Over the course of a few days, I crossed Paris in search of a great croissant, revisiting old favourites, trying recent competition winners and finally making it to a few bakeries that had been on my list for years.

What surprised me most was how different they all were. Some were delicate, crisp and almost weightless, others softer and more bread like. Some were intensely buttery, while others were more about fermentation and texture. And reputation did not always translate into the best croissant. A famous name, a long queue or even a past award was no guarantee.

My favourite was Boulangerie du Sentier, winner of this year’s Best Croissant in Paris competition: light, crisp and beautifully airy. But several others were excellent too, often for completely different reasons.

After trying a lot of them, these are eight croissants I really loved.

Boulangerie du Sentier

One of my favourites of