paris literary walking tour

• In The Footsteps Of The...

In The Footsteps Of The Flâneur: A Literary Tour Of Paris

Paris is the literary city par excellence, its fabled avenues, bars and bistros having long provided shelter and inspiration for writers. Whether it’s f in de siècle figures or foreign writers who came to Paris to escape the stifling conformity of their worlds, all have reimagined Paris in their works, endowing the city with the lustre and profundity it still possesses.

It was in Paris that the figure of the flâneur was created, the prototypical modern individual who wanders the labyrinthine urban sprawl, navigating through the morass of human existence. This figure first appeared in the scandalous poetry of Baudelaire, who found in Paris both a muse and a means for depravity. Baudelaire paved the way for other writers who would find both inspiration and shelter in the Parisian streets, from French icons such as Zola, Rimbaud and Proust, to expat writers like Hemingway, Gertrude Stein , Fitzgerald , Joyce and Beckett . Their literary struggles, lives and deaths are traced throughout the city streets, as literary travelers can still discover.

Shakespeare and Company

There are few bookshops with as much literary and cultural significance as Shakespeare and Company, which has become a Left Bank institution over the course of its long history. The original incarnation of the legendary bookshop was opened by American expat Sylvia Beach in 1919 at 8 rue Dupuytren, before moving to a larger location at 12 rue de l’Odéon in 1921. Beach’s shop opened on the cusp of a literary and artistic explosion in Paris and the expat writers who flocked to Paris would find a second home in Shakespeare and Company. The store was regularly visited by such luminaries as Hemingway, Joyce, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein, and Joyce’s Ulysses was published by Beach after he had failed to find an English publisher. The original store closed in 1940 but a new incarnation was opened by George Whitman in 1951 at 37 rue de la Bûcherie. This store has remained true to the roots of the original bookshop. Whitman’s daughter Sylvia Beach Whitman now runs this indispensable part of literary Paris, which resounds with the unique history of this city.

37 Rue de la Bûcherie, 75005 Paris.

Musée Carnavalet: Marcel Proust’s Bedroom

Marcel Proust’s magnum opus A la recherche du temps perdu is a beautiful evocation of the vagaries of memory and an elegy for lost youth. The seven volumes of this work record the recollections of a younger life seen through the prism of bitter old age and tangible regret. This deeply autobiographical work is an expression of Proust’s own anxieties about the course of his life. He famously spent the last few years of his life in a cork lined room, to alleviate his highly sensitive lungs, and as a means of absorbing the noise and confusion of the outside world. This room has been recreated in the Musée Carnavalet using furniture from Proust’s original bedroom, including his bed and writing equipment, which he used to compose the last volumes of A la recherche du temps perdu. The cocoon like atmosphere in this room offers a unique insight into the late life and mentality of one of the greatest French writers

23 Rue de Sévigné, 75003 Paris.

Les Deux Magots

Part of the charm of Paris for writers was its nightlife; this was a city of legendary debauchery and depravity and the writers who lived here found solace and sustenance in its bars. Hemingway’s famous absinthe fuelled drinking habits in particular have inspired a host of imitators and have given an excuse for bars throughout the city to claim that Ernest once got drunk at their establishment. One bar which can claim to have hosted most of the literary icons of Paris home is Les Deux Magots, the Saint-Germain-des-Prés bar which opened in 1912. The bar has served drinks to Verlaine and Rimbaud in the late 19th century, Hemingway, Breton and Picasso in the 1920s and Camus, Sarte and de Beauvoir in the 1950s. Such a literary and artistic heritage is unrivalled even in Paris, and the café’s links to both the Surrealist movement and the Existentialist movement are celebrated. The nearby Café de Flore is another historic literary hang out, and the two compete for both customers and historical kudos.

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6 Place Saint-Germain des Prés, 75006 Paris.

Musée de la Vie Romantique: George Sand’s House

The most prominent female novelist of the 19th century, George Sand, whose real name was Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, is celebrated for her extensive literary legacy but is best known for her tumultuous personal life. Her bisexuality, cross dressing and love affairs made her a pioneering figure but also brought her unwanted notoriety. A floor of the Musée de la Vie Romantique , at 16 rue Chaptal in Monmartre, is devoted to this fascinating figure and has collected a variety of her possessions including family portraits, furniture, jewellery and memorabilia. The building was once home to Ary Scheffer who would hold salons attended by famous artists and writers, and Sand was often present with her then partner Frédéric Chopin; plaster casts can be seen Musée de la Vie Romantique in a somewhat ghostly remembrance of their lives.

16 Rue Chaptal, 75009 Paris.

Cimetière de Montparnasse

Paris’ cemeteries are surreal places in which mourners often have to contend with crowds of tourists looking for the graves of literary, artistic or musical icons. The Cimetière de Montparnasse is one of the most significant as it holds the graves of Samuel Beckett, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, as well as those of writers and artists such as Marguerite Duras, Joris-Karl Huysmans, Carlos Fuentes, Julio Cortázar, Guy de Maupassant, Susan Sontag, Serge Gainsborough, Man Ray, Tristan Tzara and Charles Baudelaire, for whom an impressive tomb has been erected. The cemetery is thus the site of many literary pilgrimages and the graves of these writers and artists are rarely ever lacking in adornments. Montmartre Cemetery and Père Lachaise Cemetery also hold the graves of various cultural luminaries and allow admirers a sorrowful, but profound, form of remembrance.

3 Boulevard Edgar Quinet, 75014 Paris.

Comédie-Française (Théâtre Français)

French theatre is an important part of its literary culture, and Paris has been at the centre of this theatre world since its inception. The works of Molière, Racine, Stendhal, Balzac and Zola are an indelible part of France’s canonical literature and all of them first found expression in the theatres of Paris. The most famous of these theaters is the Comédie-Française , also known as the Théâtre-Français, which has existed in various incarnations and locations since 1680. It currently sits in the grand environs of the Palais-Royal at 2 rue de Richelieu. The theatre was founded by Louis XIV as a means of merging the main acting troupes then operating in France, and is often known as La maison de Molière , the house of Molière, due to his importance for actors and for French theatre in general. The legendary theatre is a grand setting in which the rich history of Parisian literature and society become evident.

00001 Place Colette, 75021 Paris Cedex 01.

Salon at 27 rue De Fleurus

Gertrude Stein came to Paris before many of the more famous American literary expats, first visiting the city in 1903, and her cultural impact was far broader since she was a significant influence on the early development of such iconic artists as Picasso and Matisse. Along with her brother Leo Stein, and later her partner Alice B. Toklas, she was an early exponent of these artists who at that time were largely ignored by the artistic mainstream. She created a salon in her house at 27 rue De Fleurus which was frequented by these icons and later became a site of pilgrimage for the next generation of American expats, including Hemingway and Fitzgerald. The extraordinary life of Gertrude Stein is recorded in her book, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas , and 27 rue De Fleurus remains a site of pilgrimage for those interested in the cultural life of the early 20th century. Some of Stein’s acquisitions now hang in the nearby Musee D’Orsay and Pompidou Centre , where they receive the reverence they deserve.

27 Rue de Fleurus, 75006 Paris.

Maison de Victor Hugo

Author of such works as Les Misérables – which, as the recent film adaptation proves, still draws the crowds – Victor Hugo remains one of the most read writers of the 19th century. The house in which he lived from 1832 to 1848 at 6 Place des Vosges has been transformed into a museum in his honor and it offers a tantalizing insight into the personal life of Hugo, as well as revealing his work habits. The museum has also preserved Hugo’s Salon Chinois, a room dedicated to Chinese art and artefacts, which he created when Asian art had started to become hugely fashionable in France. The various periods of Hugo’s life are also documented in the house, which he lived in both before and after his exile in Guernsey, where he fled to escape political persecution.

6 Place des Vosges, 75004 Paris.

Hôtel de Lauzun

Baudelaire was Paris’ most passionate literary exponent, and his exploration of the flâneur figure remains one of the most potent evocations of urban experience. His tumultuous life saw him traverse the more debauched elements of the Parisian night and his masterpiece Fleurs du Mal is both a depiction of his dissolute lifestyle and an exploration of the fringes of social conventions and morals. Baudelaire wrote most of this work at the Hôtel de Lauzun on the on the quai d’Anjou, Île Saint-Louis. This hotel, which was built in the era of Louis XIV, has retained its aristocratic charm throughout the centuries. Baudelaire rented the upstairs apartments in 1843 and used them to write, as well as founding the Club des Hashischins (Club of the Hashish-Eaters) in the apartments, a group of writers dedicated to exploring drug use, whose other members included Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas and Honoré de Balzac.

17 Quai d’Anjou, 75004 Paris.

Musée du Montparnasse and Mouffetard Quarter of the Left Bank

The area of Paris most associated with literature and the art is the Left Bank, and Montparnasse in particular, and whilst the area is no longer the thriving cultural hub it once was, it still retains echoes of its heyday. This is especially evident in the Mouffetard Quarter, in which the streets surrounding the thriving market street rue Mouffetard are redolent of the time when legendary writers and artists would cross paths in the cafes and bars of the district. The Musée du Montparnasse documents the history of the area and gives an insight into what made it such an artistic inspiration for so many iconic works to the extent that, as one of its most famous residents Ernest Hemingway wrote, ‘If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.’

21 Avenue du Maine, 75015 Paris.

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Walking in the Footsteps of Legends — Our Paris Literary Tour with Samuél Lopez-Barrantes

Literary Paris with Samuél Lopez-Barrantes

Our resident expert on the literature and intellectual history of Paris , Samuél Lopez-Barrantes is a novelist and musician who has been living in the City of Lights since 2008. Join this scholarly guide, and imagine yourself on Paris' winding streets where so many thinkers came together in the 20th century, paving the way for how we understand literature today. We'll give it over to Samuél, who will take you to Place de la Contrescarpe on the first stop through a Paris Literary Tour :

Place de la Contrescarpe

Atop a Parisian hill at Place de la Contrescarpe, just a roasted chestnut’s throw away from the marketplace at Place Monge, there used to be a café called le Café des Amateurs, a “sad, evilly run café where the drunkards of the quarter gathered together.” And even if Ernest Hemingway stayed away, ostensibly, from the “cesspool of the Rue Mouffetard” in 1922, he must have frequented the café enough times to include it in the opening of his magnum opus about Parisian life, A Moveable Feast .

Oh, what a difference 98 years makes.

Today, the Café Delmas at 2 Place de la Contrescarpe offers a quintessential Parisian experience, complete with red awning terrace and a view of the pristine cobblestone square and its central fountain. Today, the drunkards and beggars have made way for tourists flocking here to retrace the footsteps of that once- unknown boy from Illinois who lived above a dance hall in a decrepit apartment at 74 Rue Cardinal Lemoine.

Rue Cardinal Lemoine

But Ernest Hemingway is not Paris, and Paris is not Hemingway. Without Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound, Hemingway would have never found a publisher in another American ex-patriot, Sylvia Beach. Indeed, Hemingway himself came to this great city thanks to the advice of a renowned American novelist who came before him, Sherwood Anderson ( Winesburg, Ohio , 1919). And just a few paces away from the apartment that Anderson helped Hemingway find, a little-known Irishman with an eye-patch named James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was busy at work on a gargantuan novel ( Ulysses ) at 71 Rue Cardinal Lemoine.

Rue Descartes

If Ernest Hemingway symbolizes the literary history of Paris, it is only because his outsized name overshadows those who came before him. A few meters away from James Joyce’s apartment, on a side street at 38 Rue Descartes, Hemingway rented a small writing studio in a building where the French poet Paul Verlaine lived and died in 1896. Down the street from this studio is the Pantheon, a monument to some of the greatest names in French History. Voltaire, one of the godfathers of the short story form, is buried there, alongside Victor Hugo and the winner of the 1901 and 1902 Nobel Prize, Emile Zola.

Other Literary Spots in Paris

Hemingway left Paris in 1928. That same year, two other young writers moved to Paris: a playwright named Samuel Beckett (Rue d’Ulm), and a poor Englishman by the name of Eric Arthur Blair (Rue du Pot de Fer), where he would quickly adopt a pen name—George Orwell. A Russian Emigré by the name of Nabokov spent time in the city in the 1930s, and a decade later, the American author Richard Wright found a home (14 Rue Monsieur Le Prince), as did his compatriot James Baldwin , who wrote his first novel at the world-renowned Café de Flore (172 Boulevard Saint Germain).

To walk in the footsteps of Hemingway is to walk with all of the authors who have called Paris their home. As with all great cities, the history is far bigger and richer than any single name, and it is a testament to the city’s magic that the next literary great might only ever be a conversation away.

Samuél is a writer and musician who has lived in Paris since 2008. He holds an M.A. in European Society from University College London and an MFA in creative writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Samuél teaches creative writing at the Sorbonne, and is also a pianist and singer in the American indie-rock trio, Slim & The Beast. Visit his Substack for more writing, and follow him on Instagram . Learn with Samuél Lopez-Barrantes online or in person . 

Other Blog Posts by Samuél Lopez-Barrantes

• The Feminine Influence: Three Untold Stories About Ernest Hemingway 
• James “Jimmy” Baldwin and the Ugly Puddle of Water
• Samuél Lopez-Barrantes: Why Paris? The Simple Answer is Love

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Paris Top Ten

Best of Paris

Paris 3-Hour Literary Greats Walking Tour from 18th Century on

• Duration: 3 hours
• Rating: 3.8
• Price: €59.96
• Description

This literary tour takes visitors on a journey through Paris’ rich literary history, spanning from the 18th century to the present day. The 3-hour walking tour explores the neighborhoods that inspired some of the world’s most famous writers, including Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, and Victor Hugo.

The tour begins in the charming neighborhood of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, where visitors will learn about the literary salons that hosted famous writers like Voltaire and Rousseau. The tour then continues to the Latin Quarter, where Hemingway and Joyce spent much of their time. Visitors will see the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore, which served as a meeting place for writers like Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein.

The tour also includes a visit to the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens, which was a favorite spot for writers like Baudelaire and Balzac. Visitors will learn about the literary movements that emerged from Paris, such as surrealism and existentialism, and the writers who led them.

This tour is perfect for literature lovers who want to immerse themselves in the rich literary history of Paris. With a knowledgeable guide and stunning locations, visitors will gain a deeper appreciation for the city’s cultural heritage.

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Shakespeare and Company, Paris (Alamy)

Paris is for Book Lovers: A Literary Tour of the City of Light

The iconic shakespeare and company bookstore in paris. (photo: russ bishop / alamy).

Paris has inspired generations of writers, and some of the world’s most famed authors created literature on the banks of the Seine. Whether you want inspiration for your own novel or hope to delve into a rich and bookish history, do so on a literary tour of Paris.

Parisian Cafés, Restaurants and Bars

Imagine a dimly lit room with a gleaming bar and Art Nouveau furnishings. People are sitting at a smoky table, writing and sipping coffee. You might be picturing a Paris café in the early 20th century – at the height of a literary awakening. Of course, the scene could also be a more recent one. Thankfully, many of the city’s most iconic cafés still exist and inspire a new league of literary giants.

Founded in 1686, Le Procope is the oldest continually operating restaurant in Paris. The famous French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher Voltaire supposedly drank 40 cups of coffee here every day. Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Denis Diderot were also regulars.

Les Deux Magots

Despite now being considered touristy, you can’t take a literary tour of Paris without stopping at Les Deux Magots for at least one café au lait. Famous names that wrote and drank here include Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Pablo Picasso, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.

Café de Flore

Just next door to Les Deux Magots is Café de Flore . The interior – with its red seats and mirrored walls – is charmingly Art Dec. Soak up the history of years gone by, knowing the same visitors from Les Deux also graced these seats. Truman Capote also made several notorious appearances. Be warned, it can get very busy, so be sure to book a table in advance.

Harry’s New York Bar

Now considered a Paris institution, Harry’s New York Bar  is named after a Scotsman who once ran the joint. During it’s heyday, it served as a popular hangout for creative expats working in the city and still retains an air of Old World glamour. Naturally, Hemingway was a regular, along with Harry Sinclair Lewis. Other artists, like the famous fashion designer Coco Chanel, also enjoyed a tipple here. If you visit, order a Bloody Mary – this is supposedly the bar where it was invented.

Literary Museums in Paris

Aside from the artsy cafés and bars, you’ll find an array of other significant spots where you can dip further into Paris’s literary past. See where writers spent their time, and learn more about their backgrounds at these museums.

Maison de Balzac

The Maison de Balzac is in the former home of Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850), the French novelist known as one of the founders of realism in European literature. His writing inspired many writers after him, including Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry James and Oscar Wilde. Not only can you find several portraits of Balzac here, you can also explore a library of his manuscripts, books and illustrations.

Musée Carnavalet

Marcel Proust (1871-1922) is one of the greatest authors of all time. His masterpiece  In Search of Lost Time (A La Recherche du Temps Perdu) is often deemed one of the most fundamental works of modern literature. He created this work while isolated from the world in a cork-lined room that he felt would absorb dust and stop his asthma from becoming aggravated. You can see a reconstruction of his room at this fascinating Musée Carnavalet .

Maison Victor Hugo

Visit the home of Victor Hugo (1802 – 1885), best known for Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame . You can tour the room where he died, as well as the rest of the house. This includes a library with several printed works of his, along with letters and other manuscripts.

Shops, Stalls and Libraries in Paris

Literature is still very much alive in the French capital today. There are plenty of places where you can leaf through copies of books that have been passed through generations, or peruse new editions. Step away from the e-reader and get your best bookmarks at the ready.

Shakespeare and Company

This English-language bookshop couldn’t be more Parisian if it tried. It sits on the River Seine, just opposite Notre Dame. The original Shakespeare and Company opened in 1919 at 12 rue de l’Odéon, and was owned by Sylvia Beach, who published Joyce’s Ulysses when several English publishers – fearing obscenity laws – turned it down.

When the store first opened, it was a popular gathering place for expat and French writers. Regulars included Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, D.H. Lawrence and T.S Eliot. George Whitman opened the bookshop we see today and named it in honor of Beach. He vowed to continue in the same spirit as the original shop. His daughter has now taken over the store’s reins.

The Bouquinistes

Along both sides of the Seine you will find 250 licensed bouquinistes (booksellers) selling used and antique editions from sunrise to sunset — the only river in the world to run between two bookshelves. The bouquinistes have been operating since the 1500s, when stalls lined most of Paris’s bridges. Their green color makes them easy to recognize. If you wish to set up a new stall today, be patient. The wait time for a license is eight years.

The American Library in Paris

Located close to the Eiffel Tower, the American Library in Paris is the largest English-language lending library in Europe. It opened after World War I with a collection of books that were initially sent out to American soldiers in the trenches. The library’s motto was telling: Atrum post bellum, ex libris lux: After the darkness of war, the light of books.

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Top 10 Literary Haunts in Paris: Famous Writers' Favorite Spots

FPG / Getty Images

Paris may be known for its haute cuisine, fashion and iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower , but it is equally steeped in literary history that shouldn’t go undiscovered on your next trip to the French capital. Such greats as Simone de Beauvoir,  James Baldwin , F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway all earned their chops in Paris and left behind a literary legacy in numerous spots around the city.

If you’re a writer yourself, you’d be hard-pressed to find better inspiration than these 10 bars, cafes, bookshops, gardens and restaurants that once harbored so many great minds. And if you’re an avid literary buff, what better way to spend an afternoon than sitting with a good book in one of these haunts, soaking up the city’s cultural and historical bounty? From Jean-Paul Sartre sipping coffee at Les Deux Magots to Hemingway’s ode to La Closerie des Lilas in A Moveable Feast, these ten places will call up all kinds of benign, bookish ghosts. Read on to strike out on your own self-guided literary tour of the city.

Practical Details on the Literary Tour

The tour begins in south Paris near Montparnasse, but feel free to start yours anywhere, and see as many of these storied spots as you have time and energy for. You can do the whole tour on foot if you wish, or take the metro . We've put the cafes in an order that allows you to follow an easy trajectory, but make sure you have a good street map of Paris or smartphone maps to help direct you. 

La Closerie des Lilas

TripSavvy / Taylor McIntyre 

This chic cafe-bar and restaurant near Montparnasse , known for its fresh oysters, beef tartar and terrace overflowing with lilacs, was once the stomping grounds of French and American writers alike. 19th-century French poets Paul Verlaine and Charles Baudelaire regularly grabbed drinks here, while fellow poet Paul Fort met here every Tuesday to read poems with the likes of Guillaume Apollinaire and Max Jacob.

Samuel Beckett, Man Ray, Oscar Wilde, and Jean-Paul Sartre were just some of the many writers and poets who frequented the spot, but it was the American intelligentsia of the 1920s and 1930s that truly made it stand out. Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Henry Miller often stopped for a drink, and Hemingway wrote about the bar in his memoir of Paris, A Moveable Feast.  Fitzgerald also first gave his manuscript of The Great Gatsby to his friend Hemingway to read here, according to legend.

Jardin du Luxembourg

kolderal / Getty Images 

Only a few minutes away from the Closerie des Lilas is the second stop on the self-guided tour of literary Paris. The Luxembourg gardens , with their immaculate shrubbery, elegantly manicured trees, and bursting flower arrangements, are a relaxing place to stroll away on a sunny afternoon. Paris’s literary crowd certainly wasn’t blind to its charms, and the park has been a central part of some of France’s best-known works. Victor Hugo spotlighted the park in his masterpiece Les Miserables – it becomes the site of the first meeting between Marius Pontmercy and Cosette. Henry James also features the gardens in The Ambassadors and the final scene of William Faulkner’s Sanctuary takes place here. When Paris’s writers weren’t singing the praises of the illustrious garden in their work, they were enjoying it themselves – Paul Verlaine and André Gide are said to have spent time wandering in the park for inspiration. 

Later, the garden was a favorite spot for American writer and literary salon doyenne Gertrude Stein and her partner, Alice B. Toklas: they lived only a few blocks away at 27 Rue de Fleurus and hosted countless artists and writers in their apartment. It was also favored by fellow American expatriate writers Richard Wright, James Baldwin, and Chester Himes, who frequented the Cafe Tournon just across the way.

Cafe Tournon, Haunt of James Baldwin, Richard Wright and Others

Discover Paris

Nestled in close reach of the Palais du Luxembourg and gardens, this cafe is a lesser-known but important stop on our tour. Like much of Paris’s literary history, American writers had a prominent place in it, and Café Tournon was no exception. The café became a regular stop for such African-American literary figures as James Baldwin, Richard Wright and William Gardner Smith in the 1950s. According to Hazel Rowley’s 2001 biography, Richard Wright: the Life and Times , Wright often stopped by in the afternoons to have a coffee, play the pinball machine and meet with fellow writers and friends. His friend and fellow writer Chester Himes often dropped in, and the café became not only synonymous with Wright but also a place to exchange news about America. Later, the café held onto its literary bent, and journalist George Plimpton made it his café of choice. It was here that literary magazine The Paris Review first took shape under Plimpton's leadership. 

Shakespeare and Company Bookhop

TripSavvy / Courtney Traub

A stop at this quaint English bookstore overlooking the Seine and Notre Dame Cathedral has become commonplace for most tourists. But what many may not know is that Shakespeare and Company originally functioned as a lending library and bookseller further up the road at rue de l’Odeon under the ownership of American expat and literary sponsor Sylvia Beach.

From 1921 to 1940, the bookshop was the stomping grounds of such famed Anglo-American writers as Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, and Ezra Pound. Irish writer James Joyce reportedly used the shop as his office. After the original shop closed, in 1951, George Whitman opened a new bookshop and named it Shakespeare and Company in honor of Beach and her enormous literary legacy. It soon became a prized haven for beat poets like Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs, and today nurtures the ambitions of young aspiring writers who stay at the store in exchange for work, known as "Tumbleweeds".

Les Deux Magots

 Les Deux Magots 

If there’s one area of Paris that says literary history, it’s Saint-Germain-des-Prés ; and if one place could epitomize it, it would probably be Les Deux Magots. This chic cafe has over the years been appropriated by a strange mix of the city’s most wealthy and the average tourist. But Les Deux Magots was once a hub for Paris’s brightest literary stars and their admirers.

Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Albert Camus often stopped here for strong coffee and philosophical debate, before heading across the street to another charming spot, the Café de Flore (see next step in the tour). Hemingway and James Joyce made sure to come here from time to time, as well. The café became such a hub of literary activity that it began offering its own literary prize starting in 1933. 

Café de Flore

Café de Flore 

Just across the way from Les Deux Magots, and occupying just as much space in France’s literary history, is the Café de Flore. Apollinaire and Salmon would come here to work on their arts review, “Les Soirées de Paris,” while André Breton spent entire days here and across the street at Les Deux Magots. French poet Jacques Prevert also set up shop at the café, bringing in groups of friends for the night. 

The café gained new fame in the 1940s and 50s when it became a hot spot for existentialism. Power couple Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre would spend a good part of their days here, reportedly hashing out their philosophies from morning till night. The café, in keeping with its long friendly rivalry with Les Deux Magots, also hosts an annual literary prize.

Lapérouse, Haunt of Victor Hugo, George Sand and Others

Luis Davilla / Getty Images

Next up on our tour is a distinguished old restaurant and bar situated on the banks of the Seine, boasting over 150 years of literary history. First opened in the late 18th century, Lapérouse was a favorite "salon" for literary greats including Victor Hugo, George Sand, Alfred de Musset, and Gustave Flaubert during the mid-19th century, using the private second-floor rooms to meet and write their chef d'oeuvres. While later on, these same rooms would become notorious for bawdy trysts, the restaurant is today an esteemed institution: Its old-world charm, including a zinc bar complete with a grand piano and graceful old moldings, continues to attract the literary and cultural elite. This is simply one of the most romantic restaurants in Paris, perfect for a tete a tete or a quiet drink alone with your pen and notebook. 

Cafe Procope: Claiming to Be the Oldest Restaurant in Paris

Cafe Procope 

Next up on your self-guided tour is the spot reputed to be the oldest public cafe in Paris, and just a few blocks away from the Flore and Magots. Founded in 1686 by Sicilian chef Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, this was a major literary and philosophical hotspot in the eighteenth century, hosting notable figures such as satirical master Voltaire  and encyclopedist, philosopher and art critic Denis Diderot.

Fueled and inspired by a strange new muddy brew called "coffee", Voltaire, Diderot and other major eighteenth-century thinkers and writers including Jean-Jacques Rousseau and American revolutionaries Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson met here to engage in endless hours of heated debate and conversation. Voltaire was rumored to drink more than 40 cups of caffeinated brew a day, and the encyclopedia writers who gave the world the gift of democratic knowledge were also hooked on the stuff. No wonder they got so much done.

Later, nineteenth-century Romantic writers like George Sand and Alfred de Musset also frequented the Procope , and its status as a literary legend has stuck. Now the historic spot, refurbished in the late 1980s to mimic the old eighteenth-century style, holds relics such as Voltaire's desk. It may be touristy, but it's well worth a look.

Hemingway Bar at The Ritz

Hemingway Bar at The Ritz 

It's time to cross the Seine and head over to the right bank to see a couple of final spots in the French capital that was coveted by writers. The luxurious Hotel Ritz is more of a palace, welcoming some of the world’s wealthiest and most famous guests. While the hotel’s legacy as a truly “ritzy” spot was cemented long before Ernest Hemingway made his mark – French writer Marcel Proust once hosted extravagant dinner parties here – it was Ernest who came to epitomize the five-star hotel. The bar has since been named after him-- and is one of the most stylish hotel bars in Paris . 

He and F. Scott Fitzgerald spent many hours in the hotel's now-iconic bar, and when the end of World War II hit, Hemingway – a war correspondent at the time – personally declared the bar liberated from the Nazis, who had occupied the hotel as military headquarters. Hemingway later featured the bar in  The Sun Also Rises and once wrote, “When I dream of afterlife in heaven, the action always takes place in the Paris Ritz.”

Having undergone extensive renovations in 2015, the Ritz can be accessed from the Place Vendome, where it has sat since it first opened its doors in 1898. 

Cafe de la Paix

Café de la Paix

The last stop on our tour is this right-bank cafe with some serious literary cred. It is no surprise that some of Paris’s aspiring and famous writers took their coffee or dinner at the Café de la Paix. Situated just across the street from the ornate Opera Garnier with its glimmering gold moldings, the café was in prime position for inspiring its customers. It opened in 1862 as part of the Grand Hotel de la Paix, and it soon became a regular dining spot for witty pen Oscar Wilde. French writers Marcel Proust, Emile Zola, and Guy de Maupassant also often took their dinner here before heading over the road to attend the opera.

The Top 10 Things to Do in Paris's Saint-Germain-des-Prés District

10 Top Things to Do in the Latin Quarter, Paris

The 15 Best Traditional Cafés and Brasseries in Paris

The 9 Top Things to Do in and Around Paris' Montparnasse District

A Guide to the 6th Arrondissement in Paris

Visitor's Guide to the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris

La Closerie des Lilas Cafe and Restaurant

A Guide to the 4th Arrondissement in Paris

The History Behind the World's Most Iconic Hotel Bars

18 Best Free Things to Do in Paris

Top 15 Monuments and Historic Sites in Paris

Paris' Pont des Arts: The Complete Guide

The Top 15 Movies Set in Paris, France

Top 15 Destinations in the French Riviera

Inside the Procope, The Oldest Cafe-Restaurant in Paris

All About the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris

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