Cyril Lignac is a household name in France and a regular on the nation's TV screens. Spread between the 6th and 17th arrondissements, his five pared-back boutiques use only the finest Moulins Viron flour and Charentes-Poitou butter. Order the signature "equinoxe", a single-portion, cake flavoured with salted caramel and praline - just don't be put off by its grey exterior.

Though unassuming from the outside, Boulangerie Utopie is hailed as Paris' best bakery. There will likely be a queue out the door at this 11th-arrondissement spot, where locals get their fill of classic breads and pastries upgraded with inventive flavours - look out for a combo of black sesame and charcoal, dustings of matcha and loaves dyed purple with hibiscus.

No such round-up would be worth its weight in flour without a nod to the world-famous chef Pierre Hermé, "the Picasso of pastry". He has revolutionised the art of pâtisserie with pioneering techniques and flavours such as his signature blend of lychee, raspberry and rose. While it's impossible to order badly in his outlets, we recommend the nutty plaisir sucré, an Ispahan croissant, the 2,000-layered pastry and any of the technicolour macarons.

Grenier a Pain was awarded the coveted title of "Paris's best baguette" in both 2010 and 2015, meaning that the long, thin loaves take centre stage at this boulangerie. Expect a golden-brown crust, slightly acidic dough and plenty of air bubbles. Snag one fresh from the oven before hunting down picnic fodder from Montmartre's artisanal markets and producers.

Sweet tooth? Make a beeline for Popelini, a veritable temple to the chou à la crème (aka the cream puff) where founder Lauren Koumetz has given the 16th-century treat a 21st-century spin. Classic flavours - coffee, chocolate, vanilla - are joined by fruity numbers (try the rose and raspberry or the lemon custard) and seasonal specials such as candied chestnut.

Nicolas Stohrer, pastry chef to King Louis XV, opened his namesake store in 1730, making this the oldest bakery in Paris. Admire murals by a student of 19th-century French painter Paul Baudry (who decorated the Palais Garnier) before ordering the a rum baba (invented by Stohrer himself), traditional religieuses and puits d'amour. Meaning "well of love", the latter's caramelised puff pastry gets our hearts beating with its rich crème pâtissière filling.

Pastries are treated like jewels in Philippe Conticini's chic Left-Bank store. This so-called "Pastry Shop of Dreams" touts highly styled, minimalist interpretations of old classics (think: black-forest gâteau shaped like a high-gloss cherry and a saint honoré that looks like a work of art). Like this? Visit neighbouring Des Gâteaux et du Pain, where Claire Damon crafts haute pâtisserie in a boutique setting - try a chausson aux pommes or the "lipstick" fruit tart.

Sure, you can now buy Poilâne's naturally leavened, tangy sourdough at your local Waitrose and even across the Atlantic, but it's well worth making a pilgrimage to the original bakery which has been a stalwart the Cherche-Midi since 1932. Bag a pain de campagne and an oven-fresh apple turnover to go - the flaky, buttery pastry sets them among the city's best.

While the chocolate bread from this self-proclaimed "creative boulangerie" has gained cult status on social media, Bo&Mie's laminated pastries, pistachio-filled cookie shots and salted-caramel mille-feuille also get thumbs double tapping. Run by two former students of the Ferrandi culinary school, this bakery prioritises quality ingredients and affordable prices so you can have a delicious feed both on Instagram and IRL.

Don't have the time, budget or waistband to make it to all of Paris's 30,000 bakeries? Visit Fou de Pâtisserie, where select gâteaux, chocolates, biscuits and the like from some of the city's big names - Pierre Hermé, Cyril Lignac - as well as up-and-coming pastry prodigies are delivered fresh daily. NB. Rue Montorgueil is a good one-stop for flavour-first travellers.

Pain Pain is the hipster child of Paris's ever-growing family of boulangeries and pâtisseries. Thankfully chef Sébastien Mauvieux's Montmartre bakery, which opened in 2015, has substance as well as style - his baguettes have been ranked among the city's best. Chow down apple and cinnamon turnovers against an à la mode backdrop of bold graphics, marble countertops and a palette of French blue and gold.

Chef Sadaharu Aoki honed his pastry skills in Japan and France - and now he's fusing the two countries' culinary sensibilities in his eponymous bakery. Expect quintessentially French confections crafted with Japanese ingredients such as green-tea opera cake, yuzu cream puffs and eclairs subtly accented with cherry blossom.

Set in a shop that dates from 1870 - think: gilded mirrors and a painted-glass ceiling - Christophe Vasseur's bakery prioritises good-quality, natural ingredients made well. Try the slow-risen pain des amis which has a kick of chestnut or the Danish-style "escargot" pastry (filled with chocolate and pistachio, not snails). Be prepared to queue.