I recently had the chance to spend a week in Paris exploring and experiencing the delight of fresh French bread!
As the best form of sightseeing and cultural appreciation I tried all the baguettes I could and took a class to learn how to bake them myself!
Introduction & Resources
The week I was in Paris was the 2026 competition for the best baguette bakery in Paris! Check out this article to see a behind the scenes look at the competition & the latest winners ParisByMouth.com/best-baguettes-paris
The first thing to know is that the French are serious about their bread. There are laws in place mandating the price of bread so that all people can have access to affordable bread. However there are different options available: The Baguette and The Tradition. The Traditition or la tradi or la baguette de tradition franchise is the one you should go for. It’s the one that is required to be made fresh on site and be made of only 4 ingredients: wheat flour, water, salt and yeast (or sourdough starter). No preservative, no additives, dough conditioners, no freezing allowed. It’s amazing how much variation there is from bakery to bakery with the same standards but there is so taste your way across Paris and enjoy!
Someone did the work for us of mapping all the ranked locations, so you can open up the map and find the closest bakery to where you are! Google Map of Best Baguettes in Paris
My Ranking
I won’t claim to know better than the experts and I certainly did not try every baguette in Paris, but I wanted to share my ranking and review of the ones I did try! See my previous post to dive into the best of croissants and pain au chocolat! https://www.petitebatcherie.com/best-of-paris-croissants-pain-au-chocolat/
Best Overall: Boulangerie Guy Ferreira
We popped into this bakery in the evening, unplanned on a walk to dinner at the delicious Le Petite Celestin. It is ranked #3 in 2025 and #6 in 2026. It was warm and delicious, crisp and also buttery. We had to stop ourselves from eating the whole thing and spoiling our appetites for dinner but we wanted to it was so good!
https://maps.app.goo.gl/kT9t9niiQc6H3JVv5?g_st=ic
Boulangerie Guyot Ferreira in the 5tharrondissement
La Parisienne
Rated #1 in 2025. This was a delicious crispy crunch with a pillowy middle.
Boulangerie La Parisienne in the 9th arrondissement https://maps.app.goo.gl/n44bE2xRCweJ1HqF9?g_st=ic
Au Levain Des Pyrenees
A delicious baguette with a lovely crisp bite and a light and fluffy inside. Could have eaten it all on the spot! Ranked #1 in 2023.
Au Levain Des Pyrenees in the 20th arrondissement https://maps.app.goo.gl/weesBC5kPNZoVnmUA?g_st=ic
Le Grenier a Pain
My sister-in-law Paris picked up on her morning walk. It was quite good, we carried it around with us for the morning and did finish the whole thing.
Le Grenier a Pain in Montmartre https://maps.app.goo.gl/CLPK2GM18uCndxPL9?g_st=ic
Utopie Bakery
The baguette was good but not enough for me to write many notes about it.
Utopie Bakery in the 11th arrondissement.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ELiMB6frhMLaNTpT7?g_st=ic
Notes
Within the touristy area of the Eiffel Tower we grabbed a smaller Fiscielle mini-baguette that are typically eaten at apero the afternoon happy hour time that’s small snacks & drinks after work but before the larger late dinner. It was skinnier and crispier than other baguettes and we finished it up with a lunch of charcuterie in the park.
Places that did not make the cut of my top choices: B&S I was surprised it ranked #2 in 2026, I thought it had only an okay crunch, granted I tried it the morning after the competition so maybe the head baker was on leave to celebrate?
Baguette Baking Class
I took a 3 hour class at La Cuisine to learn about Baguettes and to bake them! It was a fun way to learn more about baguettes and to bake them with help. I have attempted baguettes at home before and bake bread so it was not my first time but it was taught so I learned something and it would be good for total beginners. It was all Americans taking the class but I expected that as its taught fully in English and marketed as a way to experience French baking for those who are not from there.
The class used flour that can be found in the US, not not fully the traditional French baguette because they wanted us to be able to replicate the replicate the results at home. But I found that it made baguettes that were not as good as what I had been eating all week but good enough that I would be pleased if I could replicate at home. Overall I would recommend the class if you’re interested in baking and have some time! So maybe not your first trip to Paris!
La Cuisine in the 4th https://maps.app.goo.gl/9nVRLT2ANVeLqkVx9?g_st=ic
Thanks for joining me on a bread tour of Paris! Happy Eating!