About
A guide to the best of Paris — and France
Where to eat, stay and explore — destination by destination, category by category, without the guesswork.
Top List Paris publishes curated guides to the best of Paris and the rest of France — croissants and bakeries, bistros and cafés, hotels, museums, day trips and kosher restaurants. We cover Paris in depth and France destination by destination, and we publish new guides continuously.
Why we built it
Paris has more bakeries, bistros and museums than any visitor could get through, and the lists that come up first are often sponsored, years out of date, or written by someone who has never queued for a croissant at 8 a.m.
We wanted guides that name real places, link to their real websites and map pins, say who each one suits, and tell you the practical thing you'd only know if you'd been — the day it closes, what to order, when to book.
Who it's for
- First-time visitors building a sensible Paris itinerary
- Return visitors who want the places Parisians actually use
- Kosher-keeping travelers who need the supervision, not just the menu
- Travelers heading on to Nice, Lyon, Provence, the Loire or Normandy
What's in every guide
The format is deliberately consistent, so once you've read one you know exactly where to look in the next.
- A short answer up top — the shortlist, if you only read one paragraph
- Every entry with its neighborhood, so you can group things by area
- A line on what each place is actually good at
- A price band, so nothing is a surprise
- One practical thing worth knowing before you turn up
- The official website and a Google Maps link, because that's what you'll want next
How a guide comes together
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01
Pick the destination and the category
We work down a list of the questions people actually ask — best croissants in Paris, best bistros, best day trips from Paris, best places to visit in France — starting with the ones asked most.
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02
Build the shortlist
Every plausible candidate goes on a long list, which then gets cut down hard. A guide of forty places helps nobody. We check every place is open and every link goes to the business itself.
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03
Write it up
What each place is good at, who it's for, and the practical detail that saves you a wasted trip — the closing time, the queue, the thing to order.
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04
Keep it current
Paris restaurants open, close and change chefs constantly, and kosher supervision changes too. Guides get revisited, and each carries the month it was last updated.
A note on opening days and kosher supervision
Many Paris restaurants and bakeries close one or two days a week (often Sunday and Monday) and for part of August, so check opening days before you make a special trip.
Every entry on our kosher guides names its supervision — most often the Beth Din de Paris — and says whether the kitchen is meat or dairy, as it stood when the guide was last updated. If kashrut matters to you, check the current certificate before you eat. We are a guide, not a kashrut authority.
Common questions
What is Top List Paris?
A guide to the best of Paris and the rest of France. We publish curated lists — the best croissants in Paris, the best bistros, the best hotels, the best day trips — so you can find the good stuff without wading through a dozen tabs.
Who is it for?
Visitors planning a first or tenth trip to Paris, travelers heading on to Nice, Lyon, Bordeaux or the Loire, and anyone living in France who wants a second opinion.
How often are the guides updated?
Continuously. Each list shows the month it was last updated, and we revisit them as places open, close and change hands. Many Paris restaurants close on Sundays, Mondays and for part of August, so always check before you go.
Do you cover kosher restaurants?
Yes. Paris has the largest Jewish community in Europe, and our kosher guides name the supervising authority (such as the Beth Din de Paris) for every entry. Certification can change, so check the certificate before you eat.
I run a business in France. How do I get featured?
A limited number of businesses can secure a place in each of next year's guides, written up by us in the same format as every other entry. See feature your business for how it works.
Spotted something wrong?
A closed venue, a detail that's changed, a place we've somehow missed — tell us and we'll take a look.
Get in touch