Famous Pastry Shops Around The World

The moment you step in, sweet smells of sugar and chocolate overwhelm you as you stare in awe at glass cases displaying rows of colorful treats intricately designed that look almost too pretty to eat — almost. An éclair, sprinkled with just the right amount of powdered sugar and filled with green tea custard, is set before you — a pretty pastry to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Famous Pastry Shops Around the World (Slideshow)

A moment like this can be had at Patisserie Sadaharu AOKI in Tokyo, where Japanese pastry chef Sadaharu Aoki makes cross-cultural creations, like macarons filled with Earl Gray cream and "Japanese smores" made of marshmallow cream, thin chocolate wafers, and azuki red beans.

Sticky cinnamon buns, torte cakes, salted caramel cronuts, banana split waffles — are you drooling yet? These are just a few of the elaborate pastries made at some of the world's most famous pastry shops. And every one is well worth the long-distance trip.

At Adriano Zumbo in Australia, you can taste Zumbo's 40 shades of zumbarons — what pastry chef Adriano Zumbo calls his colorful macarons — including, you better believe it, a "Vegemite on Toast" zumbaron. Pierre Poilâne's pâtisserie (the name for a French pastry shop) in Paris, is famous for its "Punitions," — small, butter cookies that pair perfectly with tea or coffee. Valhallabageriet, a small pastry shop with seating for just about eight people, is said to serve possibly the best cardamom bun in Sweden that is baked with sweet dough, flavored with fresh ground cardamom, and smothered with butter and cream.

For someone who melts over all things sweet and sugary, a trip to any of these pastry shops is a treat. Read on for more famous, extravagant, sweets-filled pastry shops around the world.

Haley WIllard is The Daily Meal's assistant editor. Follow her on Twitter @haleywillrd.