If you’re dreaming of macarons, croissants, and chocolate éclairs, you might have a sweet tooth; and if so, Paris is the right place for you! The city features hundreds of wonderful pastry shops offering an exquisite selection of tarts, cakes, pastries, and more. Pastry shops differ from bakeries in that the latter only makes bread, while pastry shops specialize in sweets. You’ll find that most pastry shops in Paris have certain areas of expertise and are known for a specific type of pastry. It’s not uncommon for Parisians to visit one pastry shop for a box of macarons and then travel across the city to buy their éclairs at another!
To get you started, we’ve gathered our top 10 pastry shops in Paris. Keep in mind the list is not definitive, as there are many amazing pâtisseries in town. Instead, all the shops listed here have one or more specialties that really help them stand out. The following are our absolute favorites in Paris. Enjoy!
1. Pierre Hermé
Pierre Hermé should be your first stop in Paris for deluxe desserts. It has two very French and very delicious specialties that you have to try during a visit to the city: the macaron and the croissant Ispahan. Pierre Hermé first became famous for his delicious macarons; sweet meringues with crunchy outsides and delectable creamy fillings. Famous flavors include pistachio, violet, and chocolate. The croissant Ispahan has a topping of rose and glaze, which adds a pinch of inventiveness to the traditional pastry. Pierre Hermé was once called the ‘Picasso of pastry,’ and a visit to the shop will show you why! There are several locations of the brand in Paris, but the most well-known is the Rue Bonaparte flagship store in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. This store often has a line out the door, but the pastries are worth the wait!
2. La Pâtisserie des Rêves
3. Gérard Mulot
This wonderful pastry shop has several locations, but the most popular is the shop on the Rue de Seine in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Chef Gérard Mulot creates a delicious selection of both sweet and savory foods, and is a true magician when it comes to fruit tarts. There are so many to choose from, all of them equally delicious, but some of our favorites include the citron meringue tart and the pear fig tart. The best thing about its location on Rue de Seine is that it’s merely a block away from the Luxembourg Gardens, so you can enjoy your pastries in the sunshine of the park!
For more information about Gérard Mulot and other typical French delicacies, check out our list of the best snacks in Paris!
4. Café Pouchkine
Café Pouchkine on the Boulevard Haussmann (inside the Printemps Department Store) in the 9th Arrondissement offers a wonderful fusion of French and Russian pastries. Emmanuel Ryon is the celebrated head chef of the shop, and his Franco-Russian creations are highly unique. The Napoleon, which is also known as mille-feuille, consists of layers of puff pastry and pastry cream and is absolutely exquisite. The selection of Russian pastries is also varied and always gives you the chance to taste something different.
5. Angelina
This pastry shop and tearoom on Rue de Rivoli has become something of a staple in the 1st Arrondissement. It’s a very popular place for breakfast and lunch, but is best known for its Mont Blanc cake and its hot chocolate. The Mont Blanc cake is a wonderful combination of meringue, whipped cream, and chestnut cream. It’s difficult to write a review that does it justice, so you simply must try it yourself! Angelina’s hot chocolate is pretty much the epitome of what hot chocolate should be: rich, chocolaty, and served with fluffy whipped cream. A carafe of hot chocolate at Angelina’s isn’t cheap, but it’s a worthy indulgence for chocolate-lovers!
6. Jean-Paul Hévin
When you’re talking about chocolate, you simply can’t exclude Jean-Paul Hévin. His shop on the Rue Saint Honoré (just two blocks from Angelina) is a true chocolate lover’s heaven. Most of the pastries are chocolate-based works of art. Beware of the selection of chocolates and truffles; you might be tempted to spend all of your money at once! Jean-Paul Hévin also makes a delicious hot chocolate that’s considered to be a great value for the money. There are three other locations of the store in Paris, so you can find one closest to you.
7. Sadaharu Aoki
This stylish shop on Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th Arrondissement (one of several locations in the city) is easy to miss as the storefront is so small. It’s worth the search: This great pastry shop offers a fusion of French and Japanese delicacies, which results in unique concoctions such as matcha (fine green tea) and black sesame macarons. There are several other exotic flavors to try, such as the delicious salted caramel tart! This store is also close to Luxembourg Gardens, so take your treats for a picnic in the park and be the envy of passersby.
8. La Bague de Kenza
La Bague de Kenza’s flagship store is on Rue St Maur in the 11th Arrondissement. This Algerian pastry shop mixes French flavors with Middle-Eastern ingredients and offers delicacies like baklava dripping with honey and delectable oriental pastries. This is definitely a good place to try exotic flavors; it doesn’t matter that you might not know the name of everything. You can choose to purchase the sweets in-store or you can go to the teashop next door and order in with an accompanying pot of mint tea.
Another option is to take your pastries home and enjoy them in your own vacation rental apartment in Paris! These apartments come with fully equipped kitchens that give you everything you need to prepare a pot of tea and enjoy the sweets in the comfort of your own home away from home. Many are ideally located in the center of the city, so you’ll be able to map all your favorite pastry shops in no time. We have a wide array of apartments in different locations, so you can choose one near your preferred pastry shop and enjoy a delicious fresh croissant every day!
9. Un Dimanche à Paris
This pastry shop on Cour du Commerce Saint André in Odeon is unique from any other on this list, as it occupies two stories and almost half a city block! The store includes a pastry shop, a hot-chocolate and chocolate bar, a restaurant, and a tea salon. Under the supervision of the award-winning pastry chef Quentin Bailly, Un Dimanche à Paris’s pastries will blow your mind. The pistachio and red fruit choux is absolutely divine, and the chocolate pastries are simply delicious.
10. Hugo & Victor
The flagship store of Hugo & Victor on the Boulevard Raspail in the 7th Arrondissement almost looks more like a jewelry store than a pastry shop. The pastries are displayed in the windows like works of art. Hugo & Victor’s specialty is balancing different flavors, and their collection changes with the seasons. Their flavored macarons, such as an Earl Grey macaron and a pamplemousse macaron, are truly original, and the different seasonal pastries are all paired with accompanying wines by an internationally recognized sommelier!
If you feel like you can’t wait until your next visit to Paris to try a delicious French pastry, we have a bonus Parisian pastry shop for you: Ladurée. This famous Parisian pastry shop now has stores all over the world in large cities and airports. If you simply must have a macaron this instant, there’s a good chance you’ll find a Ladurée shop somewhere nearby.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this top 10 list of pastry shops in Paris! Of course, there are many more amazing pâtisseries in the city that are just waiting to be explored. What’s your favorite pastry shop in Paris?
Well chosen and well listed! Yummy pastries!i love the Café Pouchkine.. 🙂