Patisserie is the art and craft of making sweet pastries, cakes, and confections, and by extension the shop that sells them. The French tradition sets the global standard: croissants and pains au chocolat from laminated dough, éclairs and religieuses from choux pastry, fruit tartlets with crème pâtissière, opera cakes, and macarons, each demanding precise technique in doughs, creams, glazes, and chocolate. A true patisserie balances sweetness with acidity, texture with flavour, and visual elegance with eatability. The discipline rests on mastered fundamentals: pâte sucrée, puff pastry, meringues, custards, and ganache, combined and finished with architectural precision. Beyond France, every baking culture has its patisserie equivalent, from Viennese tortes to Japanese wagashi-inspired French hybrids, but the French vocabulary of technique remains the international language of the craft.