Cafe in Paris

The Île Saint-Louis institution Gault Millau crowned in 1961 — still family-run, still the standard.

Best Baguette de Paris 2024 winner — sourdough, charcoal-black tradition, and weekend croissant programme

Sartre and Beauvoir's corner of Boulevard Saint-Germain since 1887.

1927 Trocadéro tea-room — marble tables, white aprons, view across to the Tower.

Christophe Vasseur's 1875-listed bakery on rue Yves Toudic — pain des amis, escargots, no shortcuts.

Robert Linxe's original chocolate boutique since 1977 — the room that defined Paris bean-to-praline

Cyril Lignac and Benoît Couvrand's original 11e patisserie — the Equinoxe was born here

A turn-of-the-century café preserved without irony — zinc bar, red banquettes, all-day terrace.

Gaston Lenôtre's flagship since 1957 — the Plaine Monceau room that taught a generation of French pastry chefs

The other Saint-Germain café, with the better view of the church.

Mickaël Benichou's 2013 patisserie-boulangerie — painted-ceiling 19th-century shop, marble counter heaped with bread

Marais épicerie-fine + restaurant — Delphine Plisson's Dean & DeLuca answer for Paris.

Paris's oldest covered market, since 1615 — 21 stalls, all of lunchtime Marais, on one block.

The Picasso of pastry, in his original Saint-Germain showcase.

The Saint-Germain sourdough institution since 1932.

Paris's oldest pâtisserie since 1730 — Louis XV's pastry chef's listed shop on rue Montorgueil

Emmanuel Ryon — MOF glacier, Pastry World Champion — turns gelato into Marais grand cru.