Oops. Clumsy fingers and an errant keystroke deleted my post and I can’t figure out how to get it back.
So here goes try 2.
Because there are so many excellent fromageries in Paris, “the best” for me is the one that is the most convenient at the time. So just google “Paris fromagerie” for the one closest to where you are staying or most easily slides into your schedule. For maximum quality, just make sure that the description includes the magic word “affineur” (a cheesemonger who tends the cheese in his shop’s “cave”/ cellar through the last stages of aging until perfect for consumption). Although not the finicky quality you can find in any fromager-affineur shop, market stalls of “producteurs” in the 2x- or 3x-a-week open-air “marchés” can also have some unusual and spectacularly good farmhouse cheeses… but usually a case of serendipity and what was available one day is not necessarily there the next time.
In France, many cheeses are seasonal and the fromager-affineur is a master of matching his/her inventory to the season. Just put your trust in the shop assistant and ask what’s best on that day. For a rough guide of cheeses by season → https://androuet.com/Les%20saisons%20du%20fromage-3-10-guide-fromage.html
A slight detour. For an education in French cheeses, a cheesemonger shop is not the best place. The counter staff usually only have basic English, there are a zillion choices, and it’s very bad form to hold up the other customers (i.e. me) while you taste a dozen samples before buying your 50g slice. For a cheese adventure/ exploration, so much better to go to a cheesemonger like Fromagerie Hisada (rue Richelieu near the Palais Royal) where you can get lunch platters of 6 (or more, I suppose) different cheeses in the little cantine annex upstairs. Or my fave, La Vache dans les Vignes (combo wine bar + fromagerie-affineur) on quai Jemmapes/ Canal St Martin for an education in both wine and cheese (exceptionally good and well chosen) from the very clued-in, chatty, and enthustiastic young staff. Or Mon Bleu (rue Faubourg Monmartre/9th and, smaller, rue Dupetit-Thouars in the charming Temple micro-quartier in the Haut Marais/3rd) for another wine-bar/ resto + fromagerie. Or La Claque Fromage in the trendy SoPi neighbourhood in the 9th. Or Formaticus in Les Batignolles in the 17th.
https://www.monbleu.fr/
https://www.claquefromage.com/
http://www.restaurant-formaticus.fr/
Another detour. Maybe we should compile a cheese map like the one we did on Chowhound for oysters and which I recently quickly updated and now bequeath to HungOn. Just google “Paris oyster map” to find it.
