Emily In France Exclusive 🇫🇷 My Favorite Cheese Shops in Paris in Every Arrondissement (Part 3: 15 to 20)

From the desk of an expat.

While I was hosting a recent cheese tasting for WICE, I got a very good question – more of a request. One of the participants wanted to know how to pick a good cheese shop, and she followed up by asking me if I had a favorite in every arrondissement.

A few weeks ago, I shared part 1 of my response, with my top cheese shops in central Paris, aka arrondissements 1 through 7. Two weeks ago, I moved a bit further afield with part 2: arrondissements 8 through 14. And this week, we’re rounding things off with the outermost arrondissements: 15 to 20.

As I mentioned in the first part of this series, the very idea of a fromagerie is a relatively recent invention. It was in 1909 that peddler Henri Androuët got the idea to widen the cheesescape for Parisians, who historically would have only had access to local cheeses like Brie. Androuët opened his first fromagerie in 1910 on the rue d'Amsterdam; today, Paris is home to 175 fromageries, and that number is rising every day.

You’ll find quite a bit of range in the style of cheese shop I recommend in the outermost arrondissements of Paris. More residential or touristy neighborhoods like the 15th, 16th, and 18th are known for time-tested, traditional mongers, while in the more up-and-coming 17th, 19th, and 20th, you'll see some of the same innovation we saw in the eastern 11th.

Whether you're looking for old favorites or new discoveries, you’re sure to find them here. Let’s dig in.

Image care of Au Petit Fromager

15th Arrondissement

Au Petit Fromager (69, rue Brancion) I spent seven years of my Paris life in the 15th arrondissement, and when I was living in this southwestern neighborhood, Au Petit Fromager was my go-to. This little shop specializes in raw milk cheeses and is particularly well-known for its Alpine tommes like Beaufort and Comté. I love how up close and personal you can get with the cheeses here, which are arranged on shelves throughout the shop rather than being hidden behind one central window. It means the shopping experience here is far less overwhelming than at some shops, paving the way for fresh discoveries.

laurentdubois_fromager_paris

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16th Arrondissement

Laurent Dubois (58, rue d'Auteuil) No, you're not seeing double: I did indeed recommend Laurent Dubois’ Bastille shop in the first installment of this list. But the MOF cheesemonger has four boutiques in Paris (one of which you’ll visit if you join me on my Latin Quarter wine and cheese tour), and I love his wares enough to recommend them twice. Dubois’ eye-catching displays always feature his house creations like double cream Ecume de Wimereux topped with black sesame pecans or Roquefort expertly layered with quince paste, but my personal faves include the expertly aged specialties like melt-in-your-mouth Basque sheep's milk tomme de Stéphane or a stunning 12-week-old Fourme d’Ambert.