into a mold.
Also, since these goods and breads are all gluten-free, you’re likely to find something you’ve never experienced naturally gluten-free before you came to Chambelland.
We recommend you try a little of everything, since it all might be new to you in some way.
Chambelland doesn’t just have bread. They have French pastries, too.
The task of pastry chefs is already an advanced art, but these chefs have transformed the classic french pastry into a gluten-free delight.
Pro Tips
Due to safety concerns and economic impact of Covid-19, several beloved bakeries have faced closures. The highly-known Circus Bakery is just one example.
At Circus Bakery, Parisians and travelers came here for the best cinnamon rolls in Paris. Since CIrcus Bakery no longer operates, people have to go elsewhere for their cinnamon bun.
Circus Bakery was a hard act to follow, but other fantastic place for cinnamon buns in Paris are Le Café de l’Institut suédois and Le Petit Grain.