Bakery€Tue-Fri 07:15-20:00, Sat 07:30-19:00, closed Sun-MonWalk-in onlySourdough breads and palace-trained viennoiserie
Boulangerie Pâtisserie l'Équilibre in Paris's 15e occupies an 1889 Monument Historique storefront on rue Blomet. At 108 Rue Blomet. Booking recommended.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The Pain Suisse with its puff-pastry layers is the room's signature, baked through the morning.
Worth the queue: Pain Suisse
Bakery€Thu-Tue 07:30-20:00, closed WednesdayWalk-in onlyOrganic levain breads and Japanese-inflected viennoiserie
Boulangerie BO in Paris's 12e is Olivier Haustraete's listed-monument boulangerie by Marché d'Aligre, baking organic baguette tradition and Tokyo-honed.
Tip: The cherry-blossom Mont Blanc in spring is the seasonal pick; the baguette tradition is the everyday order.
Worth the queue: Baguette tradition
Bakery€Mon-Fri 07:15-20:00, closed weekendsWalk-in onlyLevain breads and laminated pastries
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.
Tip: Closed weekends. Arrive before 09:00 for the pain des amis; escargots sell out by 13:00.
Worth the queue: Escargot pistache-chocolat
Bakery€Mon-Sat 07:15-20:00Walk-in onlySourdough miche
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.
Tip: The half-miche feeds two for a week. Ask for the cocktail-size punitions at the till.
Worth the queue: Pain Poilâne miche
Bakery€Mon-Sat 07:00-20:00Walk-in onlySourdough breads and pastry
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.
Tip: Cash and card both work. The flan vanille is the second pick after the sesame baguette.
Worth the queue: Sesame baguette
Bakery€Mon-Sun 12:00-18:00Walk-in onlySculpted pastry
Cédric Grolet Opéra in Paris is the chef's lemon-fruit-and-flowers museum: every cake a sculpted trompe-l'œil fruit, priced at €18 to €25 a piece.
Tip: Queue starts at 11:30 for the 12:00 opening; book online to skip it for the citron tart.
Worth the queue: Trompe-l'œil fruit