The Best Pastry Shops in France

Boulangerie and pâtisserie

France separates two trades. A boulangerie bakes bread and viennoiserie, the family of croissants, pains au chocolat and pains aux raisins. A pâtisserie makes cakes, tarts and éclairs, sold as individual pieces. Many shops do both. In Paris, La Maison d’Isabelle near Notre Dame, Terroirs d’Avenir on Rue du Nil and Blé Sucré near Gare de Lyon are visited for the croissant, while Pâtisserie Carl Marletti in the 5th arrondissement and Le Jardin Sucré in the 17th sell individual cakes and tarts.

Flan

The vanilla flan, a deep custard tart sold by the slice, is the main draw at several shops. La Panifacture in Paris and ALMA par Marvin Brandao in Lyon are both visited for theirs, and at Mori Yoshida in the 7th arrondissement of Paris it sells out early in the day. Seline Pâtisserie in Lyon makes a vanilla latte flan and builds most of its range around pistachio.

Old houses

Stohrer on Rue Montorgueil in Paris has been open since 1730 and has painted ceilings and gilded woodwork; its baba au rhum is the pastry people come for. Pâtisserie Gilg in Colmar has been a family business since 1936 and makes mousse cakes shaped like fruit. In Marseille, La Pâtisserie des Marseillais near the Old Port names its cakes after places such as Kyoto and Cilaos, and in Toulouse the pastries at Cyprien are often gone by 10 am.

Buying

Most of these shops have no seats. The pastry goes into a box or a paper bag and is eaten in a nearby park or square. Queues are common at weekends and usually move quickly. An individual cake costs €7 to €9 at Pâtisserie Carl Marletti and around €5 at La Pâtisserie des Marseillais.