This popular spot in the 11th boasts a generous terrace loaded with tables. That doesn’t me you can always find a free place. Today, though, the name of this café takes on a whole new meaning—on pause since mid-March due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Now, it sits empty, our lives on pause with it. We await the day when it is all set in motion again, and we have to fight once more for a place in the sun on the terrace of Pause Café.
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This local café on Place de la Reunion is usually brimming with customers, its terrace filled, especially on market days. For the moment, due to Coronavirus, it sits quiet, on pause until we return. A sign on the door announces its closure by government order, adding, “À très vite au café!”—a grammatically awkward expression, but the message is clear: see you soon. We hope so.
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This note, tacked up on the window of a beloved local café now shuttered because of confinement, sends a message of love and support from a customer. To all our local cafés: we love you. Nous vous aimons.
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The view from an inside table at Les Deux Magots. This classic café moment was captured in happier times, before cafés were forced to close due to the Coronavirus pandemic. It makes you ache to sit on the terrace of your favorite café once more. We hope we can soon again.
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Parisians are getting desperate without their cafés, which have been shut in an effort to mitigate the spread of Covid-19. This Parisian is lucky enough to have a terrace, and recreated his café experience in an effort to normalize the situation. This was sent to us as a gag, but we felt it worth sharing, as proof of how important café culture is to Paris and France. Send us your home café photos!
One of Andrew’s favorite cafés: La Fronde, 33 Rue des Archives, 4ème.
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As part of the shutdown to mitigate the spread of Coronavirus, cafés across France have been asked to close until further notice, an unthinkable, but necessary measure. Want to know what Paris would be like without cafés? This is it.
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We’re breaking our rules a bit today to pay homage to a wonderful longstanding family-owned restaurant in Montmartre, La Pomponette, which has recently closed its doors, perhaps another victim of the rampant gentrification/corporatization affecting the 18th arrondissement, and all of Paris.
Opened in 1909 by Arthur Delcroix, La Pomponette was frequented by his artist friends, like Francisque Poulbot et Eugène “Gen” Paul, whose works hung on the walls. Four generations of his family have lovingly tended the restaurant, which was a piece of Montmartre history for 100 years.
The decor never changed, maintaining the true charm of the artists’ village and the life that is unique to the Montmartrois. In 2014, the restaurant closed for two weeks—not for renovation, but for a restoration, when an artisan repaired the ancient floor tiles, one by one. That’s a family’s love.
I shot this photo that same year, while dining with my dear friend, writer/blogger Lisa Taylor Huff (The Bold Soul), with whom I co-founded No Love Locks. Lisa passed in 2015, so this photo is all I have of both her and the restaurant—a beautiful memory that will last even in times of change.
La Pompinette was located at 42 Rue Lepic, 18ème. See what you missed, here.
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The unexpected beauty in the little things cafés do. This is how Café des Anges served up their hot chocolate one day—like a flower. That’s melted chocolate on the sides and hot milk in the center. It was a shame to mix it up and spoil such a pretty sight. But mix I did, and delish it was.
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That perfect day when you find the perfect terrace table in the sun—and your socks match the decor. Meant to be.
La Boca, whose nondescript awning is marked simply with “LB,” has one of the sunniest terraces on Rue Montorgueil, which makes it a favorite of our editor.
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Author Lily Heise (Je T’Aime, Me Neither; Je T’Aime…Maybe?)shares her favorite romantic spots to cozy up with your amour this Valentine’s Day—or any day.
Parisian cafés serve a variety of purposes. Regulars pop in for their morning petit café on the way to work. Some come mid morning to linger over un café crème. Le plat du jour satisfies busy office workers lunchtime hunger pains and there’s nothing quite as perfect as celebrating the end of the work day over a glass of le vin du mois. Cafés also serve as the ideal spot for dates in Paris. That said, your café du coin might not be the right place for some wooing. From historic to hidden, these cafés all offer the perfect setting for a romantic meet-up in the City of Love:
For a touch of elegant grandeur, rendezvous with your romantic interest in front of Le Petit Palais, the City of Paris Art Museum, where its glitzy facade will already set the tone for your chic date. Located overlooking an opulent, leafy courtyard is one of Paris’s most attractive museum cafés. If things are going well, you can suggest extending your date by perusing the museum’s collections ranging from Roman statues to Impressionist greats (and it’s free!).
You can’t find a more suitable setting for a romantic meet-up then at the City of Paris Museum of the Romantic Era (Musée de la Vie Romantique). Built in 1830 for Dutch painter Ary Scheffer, the house became the hub of intellectual Paris of the Romantic Era of the first half of the 19th century. On a given soirée held at the house, you might have crossed paths with Georges Sand, Chopin, Eugène Delacroix, or Franz Liszt. The small museum houses art and artifacts linked to the period (also free), however, its equally romantic courtyard café, nestled within the greenery and flowers of the garden, is open to anyone, and is sublimely romantique.
This charming joint is a great choice for a classic café experience without having to take out a mortgage to pay for two coffees like at most historic cafés. With a simple old-school decor of wooden bistro tables and chairs, a beautiful iron spiral staircase, a wonderful sunroom and terrace looking towards one of the most alluring streets of Paris (Rue des Barres), your petit café or petit Chablis will be delivered by an aproned waiter who will leave you be, Parisian style, so you can take your time gazing into your chéri/e’s eyes from across the table. Afterwards, keep the romancing going by strolling up Rue des Barres and through the quiet streets of the lower Marais.
Le Zimmer 1 Place du Chatelet, 1ère; 01.42.36.74.03
Courtesy of Le Zimmer
If you’re looking to combine history with glamour, the centuries-old café of the Chatelet Theatre fits the bill perfectly. Opened in 1896 during the great brasserie craze of Paris, this café has had a makeover—relooking—by star interior designer Jacques Garcia who, thankfully, kept many of its historic features and seductive feel of La Belle Epoque—including gilded mirrors, painted wood ceilings, and velour drapery. It’s Paris romantic chic at its best—without too much of a fuss.
There are a few hidden cafés in Paris and the one located in this discreet hotel in the 6th arrondissement is one of the most romantic. Meet your date nearby, perhaps in front of Saint-Germain-dès-Pres church, and then lead around to this address, where she or he will be instantly enchanted by the peaceful courtyard of the hotel. Going inside, make your way to the back, and you’ll find a glassed-in sunroom behind which is a terrace with intimate seating amidst flowers and statues. It’s not so well known, so you might even have the café all the yourselves.
Le Lieu Secret 7 Rue Francis de Pressensé, 14ème; 01.45.40.07.50
Another hidden café, the “secret place” was formerly known as L’Entrepot, a historic cultural center that has recently been saved from closure. The building has already seen a few lives. Originally a textile warehouse (“entrepot” in French), in 1975 it became an important venue for the promotion of avant garde cinema. This “new” space hasn’t abandoned its roots, so after having a drink in its “secret” café—with soaring warehouse ceilings, a large glass atrium, and a quiet back courtyard—you could further your date with a play, film, or concert.
Perfect for dreamy romantics, this whimsical café is found at the end of the Basin de la Villette, where it becomes the Canal de l’Ourcq. This former lock-keeper’s home has been converted into an eclectic space where you can choose to sit in a plush sofa in the living room, around the retro table in the kitchen, in the bathtub in the bathroom…or on the bed in the bedroom. After your drink, you can extend your date with a stroll along the canal.
As you might guess from its name, this modern café doesn’t only offer up a good cup of coffee, it doubles as a flower shop. So before or after you’ve sipped your way through an excellent latte and nibbled on a piece of moist cake, you can surprise your date with one of their original flower bouquets. The café is small, so avoid taking a date here on weekend afternoons. If it’s full, you could always get your coffee and bouquet to go!
LILY HEISE is a Canadian travel writer, author, and romantic expert who has lived in Paris since 2000. Her writing has appeared in The Huffington Post, Conde Nast Traveler, Frommer’s, Playboy.com (Travel), among others. She is also the author of two lively books on searching for love in Paris, Je T’Aime, Me Neitherand Je T’Aime…Maybe?. Lily shares tips on Paris date ideas and romantic travel on her website and leads romantic tours of Paris. Discover her world at www.jetaimemeneither.com. Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
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The perfect order of terrace tables, draped with warm blankets, make this terrace inviting even in winter. Seen in the 8th arrondissement, between Parc Monceau and Arc de Triomphe.
Continuing our frigate-theme for Cafe Photo of the Week, La Belle Poule is also the name of a 26-gun frigate (see the ship in the logo), famous for her battle against HMS Arethusa in 1778, which marked France’s entry into the American Revolutionary War. Three other ships bore the same name over France’s history—one, commissioned in 1834, was charged with bringing Napoleon’s ashes back to France, where they reside in the Invalides (7ème).
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Treize au Jardin is just down the street from my bookstore, The Red Wheelbarrow, in the 6th arrondissement. Owners Kajsa von Sydow (Swedish) and Laurel Sanderson (American) bring the friendliness of both of their cultures to this beautiful café, which sits just opposite Le Jardin du Luxembourg. Kajsa, who is often the welcoming face greeting you at the door, is partly responsible for the graceful and flowery décor, and comfortableness of the café: the private, intimate places to cozy up in; the large, round tables for groups of friends to gather—everything is extremely well thought out in this beautiful café.
But a great part of the attraction to Treize au Jardin is the food, which celebrates the American South. That’s Laurel’s domain. Biscuits, eggs Benedict, chicken and grits, craft cocktails and wholesome alcohol-free drinks, one called Liquid Sunshine. All the food is organic and responsibly sourced, prepared by chefs with years of experience.
I like the Artichoke Heart Pie, and the quinoa salad. Almost every day for lunch, I order their delicious daily soup, and a hot biscuit. But most people go for their Southern brunches (which are served all day, every day), or the Pecan Chicken. Or, their special Pulled Pork. They also make delicious cake, by the way.
The café is popular with locals—couples having a romantic rendez-vous; work colleagues conducting lunch meetings; families; writers; people looking for a café to read or work in—or even to propose in; American expats who want a taste of home; Parisians who want to travel to the American South for an hour or two. All of us.
But Treize au Jardin is a special place to me, personally. I owe the location of my bookstore to them. Laurel, who previously ran the much-adored Treize…A Baker’s Dozen on Rue des Saints Pères in the 7th, and a cake shop before that, is a friend from way back. We had often talked casually about doing a café-bookshop, and when they found their location on Rue de Medicis, there was an old librairie–book store—near them that was also going up for rent. Laurel told me about it and I swooped in and grabbed it. Laurel and Kajsa opened their café early summer 2018; we opened later that same summer.
I love having a café just next to the bookshop, and it’s wonderful how we share many of the same customers. There are families that eat at the café almost every weekend, and the children will rush into the bookshop to choose books before lunch arrives. I often send my own customers to the café, who report back how pleased they are with my recommendation. Our two businesses also help each other out in little ways, like when we run out of the rolls of paper for our credit card machines.
Cafés create community in a different way from bookshops, but in a way that compliments them. On Friday evenings, Treize au Jardin has great live music, which makes a wonderful end to our week at the bookshop. And of course, we at the Red Wheelbarrow stop over at Treize several times a day for their delicious coffee.
It’s a really warm feeling to have good friends running businesses near each other. We’re a community serving a community. •
PENELOPE FLETCHER is the owner of The Red Wheelbarrow, a beloved Anglophone bookstore on 9 Rue de Medicis, just opposite the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens in the 6th arrondissement. Follow the shop on Instagram.
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Terminus Nord sits in the shadow of Gare du Nord, Paris’s North Train Station. But it’s a destination in its own right. This moment captured by staff photographer, Patty Sadauskas.
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by Janice MacLeod, excerpted from her book, A Paris Year, page 111, “June 1: Le Rostand”
There are times when you know your coffee break is going to turn into a lunch break. That’s when I show up at Rostand. It’s the perfect writer’s haunt. The city is full of such magical places. I have a few for different purposes. I have a café for my letter writing, a café for my journal writing, a café for when I’m miserable and want to indulge in my morose thoughts, and I have a café for book writing. (Sometimes those last two cafés are the same depending on how the book writing is going.)
One such lovely writer’s haunt is Le Rostand. Le Rostand a terribly well behaved place mostly because of people like me. Solo patrons looking for quiet in the midst of a midday hustle bustle of clinking glasses and chatter of waiters. The sea of patrons keeps to themselves and sneak photos of each other. If we were to ever converse and share, we’d have an album of lovely café shots of each other, but the first rule of Café Club is to never talk to each other.
JANICE MacLEOD is the illustrator and author of the New York Times best-selling book Paris Letters, and her latest book, A Paris Year, part memoir / part visual journey through the streets of Paris. Discover her world at janicemacleod.com Visit her Etsy shop Like her Facebook page
Like Paris cafés themselves, their chairs are each different in their own way. Most rattan bistro chairs have been handcrafted by the same company since 1920, Maison Gatti. Next time you’re seated at a terrace table, look for the telltale gold name plate on the back of your chair.
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There are cafés in Paris that draw your attention just because of their names. Each time I take the Métro to Montmartre, I pass Café Au Vrai Paris. And each time, I ask the same question: Why it called ‘At the True Paris’?Is there an At the Fake Paris? Maybe there was a fight between this café’s owner and a rival, who stole his café’s name?
One morning, I decided it was time for me to solve this mystery. So I went to have a true coffee at this “true” Paris café. The terrasse is agreable with its flowers and stylish chairs, but since it was raining, I went inside. But the moment I entered, I saw something that made me want to leave immediately: a big-screen TV showing rugby.
Don’t get me wrong; I have nothing against rubgy. But I’m not keen on cafés with TVs. If I want to watch TV, I stay home. So I decided to sit at the back of the café, far away from the TV, on one of their comfortable couches. If you go to the back of this café, you will find a relaxing lounge-style space, but unlike most lounges, the music is not too loud. And everything is yellow: the chairs, the walls, the quotations from famous writers on the walls. Even the soft light is yellow.
A friendly waiter came to me to asked what I wanted. “A coffee, please,” I answered. “But first, I would like to know why this café is called Au Vrai Paris. With a big smile, he explained that this “true” Paris name was just a marketing strategy.
A bit disappointed by this prosaic answer, I started to observe my neighbors, a young Japanese couple who were drinking Champagne. I suppose for them this is what the true Parisian lifestyle is about: savoring a glass of Champagne with your lover in a charming and romantic café in Montmartre.
While I was drinking my coffee, I pondered another mystery: what is a true Parisian? Do you have to be born and raised in Paris? Can’t you feel Parisian just because you live here? Was this idea of being “a true Parisian” merely a marketing scheme? As I was standing to leave my cozy couch, my eyes fell on a quotation written on the wall. It was from Sasha Guitry, the celebrated French playwright, who was born in St. Petersburg. I waved au revoir to my friendly Parisian waiter and left.
As I walked to the Métro, I thought about Guitry’s quote, how it perfecting answered my mystery: “Being a Parisian is not about being born in Paris, it is about being reborn there.”
What to drink? Expresso Ville de Paris: 2.40 euros; hot chocolate 4.90 euros; hot mulled wine: 7 euros; organic cider: 7 euros
What to eat? Croque-monsieur and salad: 13 euros; traditional onion soup: 9.50 euros; Roasted Camembert with honey, rosemary, and walnuts: 9.50 euros; French toast with salted butter and hazelnut ice cream: 9 euros
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EDITH DE BELLEVILLE is a licensed tour guide in Paris, and the author of Belles et Rebelles, à l’ombre des Grandes Parisiennes (Éditions Erick Bonnier) available in French at Fnac.fr, Amazon.fr and Amazon.ca
VERSION FRANÇAISE
Il y a des cafés à Paris qui attirent votre attention juste par leurs noms. A chaque fois que je prends mon métro à Montmartre je passe toujours près du café Au vrai Paris. Et à chaque fois je me pose la même question Pourquoi ce café s’appelle t’-il Au Vrai Paris? Est-ce qu’il y a un café Au faux Paris? Peut-être y a-t-il un litige entre le propriétaire de ce café et un rival qui lui a volé le nom de son café?
Un matin je décidai qu’il était temps pour moi de résoudre ce mystère. Alors je décidai de prendre un vrai café au vrai Paris. La terrasse de ce café est agréable avec ses chaises stylées et ses fleurs mais comme il pleuvait je pris la décision d’aller plutôt à l’intérieur. Mais quand j’ai vu ce que j’ai vu, j’ai immédiatement songé à quitter cet endroit: Un énorme écran de télé montrant des joueurs de rugby était placé à l’entrée du café.
Ne vous méprenez pas, je n’ai rien contre le rugby. Mais je n’aime pas les cafés avec la télé. SI je veux regarder la télé je la regarde chez moi. Alors je me suis installée au fond du café le plus loin possible de la télévision et je me suis assise sur l’une des confortables banquettes. Si vous allez au fond du café vous constaterez que c’est un endroit relaxant avec une musique d’ambiance pas trop forte. Et tout est jaune: Les chaises, les murs et les citations inscrites sur les murs. Même la lumière tamisée est jaune.
Un sympathique serveur est venu me demander ce que je souhaitais. Un café s’il vous-plaît lui ai-je répondu mais d’abord je voudrais savoir pourquoi ce café s’appelle Au vrai Paris?. Avec un sourire il m’expliqué que ce nom d’ Au vrai Paris était juste une idée marketing.
Un peu déçue par cette réponse prosaïque, je me suis mise à observer mes voisins, un jeune couple de Japonais buvant du Champagne. Je suppose que pour eux voilà ce qu’est le vrai style de vie parisien: Savourer une coupe de Champagne avec son amoureux dans un charmant et romantique café à Montmartre.
Pendant que j’étais en train de boire mon café j’essayai de résoudre un autre mystère: Qu’est-ce que cela veut dire être un vrai Parisien? Est-ce qu’il faut être né et avoir été élevé à Paris pour être un vrai Parisien? Est-ce que vous ne pouvez pas vous sentir un vrai Parisien juste parce que vous vivez à Paris? Et si toute cette idée d’être «un vrai Parisien» n’était qu’un pur produit de consommation? Comme je me levais pour quitter ma confortable banquette et partir, je vis sur le mur une citation de Sasha Guitry, l’auteur bien connu des pièces de théâtre.
En partant je pris soin de faire un signe de la main vers mon gentil serveur pour lui dire au-revoir et je quittai le café. Et alors que je me dirigeais vers mon métro je me dis que Sasha Guitry, l’écrivain français né à Saint-Petersbourg avait raison. Etre Parisien ce n’est pas être né à Paris…..c’est y renaître
Où ? 33, rue des Abbesses, 18ème arr.
Quand ? 7h à 2h, tous les jours
Comment y aller ? Métro Abbesses, ligne 12
Que boire ? Expresso Ville de Paris : 2,40 euros ; chocolat chaud 4,90 euros ; vin chaud : 7 euros ; cidre biologique : 7 euros
Que manger ? Croque-monsieur et sa salade : 13 euros ; soupe à l’oignon traditionnelle : 9,5 euros ; Camembert rôti au miel et aux noix : 9,5 euros ; brioche façon pain perdu au caramel au beurre salé et glace : 9 euros; café ou thé gourmand : 9, 5 euros
Guide-conférencière à Paris, EDITH DE BELLEVILLE est également l’auteure de Belles et Rebelles, à l’ombre des Grandes Parisiennes ( Éditions Erick Bonnier ) un livre disponible à la Fnac.fr, Amazon.fr et Amazon.ca.
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The life of a tour guide finds you up ahead of the sun, especially during the strikes in France when you need to walk to your destination. This image captures Le Nemours on Place Colette, in the quiet dawn hours, preparing to receive its morning customers.
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SAVE THE PARIS CAFÉ 