I have a theory that the best way to see Paris is to plan the day around bakeries, not landmarks. The landmarks happen anyway — Paris is full of them. The bakeries you have to seek out. Three days, five croissants, every neighbourhood that matters.
Start in the 10ème. Du Pain et des Idées is small, queue-out-the-door at 9am, and worth every minute. Order the pain des amis (their signature loaf) and the chausson aux pommes — technically not a croissant but the better choice here.
After: walk the Canal Saint-Martin south to Place de la République. The canal is what Instagram thinks the Seine is — locals reading on the banks, locks opening and closing, espresso at every corner. A 20-minute walk that resets the whole day.
Day 2, 6ème. Poilâne is the oldest still-running boulangerie in Paris — a bread-baking institution since 1932. Get the croissant, but also get a slice of their pain de campagne. You will eat the pain de campagne on the plane home and think about it for weeks.
From here, walk through Saint-Sulpice, into the Jardin du Luxembourg. Sit on the green metal chairs for an hour and watch Paris run model boats on the central pond. This is the Paris you came for.
2ème, oldest pastry shop in Paris (1730). The croissant is good. The puits d'amour is what you're really here for — the cream-filled pastry they invented. Order both and split them at one of the standing tables along Rue Montorgueil.
Spend the afternoon in this neighbourhood. It's foodie-dense, walkable, and the market street feeling is the closest thing to a Paris that hasn't tourist-ised itself completely.
Paris bakeries close on different days — Monday and Tuesday are the trickiest. Always check the day-of opening hours before walking 20 minutes for a croissant only to find a closed door. Many of the best ones are also closed in August.
Northeast, beyond the tourist core. Utopie is the modernist counterpoint to Poilâne — sharper, more design-forward, more inventive flavours (matcha croissant, anyone?). The classic almond croissant is what I order every time.
Walk west toward the Marais afterwards. The vintage shops, falafel stops, and small galleries are the second half of the day. Bonus: this is the neighbourhood for finding the photo of Paris you'll want as your phone wallpaper.
Last morning. Find a small boulangerie in your hotel neighbourhood — any of them, you can't really go wrong — and order a single croissant. Take it back to your room or to a bench in a small square. Eat it without checking your phone.
This one is the croissant of the trip. Not because it's the best — it almost certainly isn't — but because by now you're paying attention to it. Paris taught you that, in five croissants.
Le Marais for centrally located + atmosphere — Hôtel National des Arts et Métiers, Hôtel Jeanne d'Arc.
Saint-Germain for elegance and ease — Hôtel Le Bellechasse, Relais Christine.
Pigalle for cooler-than-thou — Hôtel Particulier Montmartre, Hôtel Amour. Less convenient for sightseeing but worth it if it's not your first trip.
Most of these are part of partner programmes I access through Fora, which means I can include extras — breakfast, room credit, room upgrades — when I book them on your behalf as your travel advisor.
Walking shoes (Paris is a walking city — see my shoe review). A lightweight cross-body bag for bakery hopping. A scarf — both for evenings and because Paris dresses better than you do, and a scarf is an inexpensive way to feel less under-dressed at the Louvre. An umbrella if you're going in spring or autumn.
And patience with yourself when you don't make it to every bakery. Five croissants is enough. Six is greedy.
Hotels with the perks, dinner reservations that matter, and the small bakery near your hotel that the algorithm hasn't found yet — all handled.
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