If you’re planning a trip to Paris and haven’t built in time for a pastry hunt, I urge you to reconsider. The pâtisserie here will blow you away. And I say this as a “savory person” who often chooses cheese over dessert.
Dessert lovers are spoiled for choice in Paris. There are hundreds of excellent pâtisseries (pastry shops) in this city, and they offer stunning creations for not much money. Not everyone can afford the sort of restaurants we write about here (thanks to your paid subscriptions), but pastry is a more reasonable indulgence.
It’s possible to stop into a pâtisserie and pick up something elaborate, intricate and utterly delicious for 7-8€ or less. “Individual” pastries are usually big enough to share with a friend. They usually come with napkins and spoons, so you can take your treasures to a nearby bench - there are zillions in this city - and enjoy them while also resting your feet.
“But where can I sit down and have coffee and pastry?” you might reasonably ask. The very best pastry shops are not set up for that. Not many of them have seating. A handful offer coffee, but we’re talking push-button espresso in a tiny paper cup. This adventure, if you choose to accept it, is about chasing delicious things and eating them on the fly.
In this article - the first of many about pastry in Paris - I’m sharing a selection of pâtisseries that have delighted us recently, along with some sweet spots for tasting.
The best pastry chefs use seasonal ingredients, so this installment features a lot of citrus, nuts and chocolate. We’ll be offering another sugar fix soon, because there are so many great places to visit. The next update will be bursting with strawberries, cherries and apricots. In late summer we’ll have plums and figs. Then we’ll see apples, pears and chestnuts.
By the end of the year, we’ll have assembled a master list and a map to guide your Paris pastry exploration. Let us know in the comments if there’s something you love and want us to showcase!
Tapisserie
Tapisserie is a darling little pastry shop from the team behind the excellent (and impossible to book) restaurant Septime. Their selection is relatively slim, but everything I’ve tasted has been stunning.
What to try: they’re justifiably famous for the maple tart with unsweetened whipped cream, but we recently flipped for their version of a baba made with mezcal, topped with bright citrus and dusted with piment d’Espelette. We were shocked to see a Paris-Brest made with peanuts (this dessert typically uses almonds and/or hazelnuts) until we realized that peanuts are everywhere in Paris. The entire city tastes like a Snickers bar right now.
Where to taste: In the 11th, the nearby Square Louis-Majorelle has a few benches. The Square Trousseau is a few more minutes by foot and has benches plus outdoor ping pong tables if you need to spread out a few items. The location in the 7th has indoor seating.
65 rue de Charonne, 75011
Open every day
16 avenue de la Motte-Picquet, 75007
Open every day
Indoor seating available
Pâtisserie Michalak
Christophe Michalak made his name as the pastry chef at the Plaza Athénée before going out on his own a decade ago. His shops are modern, and many of his creations have a trompe-l'œil (optical illusion) effect.
What to try: the “mango” with layered tropical flavors of passion fruit, guava and coconut is always a hit (and gluten free). I love the “charlotte fraise” with intense strawberry flavors in spring. My colleague Jaíne finds the millefeuille Paris-Brest cacahuéte to be neither a millefeuille nor a Paris-Brest, but it’s “delicious (really!), well-balanced, and perfectly executed in terms of technique.” More peanuts!
Where to taste: In the Marais, head to the benches inside the hidden Jardin des Rosiers Joseph Migneret. In Saint-Germain, you can taste on benches in front of the fountain at Saint-Sulpice. Or walk just a bit further to the Jardin du Luxembourg. Inside that park, I particularly like the chairs in front of the Medici Fountain (pictured below). His location in the 10th has indoor seating.
16 rue de la Verrerie, 75004
Open every day
8 rue du Vieux Colombier, 75006
Open every day
60 rue du Faubourg Poissonnière, 75010
Open every day
Jeffrey Cagnes
Jeffrey Cagnes was previously the executive pastry chef at Paris’ oldest pastry shop, Stohrer. At that (nearly 300 year-old) landmark, Cagnes adhered closely to tradition. On his own, he’s adhering roasted nuts to the bottom of his irregularly shaped crusts and incorporating flavors that Monsieur Stohrer would never dream of: sesame, orange blossom, tonka bean…
What to try: I love the lemon tart with basil and olive oil in a hazelnut studded crust. The Paris-Brest is deliciously over-stuffed, with praline cream both inside and atop the choux. A very salty caramel keeps it from being cloyingly sweet.
Where to taste: In the 1st, you’re near the Jardin des Tuileries. Their location in the 2nd has a few tables outside on the lively rue Montorgueil. In the 17th, you’re quite close to the Parc Clichy-Batignolles-Martin Luther King.
1 boulevard de la Madeleine, 75001
Closed Sunday
73 rue Montorgueil, 75002
Open every day
24 Rue des Moines, 75017
Open every day
La Pâtisserie Cyril Lignac
For those who don’t know, Cyril Lignac is France’s Jamie Oliver or Bobby Flay - a chef who has reached a wide audience through cookbooks and (mainly) television. To be honest, I don’t love his restaurants. But these pâtisseries, which he runs with pastry chef Benoit Couvrand, are excellent.
What to try: Their signature Equinoxe looks looks like fuzzy grey hockey puck but tastes crowd-pleasingly like vanilla, caramel and speculoos (like a gingersnap). Their lemon tart, with its decorative white chocolate collar, is one of the sweeter versions that you’ll find in Paris. I’m crazy about their baba au rhum, and their choux puff with hazelnut praline.
Where to taste: The location on the rue Paul Bert is a stone’s throw from Tapisserie, so the same tasting spots are available. The location in the 15th is close to the Jardin Atlantique (and the Montparnasse cemetery, if you want to combine a snack and a visit to Sartre). In the 16th, take your treats to the steps near the Palais de Tokyo fountain.
24 rue Paul Bert, 75011
Open every day
55 boulevard Pasteur, 75015
Closed Monday
2 rue de Chaillot, 75016 Paris
Open every day
Pâtisserie Tourbillon
Yann Brys is a Maître Ouvrier de France (MOF) in pastry, which is the highest distinction for culinary arts in France (learn more about that by watching Kings of Pastry). He invented a technique for piping pastry cream on a turntable to create a whirl and many of his creations feature this namesake tourbillon. A large number of them (more than half?) are gluten free.
What to try: I love the frui’thé (fruit + tea) with flavors of litchi, red fruits and jasmine tea. For those who prefer something salty, the hazelnut caramel “finger” is also delicious.
Where to taste: There are a few places to sit inside, but the nearby scenery is pretty stunning. Turn right out of the shop and you’ll come upon the bridge that connects the Île Saint-Louis to the Île de la Cité. To your right, before crossing the bridge, there’s a charming square with benches called the Place Louis Aragon (photo below). You can also take the stairs down to the river’s edge and sit with your feet dangling while gazing at the back side of Notre Dame.
90 rue Saint-Louis en l'Île, 75004
Closed Monday
Des Gâteaux et du Pain
Claire Damon is a phenomenon (a phenomeDamon?) and probably, if I’m forced to choose, my favorite pâtissière in Paris. We often visit her on our West Saint-Germain food tour. Her work is highly seasonal and she doesn’t bother with anything less than produce at its peak. Right now, she’s showcasing citrus and rhubarb - so much rhubarb! - but the strawberries will be coming soon. Pictured above is my favorite strawberry tart from last spring.
What to try: I love the Tarte Abella with its provençal flavors of lavender, almond and orange, but any of Damon’s seasonal creations will make you smile.
Where to taste: for the rue du Bac location, there are benches (and a playground) inside the nearby Square des Missions-Étrangères. There’s also an outdoor coffee kiosk with a few tables inside the nearby Beaupassage. If you’re sly, you could order a beverage and sample your desserts here discretely.
89 rue du Bac, 75007
Closed Tuesday
63 boulevard Pasteur, 75015
Closed Tuesday
Philippe Conticini
Way back when we first started leading food tours, we brought guests to Pâtisserie des Rêves on the rue du Bac. It was almost always their favorite stop. I got to know Conticini’s fantastic work there, before that shop closed and he went out on his own. He now has four Paris locations, but a couple of them are “temporarily closed.” I’m including him anyway as a way to will those shops back open. Sticky fingers crossed.
What to try: There really aren’t any duds here, but I’d recommend the Saint-Honoré because it’s delicious and increasingly hard to find. The lemon tart with a buckwheat crust is perfectly balanced. The Paris-Brest is salty good fun. His pistachio éclair is very special. The flan blows my mind.
Where to taste: the Marais location, which is temporarily closed, has indoor seating. The Place Dauphine has plenty of benches if you’re visiting his location in the 1st. His location in the 7th is near Des Gâteaux et du Pain and the same tasting spots are available.
27 place Dauphine, 75001
Closed Saturday & Sunda
31 rue Notre Dame de Nazareth, 75003
Temporarily closed
37 rue de Varenne, 75007
Open every day
42 rue de l'Annonciation, 75016
Temporarily closed
Carl Marletti
Carl Marletti swings between super classic desserts like the réligieuse (pictured above, shaped to look like a nun) and more playful creations like the Censier chocolate dessert that’s studded with pop rocks.
What to try: Marletti is a choux master, so his éclairs are very good. His lemon tart is also out of this world.
Where to taste: there’s a small park with benches across the street, or you can walk ten minutes to the Arènes de Lutèce and taste your pastry on a bench inside the ruins of a Roman amphitheater. Or head to the nearby Jardin des Plants, one of my favorite places in Paris (pictured below).
51 rue Censier, 75005
Closed Monday
La Boulanger de la Tour
If you can’t swing a meal at La Tour d’Argent, you can stop by their bakery and pastry shop and grab something delicious to nibble along the nearby river. Desserts here are ultra-classic, as you can expect from a maison that was founded in 1582.
What to try: I love their Paris-Brest and lemon tart. The chocolate éclair (pictured near the top of this article) is also very good.
Where to taste: the Seine is directly across the street and there are benches all along the river. The sweet little Square Danielle Mitterand (pictured below) is also a nice place to sit.
2 rue du Cardinal Lemoine, 75005
Open every day
Les Trois Chocolats
Chocolatière Emiko Sano worked at the Plaza Athénée before opening her own chocolate shop in the Marais. Her creations, many of which incorporate flavors from her native Japan, are incredible - we often visit them on our South Marais food tour. Chocolate is such a focus here that it took me a while to realize that their pastries by Sho Kimura are also mind-blowing.
What to try: The lemon meringue tart is lovely, but I’m recommending their “choux choux” - a puff that’s been glazed with puckery yuzu, filled with vanilla cream and apple-litchi compote, and topped with fresh raspberries. There’s always a seasonal mochi - right now it’s topped with strawberries - for fans of that Japanese dessert. The pavlova with exotic fruits (first photo in this article) is incredibly delicious, but a bit messy to eat while wandering.
Where to taste: the garden of the Hôtel de Sens (where the photos above were taken) is just a few minutes away and offers benches in a beautiful garden. The nearby Place des Vosges, pictured below, also makes a great spot for tasting.
Adding *all* of these to my next patisserie crawl!!
I sit at the Medici fountain almost on the daily with my coffee, as early as possible before the arrival of tourists and while the birdsong dominates the soundscape. Whilst I hate grottos, I love the sculpture... one of the most sensuous pieces I've seen. Galatea is in such surrender. Acis, so enamored, staring at her with deep curiosity and love. Oh, such a lovely place to eat pastry!