The best bakeries in Paris have got everything you need to sink your sweet tooth in, and we know where to find them
So, you’re in Paris, probably after watching a thousand Paris TikToks before you went. What’s the first thing you need? A croissant. Or maybe a chewy baguette. Or maybe a pain aux raisin, or a cookie, or perhaps a millefeuille (or three).
Essentially, you need to get yourself to a pâtisserie, or a boulangerie, stat (the former is for cakes, the latter primarily for bread, but both will do you a banging croissant). There’s nowhere better for baked goods than in Paris – you’ve just got to avoid the tourist traps. Luckily, the editorial team at Time Out Paris have sampled every spot worth its dough in the city, to bring you this list of the absolute best. Please, enjoy. It’s on us.
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This article was written by the editorial team at Time Out Paris. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.
Septime owners Bertrand Grébaut and Théophile Pourriat have taken a no-nonsense approach to sweet treats with Tapisserie; it uses organic, stone-ground flours with character, local creameries and fair trade sourcing. Chef Fanny Payre's vanilla flan and apple tart are both rustic and delicious, as are the fontainebleau.
Address: 65 Rue de Charonne, 75011, Paris (11th arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday from 8.30am-7pm; Saturday from 9.30am-7pm; and Sunday from 9.30am-5pm
Chef Alain Ducasse tipped us off that this neighborhood shop, just a hop from Faidherbe metro station, harbours one of the coolest bakers of our time. The baker in question? Gérald Auvrez, trained under chef Dan Barber. At his bakery, Les Copains du Faubourg, the cheerful and talkative Auvrez grinds his own Rouge du Roc wheat in store. The result: a masterful loaf with a crispy crust and a dense, moist crumb, boasting long acidic and roasted notes, or an astounding buttery rye puff pastry, halfway between viennoiserie and bricheton.
Address: 237 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, 75011 Paris (12th arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday from 7.15am-8pm; closed Saturday and Sunday
Who could have imagined that dorayaki – two pancakes sandwiched between a sweet azuki bean paste – would become the culinary marotte of Parisian foodies? And the perfect place to try them is in this Japanese tea room, set up by two former Aida pastry chefs: Romain Gaia and Murata Takanori. Dorayaki aside, Tomo is also an opportunity to discover other delicate Japanese pastries like mochi, daifuku and baba with Japanese whisky.
Address: 11 Rue Chabanais, 75002, Paris (2nd arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Open daily from noon-6.45pm
Behind this small charcoal black façade, Shinya Inagaki, a living legend of sourdough, indulges in his passion: French bread. To enjoy it, you’ll have to brave Shinya Pain’s restrictive hours and the inevitable queue, but oh, what loaves! These are breads with delicate crusts and a subtle sourdough acidity that enhances the aroma of roasted grains. Our top tip? Try the version with khorasan wheat. Oh, and take a look at its Instagram for daily posts of handwritten notes detailing which breads will be sold that day.
Address: 41 Rue des Trois Frères, 75018, Paris (18th arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Thursday to Sunday from 4.30pm-7.30pm; closed Monday to Wednesdy
The original Yann Couvreur location is near Goncourt metro station, but its sister location in the Marais lets its bright, dainty desserts do the tantalising talking. Throughout the year, only eight desserts are sold here – but each is delicious as the next. Order the Madagascan vanilla millefeuille, the raspberry pavlova, or apricot and coriander cheesecake and feast on sweetness in the shade at Jardin des Rosiers Joseph Migneret just down the road.
Address: 23bis Rue des Rosiers, 75004, Paris (4th arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Open daily from 10am-8pm
Unless you live in the southern part of the 20th arrondissement, going to Le Bricheton is a bit of an expedition — a pilgrimage that every bread enthusiast must undertake at least once in their life. Maxime Bussy, an uncompromising baker on quality, only works with ancient and organic flours, sourced from small artisanal mills. The result: a very low gluten content, ideal for those with intolerances. Let's just say, it's another Ducasse-approved establishment.
Address: 50 Rue de la Réunion, 75020, Paris (20th arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 4pm-8pm; Sunday from 10.30am-1pm; closed Monday
If you like your desserts fruity yet subtle, with just the right amount of sweet, make a pilgrimage to this high-end Left Bank spot. Your host, world-renowned pâtissière Claire Damon, has worked everywhere from Fauchon to Ladurée to Plaza Athénée. Order the rhubarb and grapefruit tartelettes, the cherry Mont-Blanc, or pistachio millefeuille.
Address: 63 Blvd Pasteur, 75015, Paris (15th arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Monday and Wednesday to Saturday from 9.30am-7.30pm; Sunday from 9am to 6pm; closed Tuesday
If you like your desserts fruity yet subtle, with just the right amount of sweet, make a pilgrimage to this high-end Left Bank spot. Your host, world-renowned pâtissière Claire Damon, has worked everywhere from Fauchon to Ladurée to Plaza Athénée. Order the rhubarb and grapefruit tartelettes, the cherry Mont-Blanc, or pistachio millefeuille and stuff your face on one of the nearby public benches or at the Jardin Atlantique, just a 10-minute walk away.
Address: 63 Blvd Pasteur, 75015, Paris (15th arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Monday and Wednesday to Saturday from 9.30am-7.30pm; Sunday from 9am to 6pm; closed Tuesday
Chef Anthony Courteille was trained as a baker, and transformed his restaurant ‘Matière à’ into Sain Boulagerie, a bakery that focuses on ancient flours, sourdough, and good seeds. His special and original breads (think parsley, hazelnut, parsnip, turmeric and butternut squash bread) remind us that the guy has a cooking background, but it's also worth noting that his viennoiseries (croissants, pain au chocolat, brioche and the likes), are all made with sourdough, which is a rarity in Paris.
Address: 13 Rue Alibert, 75010, Paris (10th arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 7.30am-7.30pm; Sunday from 8am-1pm; closed Monday
Just a stone’s throw from Buttes-Chaumont, Sayo Yamagata and Othman El Ouraoui have established this delightful pâtisserie. The stars of the show? Plump cakes with a dense, bouncy texture that are perfectly moist, not too sweet, and topped with either classic lemon or glazed with vanilla almonds. Ginko’s Franco-Japanese cakes are aligned with the season, and each are equally delightful. We recommend the Mount Fuji tart with chestnuts, cranberries, and whipped cream, the chocolate-buckwheat, or the Paris-Tokyo, a hazelnut choux pastry with roasted soybean powder.
Address: 33 Rue des Alouettes, 75019 Paris (19th arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 10am-7pm; closed Sunday and Monday
Former interior architect Claire Escalon set up Elements Boulangerie by embracing all the codes of healthier bread: exclusively sourdough, juggling between rye, spelt and rice flours from local stone mills. If you’re looking for baguettes, this is not the place. Instead, try the country bread, highly crusty with reasonable acidity, a bit like the German-style schwarz brot in terms of density, or try the rice, buckwheat and seed version, which is a bit like a gourmet cake.
Address: 3 Rue Victor Letalle, 75020, Paris (20th arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Friday from 3.30pm-7.30pm; closed Saturday to Monday
The only way to avoid queuing in front of the pastry mega-star’s shop for an hour is to reserve a table in the tea room upstairs. Cédric Grolet Opéra’s uncluttered room isn’t exactly a wow-factor, but it does allow you to take pictures (thanks to its epic lighting) and feast your eyes on some marvelous treats. While the viral viennoiserie may not live up the hype, the divine, flower-shaped lemon tart has a buttery shortcrust pastry and should be the top on everyone's Instagram feeds.
Address: 35 Av. de l'Opéra, 75002, Paris (2nd arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Wednesday to Sunday from 9am-6pm; closed Monday and Tuesday
Forget everything you know about matcha and every other establishment that offers it. Toraya is the king and reigns above them all. It's located in Concorde, so expect to pay a little extra (naturally), but if you can manage, don't let the price hold you back. This traditional tea salon is nothing short of a culinary haven. The puddings are an explosion of colour. Think refreshing matcha yokan with cane syrup and grilled soybeans, or — if you're in Paris during cherry blossom season — Toraya's sakura mochi. It's a spring dream.
Address: 10 Rue Saint-Florentin, 75001, Paris (2nd arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday from 11am-6.30pm; Saturday from 11am-7pm; closed Sunday
Coffee shop by day and intimate restaurant by night (definitely book ahead), Mokonuts takes the classic cookie to a new level of flavour with epic combinations that mix sweet and savoury like the black olive and white chocolate cookies. Mokonuts founder (and former lawyer), Moko Hirayama, prepares original desserts that catch your eye as soon as you walk in. Her pecan cake is also divine.
Address: 5 Rue Saint-Bernard, 75011, Paris (11th arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday from noon-2.30pm; closed Saturday and Sunday
From simple butter croissants to chausson aux pommes — trafitional apple turnovers stuffed with real apple in a buttery, puff pastry, everything here is simple and insanely moreish. And the best part? Compared to other pricey pastries in the city, Utopie is very affordable. Try the bakery’s sesame eclair, or the subtle strawberry and cinnamon tart. If you're looking for something even sweeter, the fragrant, melt-in-the-mouth flan is phenomenal.
Address: 20 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 75011, Paris (11th arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 7am-8pm; closed Monday
Boulangerie Bo has all the French classics under one pâtissier’s roof. The difficulty is in deciding which one you want to take home. Go for one the lime tarts, sweet and citrusy, or try the traditional Paris-Brests or chocolate eclairs. Each are divine in their own right, and best part? You'll find no additional food colourings here. Everything you see and savour here is ‘au naturel’.
Address: 85 bis Rue de Charenton, 75012, Paris (12th arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 7.30am-7.30pm; Saturday and Sunday from 8am-7pm; closed Wednesday and Thursday
Cyril Lignac is the French equivalent of Mary Berry, a chef-turned-food celebrity respected by France's baking community. When he's off the screen, he’s the boss of the bistrot Chardenoux on rue Jean Vallès, a chocolate factory and patisserie. His location gives a minimalist vibe, and in it, you'll scoff down every crumb of his sourdough, pastries and lemon tarts. Make sure you order the signature pastry, the Equinoxe, made with light cream, vanilla bourbon, salted caramel butter and praline.
Address: 133 Rue de Sèvres, 75006, Paris (6th arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Open daily from 7am-8pm
Arnaud Larher is a timeless, notorious pastry chef who has called Paris home for almost twenty years, and his spot in the 6th arrondisement is perfect for revisiting the classics. A flaky, caramelised kouign-amann (croissant-like pastry), a thinly layered mille-feuille with a cloud-like texture, and decadent, boozy baba au rhum with rum that's been aged in Martinique oak barrels. Classics never disappoint.
Address: 93 Rue de Seine, 75006, Paris (6th arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Friday from 11am-7pm; Saturday from 10am-7pm; closed Sunday and Monday
Cafe Nata is the Portugese (micro)embassy of all things pastel de nata in Paris: baked fresh on-site every day. With perfectly crispy pastry edges and delicately layered, creamy filling, this treat is rich in egg yolk and generously dusted with cinnamon. Takea bite and you'll think you're in Lisbon, in our opinion.
Address: 5 Rue Joubert, 75009, Paris (9th arrondisement)
Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday from 10.30am-5pm; closed Sunday
You have to venture a bit outside of Paris to discover this culinary talent in La Garenne-Colombes. Awarded the prestigious title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France in pastry making and confectionery in 2004, Pâtisserie Nicolas Bernardé has declared himself as the ‘pope of cakes’. Expect fruity, chocolatey, gluten-y and gluten-free delights that breathe new life into childhood treats. And don’t miss out on the cake of the week, inspired by fresh market finds and fruits of the season. New cakes are announced every Saturday in advance on the patisserie's official website.
Address: 2 Pl. de la Liberté, 92250, La Garenne-Colombes
Opening Hours:Tuesday to Saturday from 9.30am-7pm; closed Sunday and Monday
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