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Paris, France

The guide to Paris’s 10 essential bakeries (and must-try pastries)

The Mediterranean • Eat & drink • The guide to Paris’s 10 essential bakeries (and must-try pastries)

The top artisanal bakeries in Paris that hit the sweet spot

Paris takes its baking seriously in a way that feels almost like cultural law. In the heart of the Île-de-France region in France, flour, butter and time shape how the city moves, eats and connects. The best bakeries in Paris understand that great bread and pastry come from discipline, time and instinct rather than excess. This is a city where sourdough is treated with the same respect as fine dining and where viennoiserie sits right at the centre of everyday life. From precision-led fermentation to pastry work that feels architectural, these essential bakeries show exactly where Paris stands right now and why it continues to set the standard for global baking culture.

Top photography courtesy of Yann Couvreur

Atelier P1

Atelier P1 operates out of a converted loft, turning out some of the city’s most reliable bread and viennoiserie. Here, no white-bread baguettes are sold. Instead, you’ll find dense sourdough boules made with organic, ancient grains. Bread is the centre of gravity here, with naturally leavened loaves that show real control in crumb, acidity and crust. Bakers label each loaf with its flour origin in this open atelier. Some of our favourites include the Pain du Square (ideal for picnics in nearby gardens) and the olive and cumin rye tourte. Viennoiserie follows the same logic with precise lamination, butter that tastes cultured rather than sweet and a finish that feels disciplined. The shop’s industrial-chic interior, background Congolese rumba and visible ovens make everyday bread and pastries feel special.

Atelier P1
157 Rue Marcadet
Paris
France

Photography courtesy of Atelier P1

Pleincœur

Pleincœur (meaning full heart) opened in late 2023 under chef Maxime Frédéric (formerly of George V and Cheval Blanc). In this warm, family-run bakery, clean, fermented flavours define the menu. Every element is made from scratch using ancient-flour levains, eggs from the owner’s family farm, house-made chocolates and yoghurts. On the shelves you’ll find mixed-grain country loaves swirled with chestnut honey or a laminated kouign-amann reinvented as an apple turnover with cinnamon compote. There’s a visual identity to the pastries too. Minimal, restrained, very deliberate. Pâtisserie highlights include the viral pain suisse (choux filled with chocolate ganache) and a millefeuille with rich rice pudding filling.

Pleincœur
64 Rue des Batignolles
Paris
France

Photography courtesy of Pleincœur

Le Petit Grain

Le Petit Grain is a Belleville boulangerie with an everything-levain ethos. In the 20th arrondissement, Le Petit Grain has built a cult following through technical confidence. For over three years it has offered a tightly focused range of sourdough loaves and high-quality pastries. The cosy shop lets passersby see bakers at work through the glass. On the bread side, expect robust, grainy boules (whole wheat and spelt) baked to a thin crust and aromatic crumb. The pastry counter is unusually broad for a boulangerie. Award-winning treats like a pecan-studded kouign-amann sit alongside cookies, sablés, seasonal flans, cinnamon rolls and brioches.

Le Petit Grain
7 Rue Denoyez
Paris
France

Photography courtesy of Le Petit Grain

Yann Couvreur

Yann Couvreur operates with a highly recognisable visual language that never slips into chaos. This is pastry design driven by consistency and restraint. We love Yann Couvreur’s Marais outpost, which represents Parisian pâtisserie at its most polished. The copper-and-plant-filled interior reflects the herbaceous flavour notes in his creations. Couvreur’s bakery made its name on Instagram with pastry art. While his famed mille-feuille now lives abroad, his Paris-Brest is a Paris classic here. A ring of choux filled with intensely hazelnut-praline cream, strewn with caramelised nuts. Other staples include fruit tarts, delicate éclairs and seasonal entremets that all show Couvreur’s trademark consistency. Even everyday items carry his signature, like the subtle Ispahan croissant available in rose, lychee and raspberry.

Yann Couvreur
23bis Rue des Rosiers
Paris
France

Photography courtesy of Yann Couvreur

Bulle

Bulle is a confident new bakery-pâtisserie just steps from Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. Its sleek, light-filled shop puts quality ingredients front and centre. They bake primarily with organic flour and house-made levain. The bakery offers a rotating selection of sourdough (including spelt and Korasan wheat). Viennoiseries are generously buttered (croissants and pains au chocolat here are especially delicious) and pastries are simple but perfect. Our go-to’s include the finely caramelised apple chausson, flaky pain suisse with crisp yet melt-in-your-mouth layers and a smooth vanilla flan. Bulle’s charm lies in its no-fuss excellence. Straightforward classics done exceptionally well.

Bulle
1 Rue Meynadier
Paris
France

Photography courtesy of Bulle

Manobaké

Manobaké blends Japanese precision with French tradition. Housed behind a turquoise-tiled façade, this 11th-arrondissement boulangerie offers a stripped-back menu executed flawlessly. The bread selection is short but stellar (seedy tourte de meule, dense buckwheat-rice flour loaves, etc.). The real show is the viennoiserie and pastries. Signature items include pistachio custard choux buns, fluffy orange-blossom brioche swirls and apple-jam chaussons. These are all lightly sweet and delicately textured. Even a humble carrot cake comes liberally frosted and tangy, while a seasonal crostata (fig tart on almond-spelt crust) is a standout for us.

Manobaké
152 Rue de Charonne
Paris
France

Photography courtesy of Manobaké

The French Bastards

With a cheeky name and approachable spirit, The French Bastards is a baker’s rebellion in Paris. Founded by three friends, these shops are unabashedly modern. Everything is baked on-site in full view, from laminated breakfast pastries to bâtard loaves. Their signature bâtard uses three different flours (two whole grains) for extra depth. The pastry case overflows with crowd-pleasers. A gargantuan lemon-meringue tart, charcoal-tinted Pavlova domes, chocolate babka loaves and cruffins referencing several traditions. The vibe is fun and energetic. Louder branding, quicker rhythm, more movement. The French Bastards works because it understands the modern Paris grab-and-go culture. Lunchtime sees a stream of locals grabbing sandwiches and tartines on the go.

The French Bastards
181 Rue Saint-Denis
Paris
France

Photography courtesy of The French Bastards

Babka Zana

Babka Zana is a niche but remarkable addition to Paris’s bakery scene. It centres on the Polish babka, a brioche-like cake, but also sells breads, viennoiseries and sandwiches. Its open-plan interior (with a show oven designed by Charles Zana) feels bright and minimalist, drawing the eye to rows of glossy, braided babkas under glass. The signature babka loaves are swirled with fillings like chocolate-hazelnut, cinnamon-muscovado, pistachio-orange blossom and even halva-lemon. Mini rugelach (tiny chocolate-cinnamon-filled rolls) are another must-try. For a design-minded foodie, it’s a sensory delight. The pastries’ golden swirls and pastel boxes complement the shop’s clean white walls, making it as photogenic as it is delicious.

Babka Zana
65 Rue Condorcet
Paris
France

Photography courtesy of Babka Zana

Pierre Hermé

Pierre Hermé’s boutiques feel like galleries of dessert art. Signature confections, especially the Ispahan (a rose-raspberry-lychee macaron) and luminous mille-feuilles, are presented like haute couture pieces. The flagship spot at 4 Rue Cambon features an ultramodern interior. Gleaming white counters, dramatic glass cases and even staff in stilettos behind the glass. Each shop is uniquely designed (the rue Cambon venue is a modern bonbonnière of chocolates and macarons), but all share a crisp monochrome palette that makes every pastel pastry pop. Having broken away from Ladurée in the 90s, Hermé built an empire famed for pushing flavour boundaries. Signature tastes include the intense Mogador (dark chocolate and passionfruit).

Pierre Hermé
72 Rue Bonaparte
Paris
France

Photography courtesy of Pierre Hermé

Cédric Grolet

Cédric Grolet’s flagship boutique (his first stand-alone pâtisserie) opened in 2019 at 35 Av. de l’Opéra, in the sophisticated Gaillon quarter. The interior is sleek and minimalist, with white marble floors and grey stone counters blending with brushed metal accents. Upon entering, two long display counters (one pale Iron Frost stone, one darker cladding) subtly divide the bakery from the pastry shop. Grolet (a world pastry champion) is celebrated for astonishing trompe-l’œil pastries. One of our favourites is the whole lemon that turns out to be a multi-layered cake (yuzu cream, curd, poached lemon) covered in a lemon-scented spray to mimic rind. Upstairs, a mezzanine bar lets you peer into the kitchen as chefs assemble these edible works of art. The overall vibe is clean, modern and theatrical.