Best Croissant in Paris: Award-Winning Bakeries Ranked

This guide is part of our Paris Travel Guide — start there for the overview, itineraries and costs.

The best croissant in Paris for 2026, by official verdict, is at Boulangerie du Sentier in the 2nd arrondissement, winner of the 25th Grand Paris butter croissant competition in May 2026; recent prize-winners La Parisienne (10th) and Maison Doucet (12th) are close behind. For a shortlist beyond the competition, Du Pain et des Idées, Boulangerie Utopie, Mamiche and the historic Stohrer are the names that appear in guide after guide.

The Best Croissants in Paris at a Glance

Hours change with holidays, especially in August, so confirm on the bakery's own site or map listing on the day.

1. Boulangerie du Sentier

Boulangerie du Sentier took gold in the 25th Concours du meilleur croissant au beurre AOP Charentes-Poitou du Grand Paris, judged on 12 May 2026 by the Syndicat des Boulangers du Grand Paris. It is a Franco-Jewish bakery behind a bright orange façade, run by Yariv Berreby (also behind the restaurants Salatim and Maafim), and best known for sourdough, challah, babka and pita alongside its viennoiserie, which includes a two-tone croissant.

• Address: 47 rue du Caire, 75002 Paris
• Hours: Sunday–Thursday 7am–8pm, Friday 7am–4pm, closed Saturday (per Time Out)
• Price: Time Out lists its viennoiseries at €2–3
• Métro: Sentier (Line 3)

2. La Parisienne

Mickaël Reydellet's La Parisienne was the highest-placed bakery inside Paris in the 2025 Grand Paris butter croissant competition, finishing second overall behind Des Racines et du Pain in Clamart. The same week it also won the Grand Prix de la baguette de tradition française de Paris 2025, a title Reydellet had already won in 2016. That double makes it one of the safest single stops for both bread and pastry.

• Address: 12 rue du Faubourg-Poissonnière, 75010 Paris
• Hours: Monday–Saturday 7am–8pm, Sunday 7am–2:30pm (per Paris je t'aime, the city tourist office)
• Métro: Bonne Nouvelle (Lines 8, 9)

3. Maison Doucet

Maison Doucet won the 2024 Grand Paris butter croissant competition. It is a family bakery run by Georges Doucet and his daughter Océane: he prepares the dough and she handles the folding and shaping. The winning croissant was curved, not straight, which is a useful reminder that the shape rule described below is a custom rather than a guarantee. In the same 2024 ranking, Boulangerie Victoire (12 rue Cadet, 9th) came second and Le Moulin de la Croix Nivert (39 rue de la Croix-Nivert, 15th) came third.

• Address: 234 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine, 75012 Paris
• Hours: not published online in a reliable form; check the map listing before making a special trip
• Métro: Reuilly–Diderot or Nation

4. Maison Thevenin

Maison Thevenin took bronze in the 2026 Grand Paris competition, behind Boulangerie du Sentier and BOOM Boulangerie Omnivore in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Its position on rue de Buci, a market street in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, makes it the easiest prize-winning croissant to fit into a Left Bank sightseeing day.

• Address: 6 rue de Buci, 75006 Paris
• Hours: listed as open until 8pm; confirm closing days before visiting
• Métro: Mabillon (Line 10) or Odéon (Lines 4, 10)

5. Du Pain et des Idées

Christophe Vasseur took over this historic shop near the Canal Saint-Martin in 2002, and its painted-glass interior, pain des amis and viennoiserie have made it one of the most-cited bakeries in Paris guides ever since. The important practical detail is the schedule: it is a weekday-only bakery, so it does not work for a weekend trip.

• Address: 34 rue Yves-Toudic, 75010 Paris
• Hours: Monday–Friday 7am–7:30pm; closed Saturday and Sunday (per the Paris Region tourist board). Check the official website for holiday closures.
• Métro: Jacques Bonsergent (Line 5)

6. Boulangerie Utopie

Opened in 2015 by Erwan Blanche and Sébastien Bruno, both former pastry chefs, Utopie won the Grand Prix de la baguette de Paris in 2024. Its pastry background shows in the viennoiserie, and it is one of the few top bakeries open on Sunday.

• Address: 20 rue Jean-Pierre-Timbaud, 75011 Paris
• Hours: Tuesday–Sunday from 7–7:30am to 8pm; closed Monday
• Métro: Parmentier (Line 3) or Oberkampf (Lines 5, 9)

7. Mamiche

Founded in 2018, Mamiche has two bakeries and is known for generously buttered viennoiserie, brioche, babka and vanilla choux. Queues are common at weekends, so arriving early helps.

• Addresses: 45 rue Condorcet, 75009 Paris; 32 rue du Château-d'Eau, 75010 Paris
• Hours: Condorcet listed as Tuesday–Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday; check the Château-d'Eau shop separately
• Métro: Anvers (Line 2) for Condorcet; Château d'Eau (Line 4) for rue du Château-d'Eau

8. Stohrer

Founded in 1730 by Nicolas Stohrer, pastry chef to Louis XV, Stohrer is the oldest pâtisserie in Paris still trading. It is better known for its baba au rhum and puits d'amour than for prize-winning croissants, but it is open every day on the Montorgueil market street, a short walk from Boulangerie du Sentier, so the two pair well in one morning.

• Address: 51 rue Montorgueil, 75002 Paris
• Hours: daily, 8am–8:30pm
• Métro: Sentier (Line 3) or Étienne Marcel (Line 4)

The Official Best Croissant Competitions

Two competitions give the "best croissant" title real weight. Both judge a plain croissant au beurre on shape, shine, lamination, taste and bake.

Best Butter Croissant of Grand Paris

Run by the Syndicat des Boulangers du Grand Paris, this contest uses AOP Charentes-Poitou butter and is open to bakers from Paris and the inner suburbs. It reached its 25th edition in 2026.

Full 2026 results are reported by Le Bonbon, and the 2025 ranking by Sortir à Paris.

Best Butter Croissant of France

The national contest, run by the Confédération Nationale de la Boulangerie-Pâtisserie Française, brings together regional winners. The 2026 edition (the 7th, held on 2–3 June in Saint-Benoît, Vienne) was won by Dylan Delmaire of L'Épi du Roi in Versailles, reachable from central Paris on the RER C (official results). In 2025 the title went to Lilian Pensuet of La Petite Catalane near Perpignan, with Des Racines et du Pain in Clamart placing third.

How to Spot a Great Croissant

Croissant au Beurre vs Croissant Ordinaire

French bakeries often sell two versions. A croissant au beurre is made with pure butter; a croissant ordinaire uses margarine or other fats and is usually cheaper. Ask for "un croissant au beurre" to be sure of the butter version.

The Shape Convention

By long-standing trade custom, butter croissants are shaped straight and ordinary croissants are curved into a crescent, so customers can tell them apart at a glance. It is a convention, not a law. Both the 2024 and 2025 Grand Paris winners were curved croissants, so in a good artisan bakery the label or a quick question is more reliable than the shape.

What Judges Look For

• Colour: deep, even gold with a slight shine, not pale.
• Crust: shatters into flakes when torn.
• Crumb: an open honeycomb of distinct layers inside, not dense or bready.
• Taste: clearly buttery and lightly salted, without greasiness.

Croissants are at their best in the first hours after baking, so go in the morning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the best croissant in Paris?

By the official 2026 verdict, at Boulangerie du Sentier, 47 rue du Caire in the 2nd arrondissement, winner of the Grand Paris butter croissant competition on 12 May 2026. Previous winners include Maison Doucet (2024), and La Parisienne was the top Paris bakery in 2025.

Where is the best croissant in France?

The 2026 national title went to Dylan Delmaire of L'Épi du Roi in Versailles. The 2025 winner was La Petite Catalane, near Perpignan.

How much does a croissant cost in Paris?

Surveys of Paris bakeries have put the average plain croissant at a little over €1.20. Award-winning and pâtisserie-led shops usually charge more; Time Out lists Boulangerie du Sentier's viennoiseries at €2–3. Prices at sit-down cafés are higher again.

Is Du Pain et des Idées open on weekends?

No. It opens Monday to Friday, 7am to 7:30pm, and is closed on Saturday and Sunday. Check its website for holiday closures before going.

Which top Paris bakeries are open on Sunday?

Of this list, Stohrer and La Parisienne (until 2:30pm) open every day, and Boulangerie Utopie and Boulangerie du Sentier open on Sunday. Du Pain et des Idées and Mamiche (Condorcet) are closed.

Does a straight croissant mean butter?

Usually, by custom: straight for butter, curved for ordinary. But it is not a legal rule, and some award-winning butter croissants are curved, so check the label.

When is the best time to buy fresh croissants?

Early morning, soon after opening. Most of these bakeries open at 7–8am, and popular items can sell out later in the day.