Bakeries & pastries: croissants and marvels.

The best bread in Paris with the JARI community.

Where to find the award-winning baguette, the real butter croissant, the star patisseries: ask the community and the JARI pros.

Understanding the baguette.

Two families: the "tradition" baguette (no additives, crackling crust, irregular crumb) and the classic baguette (cheaper, softer). Always ask for the tradition, specified "pas trop cuite" (pale) or "bien cuite" (crisp). Each year the Grand Prix de la Baguette de Paris crowns the best — the winner supplies the Élysée for a year.

Viennoiseries, the right move.

A butter croissant beats the "ordinary" margarine one (the bakery labels it). Also try the pain au chocolat (chocolatine in the South-West), the apple turnover and the pain aux raisins. €1.20–2.50 each.

The bakeries to know.

• Du Pain et des Idées (34 rue Yves Toudic, 10th) — the cult pistachio-chocolate escargot and the pain des amis.
• Boulangerie Utopie (20 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 11th) — award-winning baguette and charcoal (black) pistachio croissant.
• Poilâne (8 rue du Cherche-Midi, 6th) — the sourdough miche and the "punitions" (little shortbreads).
• Mamiche (45 rue Condorcet, 9th) — the babka and the buzzy cookies.
• Circus Bakery (63 rue Galande, 5th) — the cinnamon buns.

The star pastry chefs.

• Cédric Grolet Opéra (35 av. de l'Opéra, 2nd) — the trompe-l'œil fruit (queue at opening).
• Pierre Hermé (72 rue Bonaparte, 6th) — the Ispahan (rose-lychee-raspberry).
• Pâtisserie Cyril Lignac (24 rue Paul Bert, 11th) — the Équinoxe (caramel-vanilla).
• Yann Couvreur (137 av. Parmentier, 10th) — the vanilla mille-feuille.
• Mori Yoshida (65 av. de Breteuil, 7th) — the French-Japanese Mont-Blanc.

The morning ritual (and a smart lunch).

A coffee + a viennoiserie on a terrace is the Parisian breakfast. At lunch, many bakeries make excellent sandwiches (ham-and-butter) and quiches — fast and cheap.

A little bakery vocabulary.

• "Une tradition, s'il vous plaît".
• "Pas trop cuite / bien cuite".
• "Un pain au chocolat" (or chocolatine).
• "Ce sera tout, merci".

JARI tip.

The stars (Cédric Grolet) have queues: arrive at opening. Many bakeries close one day a week (often Monday or Tuesday) — check. Perfect picnic: tradition baguette + cheese + fruit.

Useful links.