Montmartre is not only known for its charming cobbled streets and the Sacré-Cœur — it is also home to some of the finest bakeries in Paris. From the legendary viennoiseries of Rue Lepic to the Japanese-influenced pastry shops of the upper Butte, this neighbourhood rewards the hungry visitor who knows where to look. Here are nine addresses you should not leave Montmartre without visiting.
A cosy Montmartre institution tucked into the market street of Rue Lepic — one of the most vibrant and beautiful streets in the neighbourhood. Les Petits Mitrons has been making extraordinary homemade fruit tarts and traditional French pastries for decades. The tarts — topped with seasonal fruit, glazed to a jewel-like finish — are among the finest you'll find in Paris. The croissants are excellent too, made with proper laminated dough and real butter.
Just up the street from Les Petits Mitrons, Alexine is celebrated for its beautifully laminated viennoiseries — croissants with perfect honeycomb interiors, pain au chocolat with good dark chocolate, and kouign-amann that rivals anything in Paris. The morning queue is a regular fixture of Rue Lepic life and is entirely worth joining. Come before 10am for the best selection.
One of the most acclaimed boulangeries in the 18th arrondissement, Pain Pain on the Rue des Martyrs has won multiple prizes for its baguette tradition and its exceptional sourdough loaves made with heritage grain varieties. The bread here has a complexity and depth of flavour that comes from long fermentation and quality ingredients. Their seasonal pastries and millefeuille are equally outstanding.
Part café, part pâtisserie — Boris Lumé brings a Japanese precision and aesthetic to French pastry making at a beautiful address on the Rue Lepic. The matcha croissant has become something of a Montmartre icon: perfectly laminated pastry with a delicate, fragrant matcha cream interior. The Japanese cheesecake and the black sesame eclair are equally extraordinary. One of the most original pastry addresses in the neighbourhood.
On the Rue des Abbesses — one of the most charming streets in Montmartre — Au Levain d'Antan is a traditional boulangerie that has resisted every trend and simply continues to make exceptional sourdough bread using long-fermentation techniques inherited from a previous generation. The baguette au levain is one of the best in the neighbourhood, with a crackling crust and an interior that tastes of something genuinely complex and alive.
On the picturesque Rue Norvins — the street that leads to the Sacré-Cœur — the Biscuiterie de Montmartre is unlike any other address on this list. It specialises entirely in handmade French biscuits and shortbreads, produced in small batches with outstanding ingredients. The tins make extraordinary gifts; the individual butter shortbreads, sablés, and speculoos are among the finest things you can take away from Montmartre.
A quiet neighbourhood boulangerie on the Rue Feutrier that the locals of lower Montmartre guard jealously — few tourists ever find it, which means the quality is entirely genuine and the prices are honest. Raphaëlle's sourdough bread is exceptional, the croissants are consistently well-laminated, and the seasonal tarts change every few days. This is the kind of bakery that makes you understand why Paris has a different relationship to bread than anywhere else.
The sister boulangerie to Boris Lumé Café Pâtisserie — this address on the Rue Caulaincourt focuses on bread and viennoiseries with the same Japanese-influenced precision. The brioche fillings are extraordinary: yuzu cream, black sesame, matcha and white chocolate. The sourdough loaves, made with quality French flour and long fermentation, are equally impressive. A completely contemporary take on French baking from one of Montmartre's most original talents.
The most unusual address on this list — and one of the most extraordinary pastry experiences in Paris. Maison Aleph is a Franco-Syrian pâtisserie by Myriam Sabet that bridges French pastry technique with Middle Eastern flavours and traditions: orange blossom, rosewater, pistachios, cardamom, tahini. The baklava-croissant, the pistachio tart, and the rosewater mille-feuille are genuinely unlike anything else you'll find in Montmartre.
