Best Desserts in Paris, France

Finding the best dessert in Paris was definitely top of my Paris wish list when I visited. With some of the world’s top pastry chefs, there is no shortage of delicious desserts in the city of lights. To me, Paris is definitely the city of macarons. These delightfully airy cookies are something you should definitely seek out while exploring patisseries in Paris. You can spend your time in Paris eating only macarons but there are other fantasticly French desserts that are worth your time as well.

If you’re like most visitors to Paris, you probably are on a limited time budget. This Paris guide gives you seven dessert places to put on your itinerary to make the most out of your vacation. If you’re really short on time a chocolate and pastry walking tour in Paris might suit your itinerary best like this one in the Saint-Germain-des-Pres district or this tour in the Marais. Both Saint-Germain-des-Pres and the Marais are fantastic neighbourhoods in Paris that are full of delicious desserts.

If you’re trying to figure out how to fit Paris into your France itinerary, check out my guide to winter in France or my road trip guide to France and see my 4-day guide to Paris here.

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Best Macarons in Paris

The macaron is probably one of the most famous desserts in France. Luckily, Paris has some seriously delicious macarons. The cookie part of the macaron is made with almond flour and meringue and getting them to cook properly so they are light and airy inside is truly an art. These colourful cookies are then filled with ganache, cream, jelly, or some combination of. The macaron is truly the single must try French pastry on your visit to Paris. If you have a couple of hours, you can even learn to bake macarons while in Paris.

Pierre Herme

Pierre Herme macarons are hands down my favourite in Paris. The flavour of each of these macarons is stunning. Pierre Herme produces some very unique flavour combinations including some non-traditional flavours. Each macaron hits it out of the park in delivering a light airy cookie and super flavourful filling.

My absolute favourite here is the Barbade, a combination of chocolate, vanilla, and Tonka bean. If you’re like me and wondering what the heck a tonka bean is, it’s got a complex flavour that is sort of like cinnamon. Barbade is unlike any other chocolate macaron I’ve tried. The other one I would recommend everyone to try is Pierre Herme’s signature flavour- Ispahan. The ingredients are just as the name Ispahan, it’s a combination of raspberry, rose, and lychee. It’s somehow floral and fruity without being overdone on the sweetness, it’s basically witchcraft. You really can’t go wrong with any of the choices here so just mix and match to your heart’s content. I definitely grabbed some last minute macarons from Pierre Herme before heading to the airport.

In addition to the macarons, it’s worth trying out the croissants and pain au chocolat here. You can even try an Ispahan croissant or pistachio pain au chocolat, both of which are delicious.

Sadaharu Aoki

Sadaharu Aoki serves up French macarons and pastries with a twist- traditional Japanese ingredients. I went to the location that is just a short walking distance from the Eiffel Tower. Walking into this rather modern looking patiserrie I really had no idea what to expect from the macarons here. Everything in the shop is super clean lines and very minimalist. The macarons though, anything but minimalist in flavour. The cookie here is a bit denser than at Herme’s but the flavour profiles are just as complex and pack a punch. I loved every single macaron I tried here. I loved that here were multiple type of tea flavoured macarons, and I’m not even a tea drinker. The houjicha macaron is not to be missed, it has amazing flavour of a roasted green tea. Yuzu packs a seriously explosive citrus taste that I fell in love with. A wasabi macaron sounds like something that shouldn’t work, but somehow has this perfect slightly spicy taste.

In addition to amazing macarons, the cakes here are delicious and there are also some very unique eclairs. There are five shops located around Paris including at the Galeries Lafayette.

Laduree

I know that no macaron list of Paris would be complete without Laduree. I’m going to go against the grain here and say that Laduree isn’t my favourite. Compared to Pierre Herme or Sadaharu Aoki, most of Laduree’s macarons just do not have the explosion of flavour I’m looking for. The only macaron I would spend money on is the Marie-Antoinette macaron which is tea flavoured. I did enjoy how light and airy this cookie was and it had good flavour. It’s definitely worth visiting to see what all the hype is about and you might love it more than me. The tea room on the Champs Elysee is adorable so it may be worth a visit to see that.

Best Chocolates and Caramels in Paris

Unlike macarons, caramels travel well so you can purchase and bring these home with you to enjoy after your vacation. I love the flavoured caramels that you can find at shops here. If you are more in the mood for chocolate, carameliers tend to have really delicious chocolates as well.

Henri le Roux

Henri le Roux is famous for his salted butter caramels. Unlike other salted butter caramels, these ones are made with a mix of walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds. Given that he is famous for them, it is definitely worth picking up a few salted butter caramels from Henri le Roux. I picked up an assortment of caramels while I was here. There are seasonal caramels so what is available will depend on when you visit Paris. I love the raspberry caramel here, which is available year-round.

If you’re vegan or looking for a gift for a vegan, the fruit jellies here are delicious. Each one is bursting with flavour and has a great texture.

Jacques Genin

Jacques Genin is another fantastic chocolatier and caramelier. The chocolates here are not to be missed. The chocolate with green tea is absolutely delicious. Every chocolate here is a piece of artwork both visually and flavourfully, but another stand out was the chocolate with rosemary. In additional to being a great destination for chocolate, Jacques Genin has stunning caramels. Each one is melt in your mouth perfect. My standout winner for best-flavoured caramel here was the passionfruit caramel.

Other Amazing Dessert Places in Paris

L’Eclair de Genie

L’Eclair de Genie is the place to go for the best eclairs in Paris. I visited the location in the Marais district because it is also conveniently close to another one of Paris’s treasure, L’as du Fallafel. Both places are worth going out of your way for. At L’Eclair de Genie, there were more flavours of eclair than I had ever seen before. These eclairs are little pieces of artwork. I had a raspberry eclair here and it was absolutely divine. Crunchy little bits of raspberry over the fluffiest choux pastry filled raspberry cream? Delightful. My only regret is not buying more eclairs.

Angelina Tea House

Angelina Tea House is a Paris institution known for two things: hot chocolate, and the Mont Blanc dessert. The Mont Blanc is Angelina’s signature dessert that is meringue with Chantilly cream topped with what they describe as vermicelli of chestnut. I had a seasonal variation on this, the cherry Mont Blanc. The meringue on the bottom was perfect but the cherry flavour lacked as I felt the vermicelli just tasted like icing sugar.

The hot chocolate here lived up to its reputation. It’s super thick and creamy and served with a healthy serving of cream to top it with. I highly recommend the hot chocolate at Angelina’s.

While the Mont Blanc was disappointing, there are amazing desserts here. From the seasonal collection I had a raspberry macaron dessert that had fresh raspberries and cream. It was absolutely delicious so I would definitely try out some of the other cakes or macarons. The tea rooms are also very cute and atmospheric. I visited the one that is near the Luxembourg Gardens and it was a great location.

Desserts in Paris

In addition to the places I was able to fit into my itinerary, I was also left with a few Parisian desserts on my wishlist for next time. This list included Berthillion ice cream, Jean-Charles Rochoux for chocolate, Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse for chocolate bars, chocolate from Patrick Roger, and kouignettes from Maison Georges Larnicol.

Paris is definitely a dessert-lovers dream. I could have spent a lot more money and time eating around Paris. In addition to the places listed, crepes and pain au chocolat round out my must-eat desserts of Paris but rather than a specific recommendation, my recommendation is just to buy them from where ever is convenient.

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