As someone who is really into healthy eating, I found navigating the rich foods of France to be tricky. Eating white French bread at breakfast (however delicious) was not exactly to my taste, and didn't help with energy levels for long adventurous days through this beautiful country. That all changed when we figured out how to ask for wheat bread- pain complet (pronounced 'pan come play'). It was so good and hearty, and helped me get a good start on all our wonderful adventures. It usually came in a loaf, as opposed to a baguette.
The bread we liked the most was pain aux cereal ('pan ow cer ee al'). It came in a baguette like regular French bread but was darker and had all sorts of whole grains and seeds in it-kind of like multi-grain bread in the US but 100 times better. This is the bread I will pine for. Pain aux cereal with hummus was the perfect breakfast or quick snack. It made the BEST picnic sandwiches too. I'm drooling just thinking about it.
Anyway, that's my pitch for trying all the different kinds of breads at the boulangerie (bakery). Don't be afraid to go past the regular baguette!