When it comes to museums, sights and must sees in Paris, you won’t learn anything new from this entry. I won’t show you the hidden paths in less popular districts, I won’t even give you a list of restaurants worth visiting. I know there’s plenty of places where you will find such information but I’m also pretty sure that there’s no sweeter guide to Paris than this one! And if you find one… well in such case I’m going to have another cake!!:)

 

We went to Paris with a mission… A mission to find the best confectioneries in town since Paris is a place known for them. It’s known for baguettes, French cheese and wine, the Eiffel tower, Arc de Triomphe and walks through Champs-Elysees but also for world class confectioners and their magical sanctuaries since the name confectionery doesn’t always seem to fit. They’re modern, creative and many people praise not only their produce but also the design.

 

We spent 2.5 days in Paris during which we visited as many confectioneries as possible! We wasted no time and kept walking, searching and tasting all day long. That wasn’t a lot of time and surely not enough to get to know with all of them, especially with Maks on our team and a combination of walks, piggybacking and subway rides. But we managed to find most of the worthwhile ones and see what they have in store. That’s how our guide to confectioneries of Paris came to life 🙂

 

PS. The places on our list are sorted chronologically (from the first one we visited), not ranked 😉

 

1) LA PATISSERIE – CYRIL LIGNAC

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We start with La Patiserrie Cyril Lignac on rue de Chaillot 2. Right after we land in Paris, we quickly ran to say hello to the city on Champs-Elysees, see the Arc de Triomphe and eat a quickie. After that we walk towards Chaillot. It’s not far – you can easily walk the distance. Cyril Lignac’s confectionery is a combination of a bakery with croissants and other sweet but quite ordinary baked goods and cakes that look like tiny works of art. I already know that I want the grey one with red spots – we’ve seen it on the confectionery’s website before and it looks amazing! However I heard that to some it looks like …blood spilled on a stone. I quickly find what I want – it’s called Equinoxe and costs 5.5 euro. We read that (even though we don’t know French) it’s made mostly of light vanilla cream and salted caramel – something just for me! Maks obviously goes for a chocolate explosion – Caraibe – a 66% chocolate mousse. We also get a lemon tart (the wonder in the first picture) with crispy nutty bottom, lemon cream and white chocolate on top. Equinoxe is covered with a delicate layer but the inside is a bit too sweet and filling. Even though it looks great, it’s not our favourite. The tart is perfect though – something new for me since I’m normally not a fan of lemon or orange cakes. This tart is truly special!

 

You will also find Cyril Lignac’s patisserie on rue Paul Bert 24. Apart from confectioneries he’s a chef at Le Quinzième (1 Michelin star), owns two bistros, does culinary workshop, issues books and is a TV star – he has his own culinary shows on M6 channel. He’s also 37 years old. Just keep calm, give him a round of applause and eat his cakes! 🙂

 

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2) PIERRE HERME

 

 

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Finding one of patisserie Pierre Herme is not that hard since there’s as much as 12 of them in Paris! Some only sell MACARONS and CHOCOLATS – famous macarons in many colours and chocolate pralines in various flavours, shapes and colours. If you want to try the cakes you need to find place described as PATISSERIES, MACARONS & CHOCOLATS. There are two such confectioneries in Paris – you will find detailed address info about all of their branches HERE.

 

We decided to check out the pralines first. Pierre Herme is fascinatingly colourful with beautiful black boxes of chocolates that make you wanna lick the box clean. I don’t fancy the pralines that much and so we go along to try the cakes at patiserrie Pierre Herme. Most cakes cost approx. 7 euro and they all look tempting. The one with cardamom, cherry and pistachio crust, a vanilla tart or a coffee tart? I quickly get Plaisir Sucre which combines the flavours of milk chocolate and nuts. Maks wants the same thing obviously. All cakes look great but we love Plaisir Sucre the most – a bullseye! Be sure t try it!

 

Most Pierre Herme confectioneries also sell their own ice cream – roughly speaking all what a sweet lover can imagine: cakes, ice cream, pralines and macarons. PH sweet empire is quite impressive – you can find his confectioneries in the UK, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, UAE and even Azerbaijan!

 

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3) HUGO & VICTOR

 

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The name rings a bell, doesn’t it? 🙂 References to the famous French writer can easily be seen in modern and elegant Hugo & Victor confectioneries – colourful chocolate pralines are sold in boxes that look like thick books. Nice one! Most cakes come both with fruits and chocolate or pistachios, there’s even a puff which looks exactly like the one in Lukullus. However, Hugo& Victor doesn’t make it to the top of our personal ranking. Cyril Lignac and Pierre Herme are far above.

There are 2 Hugo & Victor confectioneries in Paris – one on 40 Boulevard Raspail and one on 7 rue Gomboust. Detailed information can be foundHERE.

 

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4) L’ECLAIR DE GENIE

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My absolute favourite! I loved everything! The flavour, the concept, the look of the éclairs and the design of the place. And the book by Chrisophe Adam which you can see and buy on the spot! But I’m not going to repeat myself! 🙂 See the full entry HERE !

Must see, must eat!!!

 

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5) CAFE POUCHKINE

 

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Cafe Pouchkine is one of the last places we visit. You can see the influence of great Russia here. Just see their website – isn’t it Peter the Great’s Palace? 😉 It’s elegant, noble and ‘fancy’! Even the cakes are more classic, noble and not as modern as in other confectioneries we visited. Some contain ‘tvorog’ (cottage cheese) which makes us feel at home! We try a combination of coconut, pineapple and cottage cheese and it works really well. Maks begs for a chocolate macaron which turns out to be absolutely perfect! The place is moderately small but unlike other confectioneries, there are a few tables at which you can sit down and rest in between sightseeing.

 

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6) PATISSERIE SADAHARU AOKI PARIS

 

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The most unusual place we visited since it combines what’s French with the ideas of Japanese chef Sadaharu Aoki. The influence of Japanese cuisine can be seen from the very start when you enter the little place. Matcha – powdered Japanese tea is the ingredient of many cakes. It tastes great combined with caramel filling! We also try greenish chocolate which reminds us of… sushi!

 

Sadaharu Aoki, born 1968 has been in the confectioner’s trade for a long time. He came to Paris in 1991 when he was still young. In 1998 he opened his first atelier – he supplied cakes to confectioneries, hotels and… fashion shows. His first patisserie in Paris was opened in 2001 – right now there are 4 of them and you can find the addresses HERE. We’ve been to a small place on 35 rue de Vaugirard. Aoki also has shops in cities like Tokyo, Taipei, Fukuoka or Nagoya.

 

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That’s what we managed to see in 2.5 days! 🙂 I’m pretty sure that I have never eaten so many cakes in such time! If you want more, also remember about places such as FAUCHON or LADUREE. Fauchon has been around sinc 1886 and right now it’s not only a confectionery but a gastronomic empire. Laduree is known for best macarons – the place you see in the picture can be found near Champs-Elysees – you’ll recognise it after you see the queue 😉 Apart from that, there’s 6 more (+3 on the airport :)) branches in Paris and the brand is present in many cities of Europe, Asia or USA. The first shop was established in 1862 and they were one of the first to start selling macarons. So, if you love macarons, that is a must!

 

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In Paris, we stayed in flat near Invalides and Varenne subway booked via HomeToGo. Since we had a lot to walk and needed to use the subway plenty of times, that seemed to be a perfect choice. I already wrote about it HERE.

 

PS. Before you go to a confectionery, be sure to check their opening days and hours. Some can be closed on Sundays or Mondays.

 

*the entry was written in cooperation with HomeToGo.

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