Dessert in Paris

This is a particularly tough call, since new pastry shops open frequently, but here are a few classics where not even the snootiest gourmands will turn up their noses.

* Arnaud Larher, 93 rue de Seine, 6th arrond. (https://arnaudlarher.com; 01-43-29-38-15; Métro: Odéon or Mabillon), is a gateaux and chocolate wiz, with everything made by hand. Try the chocolate éclair; it’s a dream.

* La Pâtisserie de Cyril Lignac, 24 rue Paul Bert, 11th arrond. (www.gourmand-croquant.com; 01-55-87-21-40; Métro: Faidherbe-Chaligny or Rue des Boulets), is where cakes look like pieces of contemporary art. Try the Equinoxe, a gray, circular creation filled with vanilla cream and caramel.

* Pierre Hermé, 72 rue Bonaparte, 6th arrond. (www.pierreherme.com; 01-43-54-47-77; Métro: St-Sulpice), may look like a chic jewelry store, but the goods are edible here. Exquisite and fashionable pastries include the Ispahan series, based on lychee, rose, and raspberry flavors.

* Sébastien Gaudard, 1 rue des Pyramides, 1st arrond. (www.sebastiengaudard.com; 01-71-81-24-70; Métro Pyramides) makes exquisite French cakes, from classic mille-feuilles (layered vanilla cream slice) to playful sharing cakes, like the cherry and chocolate shirt, with a marzipan collar and nuts crumbled on top like patterned fabric.

* Stohrer, 51 rue Montorgueil, 2nd arrond. (www.stohrer.fr; 01-42-33-38-20; Métro: Sentier or Les Halles), was opened by Louis XV’s pastry chef in 1730. This is the place to sample the ultimate baba au rhum (a rum-soaked sponge cake); Stohrer invented it in the 18th century.