The 6am Croissant from a Neighbourhood Boulangerie

There is a version of Paris that most visitors never encounter. It exists between five and eight in the morning, before the cafes set out their zinc-topped tables, when the street sweepers are still working and the light on Haussmann's stone is the colour of warm butter. This Paris belongs to the bakers, the market porters, and whoever has the sense to rise with them.

The Parisian boulangerie operates on a schedule that rewards insomnia. The first croissants emerge from the oven around five o'clock, glistening with an egg wash that cracks when you bite and releases a shatter of flaky, laminated dough. The interior is honeyed and soft. Eaten standing at the counter, with a small black coffee and no sugar, this is as close to a perfect food as Western civilisation has produced. Order a second one. Nobody will judge you.

The competition for the title of Best Baguette in Paris is an annual civic event taken with great seriousness. Look for queues at six in the morning as your guide — Parisians are ruthless about their baker. The 11th arrondissement, the Marais, and Montmartre all have exceptional concentrations. But the best boulangerie is always the one around the corner from where you are sleeping, provided you are in Paris.