Top 10 favorite Pastry shops in Paris in 2023

This curated list of pastry shops will take care of your sweet tooth, from historical shops showcasing traditional French pastry to the most modern and instagramable shops in Paris.

The pastry shops included in this list are not only the most beautiful ones but led by the most skillful pastry artisans in France.

The secret of their exceptional pastries is the same: high-quality ingredients, perfect mastery of raw materials, innovative techniques married with classic ones, and a desire to reduce sugar and make pastries lighter.

We created a bespoke, unique private sweet experience called Paris Exclusive Chocolate & Pastries Experience with local experts and ex-pastry chefs to walk you through some of the best delicacies in the city.

Here are our top picks for the most noteworthy Parisian pastry spots in the food and wine capital of the world.

The address we provide here is our favorite one; it is a highly charming boutique from the floor tiles to the delicious pastries to go.

We come to this shop to look for exceptionally executed “Mont Blanc” pastry with chestnut cream on top, rich with an earthy chestnut flavor yet light and airy.

Try his classic “mille-feuille” (Thousand leaves), countless sheets of feather-light, crisp, buttery pasty stacked with layers of vanilla pastry cream; it’s a beautiful, delicious mess and moreso, a Parisian food affair.

Pro Tip:  visit his second shop tucked away under the arches of the Rue de Rivoli; it is a “salon de thé” serving an exquisite brunch menu. You will feel like you are straight out of Sofia Coppola’s ‘Marie Antoinette movie.

You might have already heard of the best and most creative, dynamic pastry chefs in the world. Grolet’s pastry universe is pure magic. He teaches master classes worldwide, and his Instagram is the new sensation in the Parisian food world.

The atmosphere in the boutique is warm and welcoming, with a refined light color décor perfect for focusing on the breathtaking desserts. If you’re on a chocolate and pastries tour in Paris, Chef Grolet should be at the top of your list.

Chef Grolet has been going strong for several years, so the news is out. Be ready to queue in line to try out his delicious buttery and flaky croissants in the morning and enjoy his signature disguised artful pastries during the afternoon. They are probably the most expensive pastries in Paris, 15-17 euros, but they are unique pieces of art found nowhere else, so what the heck, you only live once.

Pro tip: book your table online instead of waiting outside for hours (link above)

One word that perfectly describes this place is “shortbread”; they perfect it and master it.

We have fallen in love with this magical place since it first opened; recently, they added a “jardin secret”- a hidden tea room in the back where you can enjoy all the pastries sold in the shop with an outstanding selection of teas.

Walk inside and discover an enchanted retro world, porcelain ceramics, old sandstone tiles, luring scents, bouquets, and fabulous cakes changing with the seasons.

The atmosphere is so pleasant and cozy, with excellent service in a uniquely relaxing atmosphere with a touch of luxury, making it a true mainstay of the Paris food and wine scene.

Pro tip: This is the perfect tea room for a rainy afternoon in Paris. We also recommend buying the pastries at the shop, then crossing the street and sitting on the benches inside the beautiful “Square du Temple” to savor them at your own pace.

This shop is another of our favorite contemporary, young generation, minimalist style pastry shops with boundary-pushing, instagramable, haute-couture pastries and a nicely branded fox signature logo.

Chef Yann acquired his skills working with the greatest in prestigious palaces, such as Trianon Palace in Versailles, the Park Hyatt Vendôme, and the Prince de Galles.

We are so happy he opened his pastry shops in Paris to democratize and bring those Palace-type modern pastries to us “bon vivants.”

Do not miss his signature Madagascar vanilla “mille-feuille” (thousand leaves), whipped up quickly in a decadent delightful manner. He only makes 50 per day, so get there early and don’t hesitate to try one of the best Paris pastry shops the city of love has to offer.

Pro tip: combine tasting the famous falafel with dessert and coffee at Chef Yann’s pastry shop afterward. Both shops are a few steps away from each other. Sit down inside and savor them while people-watching in this busy street of le Marais.

We love paying tribute from time to time to the oldest patisserie in Paris, founded in 1730 by King Louis XV’s pastry chef, Nicolas Stohrer.

Stohrer pastry shop can be found in the busy and trendy pedestrian street, rue Montorgueil and is currently listed as a historical site with its extravagant décor. The 1860 façade and the interior have been left untouched. 

Be ready to taste some of the best executed and luscious classic French pastries such as the Rum babas (invented by the chef himself, a sort of Kugelhopf, soaked in rum with a light chantilly cream), the chocolate éclairs, and the old-fashioned religieuses (choux pastry filled with chocolate or coffee pastry cream).

Pro tip: Explore rue Montmartre’s shops dedicated to cooking and baking supplies and books from Deco Relief at number 6, A.Simon number 48 to Librarie Gourmande at 92.

Fabrice Le Bourdat, a former pastry chef at Le Bristol hotel, makes some of the most  acclaimed desserts, viennoiserie, and loaves of bread in Paris.

We love coming here to taste the Award-winning “Madeleines,” which are the best in town, his heavenly buttery-and-caramelly “kouign-amann” and his famous “millefeuille” creamy, buttery, and crunchy all at once.

The traditional French baguette and the buttery croissant are a hymn to lightness and crispiness, while the inside is soft, chewy, and generous. If you’re on a luxury food and wine tour in Paris, be sure to stop in.

We will meet here before taking you to our curated French Essential Food & Wine Experience. You will learn the differences between a traditional baguette and a regular one, an authentic butter croissant and an ordinary one, and how to identify an original artisanal bakery.

Pro tip:  In the afternoon, we love gathering pastries, crossing the streets, and enjoying them in this beautiful, village-like, tree-filled park, “Square Trousseau.”

Chef Clare Damon’s shop feels like a luxury boutique in a high-end street in the elegant Saint Germain des près neighborhood.

She co-owns the shop with Chef David Granger, one of the top bread-makers in France. Do not miss the chance to taste some of his well-fermented thick, crust loaves of bread, such as the  “boule au levain” and the black rye bread “pain noir” with lots of yummy seeds.

Chef Clare uses only the finest organic ingredients: seasonal fruits such as pears and apples from the Loire Valley, citrus fruit from Corsica Island, chestnuts from the Ardéche region, and almonds from Provence; you get the picture; it does not get more locally sourced pastries than this. Her distinctive violet and blackcurrant “Saint-Honoré” is her signature pastry, making it a top Parisian food and wine experience.

To be honest, we come here for her “viennoiserie,” which are remarkable:  the “pain perdu à la vanille”-vanilla french toast”- the “brioche mousseline” – extra buttery brioche, and the “Chausson citron”-caramelized puff pastry filled with lemon cream are to die for.

Pro Tip: walk the entire street “rue du Bac” and discover food shops of top chefs in Paris; finish your walk at “La Grande Epicierie de Paris”, 3000 square meters of gourmet food & wine.

Because Paris is very cosmopolitan and we love “French-Japanese” pastries, we have included this Tokyoite style luminous, dazzling, and super tasty shop adorned with light wood furniture.

Tomo patisserie specializes in freshly made “dorayaki” – Japanese pancake filled with adzuki red bean paste, “baba au whiskey” and “yuzu tart,” all delicately presented like jewels.

Sit inside and pair your favorite pastry with a curated selection of teas for a true luxury dining experience in the world’s food and wine capital.

Pro tip: this is an exquisite dessert stop over after having a bento lunch at Yasube:  9 Rue Sainte-Anne, 75001 in the Japanese-obsessed rue Sainte Anne or a delicious Ramen at SANJO – 29 Rue d’Argenteuil, 75001 Paris, France.

Voilà, our newest discovery in Paris in 2022. This sweet tiny pastry shop, “Tapisserie,” is the latest endeavor of Bertrand Grébaut and Théo Pourriat, owners of the famous Septime restaurant adding a new gourmet shop after the acclaimed Clamato and Septime la cave (wine bar).

The Tarte à l’Érable (Maple Syrup Tart with a crispy sweet dough and chantilly cream was so famous at Clamato that it gave them the idea to open this French pastry shop across the street, making it an unforgettable stop on all the best food and wine tours in Paris.

We also love the Pollen-Pistachio “Chou” cream puff, with a tangy, citrusy taste of bee pollen with luscious pistachio cream.

Still, we must give it to our big-time favorite and unique “Chou à la flouve”, unctuous yet super light and airy cream with incredible earthiness. After tasting hundreds of pastries in Paris, this flavor comes as an incredibly refreshing and innovative surprise.

PRO Tip: Stop by this shop mid-morning (11:30 am)  if you want to get your favorite pastries perfectly fresh or after 3:30 pm. They prepare sweet treats all day but at some exact hours because there is only one oven, and each batch is cooked at a specific time, so make sure you remember the schedule posted in the window.

This beautiful cozy hybrid shop in the 20th arrondissement with beautifully mismatched wooden tables and chairs is an artisanal bakery, pastry shop, and a TOP value-for-money, high-quality, weekend brunch spot if you are willing to get out of the center of town and discover an off-the-beaten-path Parisian neighborhood.

The shop is a spacious loft-like space with raw brick walls and cement floor, a large open kitchen, and an old wood-burning oven which dramatically changes from the tiny, hole-in-the-wall cafés in central Paris.

The savory food prepared for brunch is top-quality French recipes. We will top it off with their delightful “Tarte Tatin”-caramelized upside-down apple tart, a top Parisian food and wine experience.

Pro tip: take a walk to the Belvedere de Belleville at 27 Rue Piat, 75020, to enjoy one of the best views of the city; after all,  it is only a short calorie-burning stroll away. For the most adventurous, take 10 minutes to walk to the most beautiful cemetery in the world: Père Lachaise.