6 Of The Best Sweet Treats To Eat In Paris

Unsplash/Brigette Tohm

What’s a trip to Paris without extensive tours of the cities best bakeries? A sweet tooth disappointment, that’s what. And it’s exactly why you can’t even dream of visiting the City of Lights without eating your fill of the cities best dessert offerings, from cookies to finely crafted patisserie concoctions. Here are six of our favorite Parisian treats.

Layered Cakes — Pierre Hermé

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Pierre Hermé, like many Parisian bakers, is famous for macarons. But you’ll be missing out if you don’t taste one of the layered cake creations as well. Flavors vary wildly, from chocolate to fruit to hazelnut. You can find locations of Pierre Hermé across the city, but if you want to combine a cake-eating outing with shopping, head to Galeries Lafayette.

Escargot Pastry — Du Pain et des Idées

Libby Ryan

This ornately decorated neighborhood bakery has a lot of very good pastries. However, you’re not in Paris for very good. You want a pastry that will make you exclaim “ç’est magnifique!” — no matter how terrible your French accent may be. So go for the pistachio escargot. It’s not snails — it’s a spiral pastry filled with pistachio and coated with a perfectly light glaze.

Éclair — l’Éclair de Génie

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You don’t have to stick to the classic chocolate or vanilla debate for your eclair purchases at l’Éclair de Génie. You can find everything from praline to strawberry to pistachio. But we’re into the mascarpone and salted caramel eclair. Sinful.

Pro eclair tip: Go with a couple of friends so you can try as many flavors as possible without wasting a precious crumb of patisserie.

Cream Puff — Odette

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Want to try to blend in? “Choux à la crème” is how you’d order a cream puff in Paris. And Odette’s cream puffs are not only some of the absolute best in the city, but also located smack-dab in the middle of some must-sees, including the Notre Dame and the Shakespeare and Company bookstore.

Macarons — Laduree

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The picture-perfect pastel macarons from Laduree are a cliché for a reason: they are delightful. Even a Laduree shopfront has iconic recognizability that occasionally garners a line trailing out the door.

Heads up: These little cookies are expensive no matter where you get them, but at Laduree, you’re also paying for the pretty box that holds your sweets.

Hot Chocolate — Angelina

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Speaking of lines, there’s a good chance you’ll encounter a wait at Angelina. The hot chocolate here is famous for being more like hot chocolate pudding than the powdered stuff we’re usually served in the United States, but if you live for cocoa, the line is worth it for a major stop on the chocolate bucket list.

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