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The once-run-down Marais is now the epitome of chic, but you can still find reminders of its down-to-earth past along Rue des Rosiers, where falafel shops and Eastern European delis jostle with designer boutiques. Truly ambitious restaurants are few and far between in the Marais, but picturesque old bistros, like Benoît and the wonderful Café des Musées, and smaller veggie-centric eateries are popping up all over. A brand-new generation of barista cafés serving gourmet snacks for breakfast and lunch have created their own niche, answering a need for better coffee and faster sit-down dining. The popular Breizh Café attracts young and old alike with its inexpensive and authentic galettes (buckwheat crêpes) made with quality ingredients and served with a crisp, delicious cidre from Normandy or Brittany.
This charming courtyard café-tearoom grew out of an adorable pastry shop (next door) specializing in the French sablé, those classic melt-in-your-mouth butter cookies, with an assortment of ethereal cream fillings. Marble-topped tables, velvet chairs, and other vintage-like touches make this one of the neighborhood's most charming spots for lunch, brunch, or dessert. The excellent food, homemade drinks, and stellar pastries are all icing on this scrumptious cake.
This was Paris's first coffee bar, founded by former Guatemalan ambassador to France turned coffee ambassador, Gloria Montenegro. With three spacious rooms, all coffee preparations under the sun, and a daily special brew chosen from among dozens of varieties of meticulously sourced beans from plantations around the globe, this is a Paris institution.
A dazzling array of gourmet pastries here includes all the classics in imaginative and delicious flavor combinations. There are also impossibly moist individual cakes, Paris's best baba au rhum, sublime cookies, and the specialty guimauve, a flavored, melt-in-your-mouth marshmallow. Be sure to sample the gorgeous Rosy Rosa dome cake with almond, rose-infused almond milk, and creamy dark chocolate all on a black sesame biscuit topped with rose petals. Next door, savory gourmet breads, quiches, sandwiches, and other takeout foods make this the perfect refueling stop after a visit to the Centre Pompidou. There's also outdoor seating in warm weather.
Smoked chocolate . . . orange-carrot-ginger . . . coffee--black cardamom . . . these are just a few of the intriguing ice cream and gelato flavors featured at Paris's Instagram-famous glacier. Expect only the best seasonal ingredients plus cream and sugar in the ice creams and loads of fresh fruit in the nondairy sorbets. You can taste as many flavors as you like to help you decide, and servings, by the boule, are generous. There are lots of frozen cakes and pastries, too.
To be enveloped in the aroma of freshly baked babka is almost as swoon-worthy as biting into a tender brioche babka filled with creamy pistachio-orange flower, chocolate-hazelnut, or buttery poppy seed at this unpretentious bakery a stone’s throw from the Place des Vosges. The pistachio-rose rugelach and the nougat-orange babka rolls are to die for, as are the deli sandwiches and savory breads.
If you want to know what the locals are craving, head over to this popular bakery a half-block from the Place des Vosges, where the bread, croissants, and gorgeous seasonal pastries like yuzu-black sesame tart, pear, and caramel sablé or pistachio mille-feuille are made on the premises. There’s also a choice of sinfully delicious gelatos.
A true neighborhood haunt, this bustling little bistro near the Musée Picasso offers a convivial slice of Parisian life at a good value. Traditional French bistro fare is adapted to a modern audience. The best choices are the old tried-and-trues: hand-cut tartare de boeuf; rare entrecôte served with a side of golden-crisp frites and homemade béarnaise; and the classic Parmentier, with pheasant instead of the usual ground beef.
Sink into a comfy armchair at this popular tearoom, whose name translates to "the Dormouse in the Teapot" (from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland). The savory tarts are good, but the real stars are desserts like the decadent chocolate crumble tart or mile-high lemon meringue pie. The restaurant's all-day hours are a bonus, especially for teatime, but its no-reservations policy means lines for weekend brunch can be dauntingly long.
All of Paris seems to collide at this lively corner café in the heart of the Marais, where you'll find pretty much whatever is your pleasure any time of the day or night. Slide into a red banquette, or take a seat on the wide wraparound terrace to watch the world go by while indulging in generous servings of all the French classics, a glass of wine, or coffee and dessert.
Pastry chef Myriam Sabeta’s carved out a whole new niche in French sweets with her creations influenced by her childhood in Aleppo, Syria. Her signature “nids” are based on kadaïf, the buttery angel hair pastries of the Levant, which Sabet fills with cream and dried or candied fruit in original flavors such as Damascus rose, chocolate-sumac, or lemon-cardamom. Her ambrosial baklavas may be layered with Piedmont hazelnuts and lemon or Iranian pistachio and orange blossom.
A perfect fit in the Arts et Métiers neighborhood, this bustling spot is popular for its loft-like, industrial-style atmosphere and stellar coffee served with delicious homemade sweets. Custom coffees are roasted on the premises from beans sourced all over the world.
You’ll find all of this brilliant young pastry chef’s latest and classic creations at this handsome pâtisserie and café, but good luck choosing between the tasty options. Known for his ambitious and subtle flavor pairings and over-the-top decadence, you'll be wowed by pastries like the Entremets Isatis, a pecan biscuit with pecan praline, creamy vanilla-bean ganache, and vanilla caramel; his exquisite lemon merengue tart topped with a tangy dollop of lemon crème; or the signature Mille Feuilles Madagascar.
