This new café, Duke, replaced a neighborhood favorite, l’Ingenue, when the owner of the walls took back the lease. The new tenants opened amid Covid closures, but are serving takeaway (emporter) like their restaurant neighbors. Stop by show them support!
SUBMIT YOUR OWN PHOTO FOR OUR WEEKLY COLUMN! Submit a photo to us for possible publication here in Café Photo of the Week. Recent photos preferred that capture the current times. Click here for full submission rules. ************** Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
This local favorite as been closed since October due to Covid restrictions, eerily paused in time, dust collecting on the underside of chairs. For now, it awaits for the flow of customers to set time in motion again.
Extra Old Café, 307 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, 11ème
SUBMIT YOUR OWN PHOTO FOR OUR WEEKLY COLUMN! Submit a photo to us for possible publication here in Café Photo of the Week. Recent photos preferred that capture the current times. Click here for full submission rules. ************** Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
Covid-19 closures are not stopping cafés from serving up some cheer during the holidays. This café in Les Halles has some holiday mulled wine (vin chaud) for sale. Yes, please!
SUBMIT YOUR OWN PHOTO FOR OUR WEEKLY COLUMN! Submit a photo to us for possible publication here in Café Photo of the Week. Recent photos preferred that capture the current times. Click here for full submission rules. ************** Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
Café Photo of the Week is published every Wednesday, and showcases photography from our staff, contributors, and readers.
Takeaway Cheer, by Lisa Anselmo
Cafés, restaurants, and bars are closed until further notice due to a surge in Covid-19 cases in France, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still do takeaway. Many have created warm and festive pass-through areas, and offer both food and beverages, some even have holiday mulled wine (vin chaud).
SUBMIT YOUR OWN PHOTO FOR OUR WEEKLY COLUMN! Submit a photo to us for possible publication here in Café Photo of the Week. Recent photos preferred that capture the current times. Click here for full submission rules. ************** Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
Cafés, restaurants, and bars are closed again in France, as a new confinement was ordered after a second wave of Covid-19 took over the country. This café near Père Lachaise Cemetery was taking advantage of the shutdown to do some upgrades. “I hope it’s not for nothing,” the owner told me. “I hope we can invite you again soon.” We hope so, too.
SUBMIT YOUR OWN PHOTO FOR OUR WEEKLY COLUMN! Submit a photo to us for possible publication here in Café Photo of the Week. Recent photos preferred that capture the current times. Click here for full submission rules. ************** Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
Seen in the Marais. Chairs stacked at the end of the day. Cafés and bars have been shut due to a strong second wave of Covid cases in Paris, but many, which have a “restaurant” classification, are allowed to stay open. This one is among those lucky ones, just closing for the night.
Want to submit a photo for our weekly column, Café Photo of the Week? Click here for submission rules. If we like it, we’ll publish it with a photo credit! Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
Café Photo of the Week is published every Wednesday, and showcases photography from our staff, contributors, and readers.
Café Chairs, by Erica Simone
Photographer Erica Simone stopped to snap this shot of these gorgeous Maison Gatti café chairs stacked and waiting to be put out on the terrace of the charming Le Tambour in Les Halles.
WE’D LOVE TO POST YOUR PHOTO OF YOUR FAVORITE REOPENED CAFE! Submit one to us for possible publication here in Café Photo of the Week. Must be a recent photo post-déconfinement. Click here for full submission rules.
Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
We’re really captivated by the terraces of Paris this summer. Cafés are using their imagination to make the most of their extended outdoor space, and that helps us make the most of the lazy days of summer.
WE’D LOVE TO POST YOUR PHOTO OF YOUR FAVORITE REOPENED CAFE! Submit one to us for possible publication here in Café Photo of the Week. Must be a recent photo post-déconfinement. Click here for full submission rules.
Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
During Covid-19, cafés have been allowed to enlarge their terraces to create social distancing. Some have really gone all out, like this café in the Haut Marais, which has created a festive oasis. The effect of all the enlarged terraces have turned the city into one big street party, and it’s wonderful to behold. We want the city to make these permanent as part of the greening of Paris. What say you Mayor Hidalgo?
WE’D LOVE TO POST YOUR PHOTO OF YOUR FAVORITE REOPENED CAFE! Submit one to us for possible publication here in Café Photo of the Week. Must be a recent photo post-déconfinement. Click here for full submission rules.
Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
These tables would normally be much tighter, with two seats side-by-side, facing out. But this is the new normal. Not everyone gets a view, but everyone can enjoy the terrace. Seen in the Marais.
WE’D LOVE TO POST YOUR PHOTO OF YOUR FAVORITE REOPENED CAFE! Submit one to us for possible publication here in Café Photo of the Week. Must be a recent photo post-déconfinement. Click here for full submission rules. ************** Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
Colorful “happy hours” signage, captured during confinement. Today, this terrace is filled with customers once again, making these truly happy hours en terrasse. We take these hand-lettered signs for granted, but they add so much to the café experience. In a Café Photo of the Week first, we offer a bonus image of the same terrace, taken from a post-confinement perspective. Before and (happily ever) after.
WE’D LOVE TO POST YOUR PHOTO OF YOUR FAVORITE REOPENED CAFE! Submit one to us for possible publication here in Café Photo of the Week. Must be a recent photo post-déconfinement. Click here for full submission rules. ************** Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
Since, Tuesday, June 2, cafés in Paris were allowed to open again, but only terrace service. So what to do? Take up as much terrace as the law allows: sidewalks, parking spots, down the street, and even in the street. We’re okay with that.
WE’D LOVE TO POST YOUR PHOTO OF YOUR FAVORITE REOPENED CAFE TERRACE! Submit one to us for possible publication here in Café Photo of the Week. Must be a recent photo post-déconfinement. Click here for full submission rules. ************** Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
Tuesday, June 2, marked the day when we could once again sit on our beloved café terraces here in Paris. Your favorite Editor-in-Chief made a beeline to my HQ and had un verre de vin to celebrate, but I visited many others, including Au Cadran Voltaire on Place Leon Blum, where I shot this photo of their terrace after the lunch hour. Paris feels alive again.
WE’D LOVE TO POST YOUR PHOTO OF YOUR FAVORITE REOPENED CAFE TERRACE! Submit one to us for possible publication here in Café Photo of the Week. Must be a recent photo post-déconfinement. Click here for full submission rules. ************** Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
When cafés were forced to close as part of an effort to stop the spread of Covid-19, the sight of stacked chairs behind locked glass doors broke the hearts of Parisians. But artist Geoffrey Guillin saw something different: a beauty in the stillness of a city in lockdown mirrored in its cafés, which are at the center of Paris life.
In his newest series of 44 photographs called Bright Silence, Guillin documents café closures during confinement, but also tells the story of Parisian lives very much on pause. Shot entirely through the windows of closed cafés, these haunting images with their soft light and shallow depth of field, present a dreamlike portrait of abandoned rooms suspended in time. Reflections of a troubled outside world are superimposed over calm that has been carefully preserved and protected behind glass. These convivial places seem to retain their lightness despite their emptiness.
“I took these photos to show the bright soul of cafés,” Guillin says, “and how important the details of the decoration affect our well-being when we are there.” Undoubtedly, it’s a story told in details: coffee cups hastily stacked; empty water decanters lining a bar; a calendar frozen on 14 March, the last day cafés were open for service.
“I wanted to show the intensity and the luminosity of these places so dear to us, and our cultural heritage.”
The images stir emotion, yet are not maudlin. Guillin lets the cafés and their details speak for themselves without manipulating the viewer. “I wanted to show the intensity and the luminosity of these places so dear to us, and our cultural heritage.”
In showcasing the quiet details of these restaurants, making them glimmer and glow like jewels, Guillin exalts the everyday café—and lifts the viewer’s spirit the way cafés themselves do. “A café is a refuge when you are feeling sick at heart. It’s also a symbol of life,” Guillin says. “So, yes, [this work] represents the heartbeat of Paris, where friends can meet, love, forget, laugh, cry—but above all, feel alive.”
L’Escale on Ile St. Louis is doing takeaway beverages and nibbles. Pop over and support them if you are in Paris, and enjoy un petit café while you relax on the quay overlooking the Seine.
L’Escale, 1 Rue des Deux Ponts, 4ème
Support your local restaurants. Contact them directly for takeout or delivery because they earn more than if you use third-party apps like Uber Eats or Deliveroo (France).
Want to submit a photo for our weekly column, Café Photo of the Week? Click here for submission rules. If we like it, we’ll publish it with a photo credit! Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
It is with great joy, that we announce that the beloved Le Pure Café is open again—for takeaway (à emporter), exclusively. They serve a few items from their usual menu, and a plat du jour, all affordably priced. Read more about our editor-in-chief’s experience, here.
While the government here has loosened restrictions on non-essential shops, cafés and restaurants remain closed, forcing them to become creative to stay afloat and adopt the “takeaway culture” taken for granted in restaurants in the UK and USA.
In Paris? To order from Le Pure Café, call 01.43.71.47.22, go to Facebook or Instagram, or visit them directly at the café.
Support your local restaurants. Contact them directly for takeout or delivery because they earn more than if you use third-party apps like Uber Eats or Deliveroo (France).
Want to submit a photo for our weekly column, Café Photo of the Week? Click here for submission rules. If we like it, we’ll publish it with a photo credit! Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
This photo was taken a few years ago, while the photographer was staying in the Marais. It’s had a makeover since, but still a local favorite, situated on the beautiful Parc Royal.
Le Sévigné–Morgenmadsstedet, 15 Rue du Parc Royal, 3ème
Want to submit a photo for our weekly column, Café Photo of the Week? Click here for submission rules. If we like it, we’ll publish it with a photo credit! Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
This café on the corner of Rue de Seine and Rue de Buci is always packed with locals and tourists alike, and it’s favorite of the photographer as well. (Our editor-in-chief also has some fond memories of this charming, popular place.) It can be pricey given its location in the chic Saint-Germain-des-Près neighborhood, but the staff is friendly and welcoming. We hope we can sit on its sunny terrace soon again.
Bar du Marché, 75 Rue de Seine, 6ème.
Follow Joan on Instagram. Visit her photography site here.
Want to submit a photo for our weekly column, Café Photo of the Week? Click here for submission rules. If we like it, we’ll publish it with a photo credit! Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
This hauntingly beautiful image was shot through the window of La Poule au Pot, closed like all cafés since mid-March due to the Coronavirus pandemic. This café has all the classic details right down to the zinc-top bar. We love it.
Discover Nicola’s collaborative music project, The Covid Sessions, here. (Have tissues ready.)
Want to submit a photo for our weekly column, Café Photo of the Week? Click here for submission rules. If we like it, we’ll publish it with a photo credit! Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
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.
Want to submit a photo for our weekly column, Café Photo of the Week? Click here for submission rules. If we like it, we’ll publish it with a photo credit! Submission does not guarantee publication. Accepted photos will run in the order they are received. When you submit a photo, you give Save the Paris Café non-exclusive rights to publish it, free of charge, on our website and in social media, in perpetuity.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER and get the latest articles, news, and more. (Sign-up in the left-hand menu bar on desktop, or at the bottom of the page on mobile.)
SAVE THE PARIS CAFÉ 