30 editor picks across France.
30 bakeries worth the trip across France, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All France guides.
Pierre Mathieu Patissier Bordelais on Place Pey Berland is the namesake chef's modern patisserie, opened March 2018 after his five-year run as executive.
TipShow up before 11:00 for the Saint-Honore; the Pave Pey-Berland (almond cream, sweet-wine fruit, rum.
Bernachon in Lyon's 6e is the bean-to-bar chocolatier founded by Maurice Bernachon in 1953, with a Rue Franklin Roosevelt salon de the and a full pastry.
TipThe President cake is the order; a slice with espresso at the salon is the form.
Four des Navettes in Marseille's 7e is the oldest bakery in the city since 1781, the boat-shaped navettes baked in the original Roman-model oven and blessed.
TipWalk in for a paper bag of navettes; Chandeleur morning is the day to come.
Christophe Vasseur's Du Pain et des Idées in Paris's 10e remains the boulangerie every other counter measures itself against. At 34 Rue Yves Toudic.
TipClosed weekends. Arrive before 09:00 for the pain des amis; escargots sell out by 13:00.
Baillardran in Bordeaux's Golden Triangle is the canele specialist on Cours de l'Intendance since 1988, with the city's most-quoted version.
TipBuy two sizes, the small and the regular; eat the regular the day of purchase and freeze the small for later.
Mulot et Petitjean has baked Dijon's pain d'épices on Place Bossuet since 1796, honey spice loaves and nonnettes from France's oldest gingerbread house.
TipThree more branches trade around town, on Rue de la Liberté, Place Notre-Dame and Rue de la Chouette; this flagship is the original.
Méert has traded on Rue Esquermoise in Lille since 1761, and its flat waffle filled with Madagascar vanilla sugar is still the counter's signature.
TipThe waffle is meant to be eaten at room temperature, not hot. The tea room at the same address opens at 12:00 Tuesday to Friday and at 10:00 on Saturday and Sunday.
Pralus Presqu'ile on Rue de Brest in the 2e is the praluline-brioche counter for the Lyon peninsula, with whole loaves of pink-praline brioche from Roanne.
TipA whole praluline loaf travels for a day; ask for the freshly-bagged hot one.
Boulangerie du Palais in Vieux Lyon is the praline-rose specialist run by pastry chef Sebastien Bouillet on Rue du Palais de Justice, with a queue.
TipArrive before 11:00 on weekends for the full counter; the box of six small praline tarts is the form.
Maison Auer on Rue Saint Francois de Paule has sold candied fruits and chocolates in Nice since 1820, two centuries under the Auer family and from 2024.
Poilâne in Paris has baked a signature sourdough miche from a wood-fired oven on Rue du Cherche-Midi since 1932. Booking recommended. Reservations advised.
TipThe half-miche feeds two for a week. Ask for the cocktail-size punitions at the till.
Pâtisserie Le Daniel is the Meilleur Ouvrier de France house of Laurent Le Daniel in Rennes, running since 1998 with its flagship facing the Halles Centrales.
TipOrder before 14:00 online and collect the next day; the Rue de la Monnaie boutique by the Lices is the quieter pick-up.
Aline Géhant is a chocolate workshop and boutique on Rue des Trois Faucons in Avignon, known for its Mendiant Provençal and lavender or thyme ganaches.
TipThe shop is closed in July and August and on public holidays, and orders can be collected by appointment outside opening hours.
Boulangerie Louis Lamour on Rue Ravez is the artisan bakery from Louis Vaughan, an Eric Kayser and Grande Epicerie alumnus who reconverted to bread.
TipBread fills the shelves at 08:00; the pain de campagne goes by 13:00 most days and there is no afternoon bake. A second boutique sits at 22 Place Gavinies.
L'Ogre de Carrouselberg on Rue des Vieux Murs in Lille builds the prettiest pastry in the city, from the Fraisier de Phalempin to trays of P'tits Pouchins.
TipThe shop closes annually from 12 to 23 August, so do not plan a mid-August visit around it.
Pastry and chocolate counter in Halles Paul Bocuse since 2003, with a house praline tart, macarons and pink pralines cooked in a 1905 copper machine.
TipThe praline tart is the one to buy; a slice travels well in the box.
Jocteur runs a Halles Paul Bocuse counter from the family bakery on the Ile Barbe, with naturally leavened breads and long fermented sourdough loaves.
TipClosed Monday; pain au levain is the loaf; arrive by 09:00 for the warm batch.
Boulangerie Jocteur at Ile Barbe in the 9e is Philippe-Marc Jocteur's flagship, he was Best Apprentice of Rhone-Alpes 1981 and the official baker of Bocuse.
TipThe tarte sablee aux pralines is the order; Halles Paul Bocuse stocks the loaves daily.
Pain Salvator in Marseille's 6e between the Prefecture and Notre-Dame du Mont is Nicole and Etienne Weber's worker-cooperative bakery (SCOP since May 2025).
TipWorker cooperative since May 2025; the einkorn loaves go fast on weekends.
Des Rêves et du Pain bakes naturally leavened loaves in an 18th-century wood-fired oven on Rue Eugène Lisbonne, in the middle of the Montpellier Ecusson.
TipThe wood-fired oven predates the Revolution; come before the early-evening rush for the fullest bread wall.
Maison Arlot Cheng bakes levain breads and pastries near Les Machines de l'Île in Nantes, its gâteau nantais soaked in rum under a crisp glaze.
TipThe gâteau nantais sells at about €3.40 a slice; soups, focaccia and pies fill the same counter at lunchtime.
Chez Theresa on Rue Droite has fired socca in a wood burning 1867 oven since 1925, one of only three Nice addresses still cooking the chickpea pancake.
Utopie in Paris's 11e is the modern boulangerie Sebastien Bruno and Erwan Blanche built into a black-fronted shop with the city's best black-sesame baguette.
TipCash and card both work. The flan vanille is the second pick after the sesame baguette.
Claire Damon's Des Gâteaux et du Pain in Paris's 15e is the pastry-architect shop where every tart is signed off as a numbered edition, on display.
TipClosed Monday. The Mont-Blanc is autumn-only; the strawberry tart anchors the summer carte.
Paintagruélique bakes sourdough, butter croissants and babka on Rue de Tambour in Reims, a corner bakery by the Hôtel de Ville that opens on Sunday mornings.
TipGo early on Sunday for the viennoiseries, as the queue forms quickly; the shop is closed on Monday and Tuesday.
Pâtisserie Waïda has served pastries and tea for three generations on Place Drouet d'Erlon in Reims, in a room of Art Deco mosaics and stained glass.
TipThe tea room serves homemade Valrhona hot chocolate, and the shop opens on Sunday in two services, morning and late afternoon.
Authentique makes chocolate from cocoa beans, from roasting to the bar, in a shop on Rue Carnot in Avignon that also sells ganaches, pralines and ice cream.
TipIts post-summer notice says the shop now opens without a break from 09:30 to 18:30, and ice creams are still sold in the shop.
Patisserie S on Cours d'Alsace et Lorraine is Satomi and Stanley Chan's stylish Franco-Asian patisserie, both alumni of Joel Robuchon and Yannick Alleno.
TipThe signature tarte au yuzu goes by mid-afternoon; the chou au matcha travels well as a takeaway snack.
Fabrice Gillotte, a Meilleur Ouvrier de France chocolatier, sells pralines, macarons and molten cakes from his Rue du Bourg boutique in central Dijon.
TipThe chocolates and macarons are made at the house's own atelier in nearby Norges-la-Ville, not behind the counter.
Aux Merveilleux de Fred started on Rue de la Monnaie in Lille, and this counter still sells the meringue and cream pastry that gave the brand its name.
TipBuy the small size and eat it standing. The cream collapses within the hour.
2.5 hours
Welcome to the heart of Old Lyon, in a cozy cooking studio where you will learn how to make a praline flan or a mille-feuille, as well as homemade puff pastry.
Guided tour · 3 hours
Explore Lyon's Old Town on a guided tour. Discover the city's history through its pastries, secret passageways, and silk stories.
Guided tour · 3 hours
New to Lyon? Start here. Mix Roman history, Renaissance streets and silk with useful French, local tips and a pastry. Leave feeling oriented and knowing where to explore next.