Top-10 bakeries for pains au chocolat in Paris

Any foodie heading to Paris soon? I am, woo hoo!! I'm currently doing some research for Mytinerary's Ultimate Paris Gourmet Experience (Sept 20-27 2010, more info soon) and I came across this list of the Top-10 Parisian bakeries for pains au chocolat. The list was voted by famous pastry chefs and the influential food critics at 'Le Figaro' national newspaper.

One of my favourite things to do whenever I go back home is to start the day sitting in a nice cafe, sipping at an espresso, reading the newspaper and eating a delicious pain au chocolat fresh out of the oven. Enjoy!

1. Boulangerie Julien (Paris 1 - NB: for those not familiar with Paris, the city has 20 districts called "arrondissements", numbered 1 to 20, see Google map below for location of each bakery).
2. Boulangerie Secco (Paris 7)
3. Blé Sucré (Paris 12)
4. Boulangerie Laurent Duchêne (Paris 13)
5. Pierre Hermé Patisserie (Paris 6) - yes, the same place where you can get the world-famous macarons!
6. Dalloyau (Paris 8)
7. Boulangerie Eric Kayser (Paris 5)
8. Fauchon (Paris 8). They have the most amazing chocolate eclairs as well.
9. Boulangerie Stohrer (Paris 2)
10. Boulangerie Malineau (Paris 4)

Obviously, there are many more great bakeries in Paris, but this is a good start! So tell me dear reader, are you more "team croissant" or "team pain au chocolat"??

View Top-10 bakeries for pains au chocolat in Paris in a larger map

Comments

[Simon Food Favourites]

i wish i was going to Paris to try all these places. i look forward to seeing your post of them all and letting us know which is the best of the best :-)

[Myriam]

Thank you Simon, will most definitely be blogging about these places, salivating at the mere thought of it!

[Gourmantic]

Les deux! Depending on the mood. We often stay in the 6eme so next time I must try Pierre Herme's pain au chocolat, among his other goodies!

[MariT]

Miam miam! je vais tester celles que je ne connais pas encore. Et pour joindre l'agréable au sublime, n'oublions pas que Stohrer est la plus ancienne patisserie de Paris (1730) et aussi réputée pour ses "puits d'amour", des gâteaux qui sont des péchés à eux seuls ...
from Paris with ... sugar!

[gé]

Team Pain au Chocolat :-)
Although being on Team Celery would be a bit better maybe, life's too short!

Do you know any places in SYdney where I can find good ones?

[Trissa]

This is going to come in handy Myriam! Thanks for sharing. I think I could scarf down 10 pain au chocolats in one go.

[Myriam]

Gourmantic > I'm with you here, there's nothing like the 6eme, it's one of my favourite places to live in Paris! We used to live rue du Four with my boyfriend, just a stroll away from Pierre Herme and Gerard Mulot, mhhh...

MariT > Dis donc, je ne savais pas que Stohrer est la plus ancienne patisserie de Paris?? Je n'y suis meme jamais allee, je crois. Encore un truc a rajouter sur ma liste des trucs a faire lors de mon prochain passage a Paris dans J - 2 mois, woo hoo!

Ge > I'm team pain au chocolat as well, but thank God I don't live in Paris any more as they're a killer for your waistline!! In Sydney, you'd probably find good pains au chocolats at La Renaissance French Cafe in The Rocks, at Victoire (French bakery in Balmain, on Darling St) and at La Gerbe D'Or, another French bakery in Five Ways, Paddington.

Trissa > Thank you Trissa! I have to say, I'm super jealous that you get to go to Paris in April!! All these bistrots and patisseries you'll be able to visit, yum... As promised, I'll email you some of my suggestions, really looking forward to your thoughts on some of these place ;-)

[FutureSport]

Les deux aussi.

One of joys of visiting my sister in Paris is nipping across rue Jean Jaures to buy the morning croissants, pains au chocolat and baguettes for the family.

Aah can smell them now...

[Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella]

Ooh team Croissant for me most definitely! I am an addict for them. Is it wrong that I sometimes spread more butter on them?

[adult chat]

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