Bakeries

When you leave your hotel, turn right and walk until you come to a bakery. Or, you could turn left.

I'm not trying to be sarcastic. Well, not too sarcastic. But almost any bakery you come to will be good.

Kristen,

I've been recommended the following bakeries by my aunt & cousin:

• Pierre Hermé for delicious pastries
• Eric Kayser for great baguettes

Check here for more yummy bakeries: http://parisbymouth.com/paris-bakeries

In the 7th - Bretteau Jean - Marie , 31 Avenue de La Motte Picquet 75007 - http://www.yelp.com/biz/bretteau-jean-marie-paris

There are bakeries all over Paris. I haven't noticed that the big names are much better -- for bread you do better if you go to bakeries that are Artisanal -- if they are it will say so right on them. WE find getting the morning bread one of the highlights of any trip and usually find 4-6 perfectly good bakeries within walking distance of any apartment we have rented. The advantage of this is that when some are closed, others will be open -- they do coordinate their days off.

Don't want to be annoying too, but just follow your nose. Look for a nearby bakery and if it smells good it is good!

One of the most famous is Poilane, which I can recommend.

...and they're called Patisseries and Boulangeries (not bakeries) - just in case you go looking for a "Bakery" sign

Watch the locals. If they are walking out with stuff follow them in :)

Following up on Tim's post, a boulangerie bakes bread, and a patisserie bakes pastries, cakes, etc. You do need to go to the "correct" one for what you want.

Every boulangerie will also have lots of pastries (most of them baked in central kitchens just like those lovely paninis you see in Italian cafes come from central kitchen and of course Laduree macarons come from industrial kitchens). The pattiseries will have more elaborate cakes and such but if you need eclairs, tarte citron, millefeule etc etc any bakery will do. When we do dinner parties we often do a mignardisses course made from miniature pastries or pastries cut into small squares and so I pay attention to what various shops in the area have; there are bakeries that have particularly beautiful or special pastries and a few that have miniatures and so I keep that in mind for shopping for events like this. There is a bakery on Rue Caulaincourt not far from the turn to Abbesses that does its tarte citron and other little cakes in long narrow rectangular shapes. They are very beautiful and for my purposes also easily divide into 3 or 4 lovely little bites for the petit fours. The green tea with raspberry cakes were particularly lovely.

And it is definitely true you can find a bakery by noticing who has a baguette. I remember finding all the bakeries near our apartment in the 17th closed on our first Sunday morning. When I spotted a guy with a baguette, I trotted out my limited French to ask 'where?' and the gave me a hand gesture map of its location and a few blocks away I found the bakery open in our are on Sunday. I would never have stumbled upon it as it was on a small side street and around the corner and a few blocks away.

Which arrondissement will you be staying in?
ParisByMouth lists the best bakeries by arrondissement. The best ones have already mentioned (Eric Kayser, Pierre Hermé, Poilane...) Check out this link http://parisbymouth.com/paris-bakeries/

Eric Kayser is a worldwide franchise though, just like La Durée and Fauchon.
I have discovered Eric Kayser in New York!
So unfortunately, you won't be able to brag to your friends back home about having found the best local boulangerie in Paris.
Globalization is ruining the joy of travel :/

As the previous poster stated...no, you don't have to choose the correct one (Patisserie or Boulangerie) as both will have ample baked sweets for your sweet tooth.

Where are you staying?
In the 6th arrondisment I would recommend Piiere Hermes or Gerard Moulot