Café de Flore, 172 boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris 6e

The Café de Flore () is one of the oldest

coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

s in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, celebrated for its famous clientele, which in the past included high-profile writers and philosophers. It is located at the corner of

Boulevard Saint-Germain Boulevard Saint-Germain () is a major street in Paris on the Rive Gauche of the Seine. It curves in a 3.5-kilometre (2.1 miles) arc from the Pont de Sully in the east (the bridge at the edge of Île Saint-Louis) to the Pont de la Concorde ( ...

and Rue Saint-Benoît, in

Saint-Germain-des-Prés Saint-Germain-des-Prés () is one of the four administrative quarters of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France, located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Its official borders are the River Seine on the north ...

in the

6th arrondissement The 6th arrondissement of Paris (''VIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le sixième''. The arrondissement, called Luxembourg in ...

. The nearest underground station is

, served by line 4 of

Paris Métro The Paris Métro (french: Métro de Paris ; short for Métropolitain ) is a rapid transit system in the Paris metropolitan area, France. A symbol of the Paris, city, it is known for its density within the capital's territorial limits, uniform ar ...

. The coffeehouse still remains a popular hang-out spot for celebrities and its status attracts numerous tourists.

History

The café was opened in the 1880s, during the Third Republic. The name is taken from a sculpture of

Flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

, the goddess of flowers and the season of spring in

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representat ...

, located on the opposite side of the boulevard. Authors

Joris-Karl Huysmans Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans (, ; 5 February 1848 – 12 May 1907) was a French novelist and art critic who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans (, variably abbreviated as J. K. or J.-K.). He is most famous for the novel ''À rebou ...

and

Remy de Gourmont Remy de Gourmont (4 April 1858 – 27 September 1915) was a French symbolist poet, novelist, and influential critic. He was widely read in his era, and an important influence on Blaise Cendrars and Georges Bataille. The spelling ''Rémy'' de Go ...

were two of the first well-known regulars. In the late 19th century,

Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet, and critic. He was an organizer and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that is monarchist, anti-parl ...

wrote his book ''Au signe de Flore'' on the café's first floor, where in 1899 the ''Revue d'Action Française'' was also founded. The Café de Flore became a popular hub of famous writers and philosophers.

Georges Bataille Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (; ; 10 September 1897 – 9 July 1962) was a French philosopher and intellectual working in philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history of art. His writing, which included essays, novels, ...

Robert Desnos Robert Desnos (; 4 July 1900 – 8 June 1945) was a French poet who played a key role in the Surrealist movement of his day. Biography Robert Desnos was born in Paris on 4 July 1900, the son of a licensed dealer in game and poultry at the '' H ...

Léon-Paul Fargue Léon-Paul Fargue (, 4 March 187624 November 1947) was a French poet and essayist. He was born in Paris, France, on rue Coquilliére. As a poet he was noted for his poetry of atmosphere and detail. His work spanned numerous literary movements. ...

Raymond Queneau Raymond Queneau (; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo ('' Ouvroir de littérature potentielle''), notable for his wit and cynical humour. Biography Queneau wa ...

were all regulars, as was

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Chinese Premier The premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the premier of China and sometimes also referred to as the prime minister, is the head of government of China and leader of the State Council. The premier is ...

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...

was known to be a frequent patron of Café de Flore during his years in France in the 1920s. The classic

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

interior of all red seating, mahogany and mirrors has changed little since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Like its main rival,

Les Deux Magots Les Deux Magots () is a famous café and restaurant situated at 6, Place Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris's 6th arrondissement, France. It once had a reputation as the rendezvous of the literary and intellectual elite of the city. It is now a ...

, it has been frequented by numerous French intellectuals during the post-war years. In his essay "A Tale of Two Cafes" and his book '' Paris to the Moon'', American writer

Adam Gopnik Adam Gopnik (born August 24, 1956) is an American writer and essayist. He is best known as a staff writer for ''The New Yorker,'' to which he has contributed non-fiction, fiction, memoir, and criticism since 1986. He is the author of nine books ...

mused over the possible explanations of why the Flore had become, by the late 1990s, much more fashionable and popular than Les Deux Magots, despite the fact that the latter café was associated with

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even th ...

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

, and other famous thinkers of the 1940s and 1950s. A Romanian thinkers league also frequented the place, notably

Emil Cioran Emil Mihai Cioran (, ; 8 April 1911 – 20 June 1995) was a Romanian philosopher, aphorist and essayist, who published works in both Romanian and French. His work has been noted for its pervasive philosophical pessimism, style, and aphorisms. H ...

Eugene Ionesco Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

and essayist

Benjamin Fondane Benjamin Fondane () or Benjamin Fundoianu (; born Benjamin Wechsler, Wexler or Vecsler, first name also Beniamin or Barbu, usually abridged to B.; November 14, 1898 – October 2, 1944) was a Romanian and France, French poet, critic and Existentia ...

. The

Prix de Flore The Prix de Flore is a French literary prize founded in 1994 by Frédéric Beigbeder. The aim of the prize is to reward youthful authors and is judged by a panel of journalists. It is awarded yearly in November, at the Café de Flore in Paris. The ...

, a literary prize inaugurated by

Frédéric Beigbeder Frédéric Beigbeder (; born 21 September 1965) is a French writer, literary critic and television presenter. He won the Prix Interallié in 2003 for his novel ''Windows on the World'' and the Prix Renaudot in 2009 for his book ''Un roman françai ...

in 1994, is awarded annually at the Café de Flore.

In popular culture

* Café de Flore appeared in the 1963 film ''

The Fire Within ''The Fire Within'' (french: Le Feu follet , meaning "The Manic Fire" or "Will-o'-the-Wisp") is a 1963 drama film written and directed by Louis Malle, based on the 1931 novel ''Will O' the Wisp'' by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle, which itself was in ...

''. * The café is mentioned in the 1975 song "Et mon père" by

Nicolas Peyrac Nicolas Peyrac (born 6 October 1949 in Rennes as Jean-Jacques Tazartez) is a French musician, writer and photographer. Youth Jean-Jacques spent his youth in the small town of Saint-Brice-en-Coglès in Brittany together with his brothers and par ...

. *

Amanda Lear Amanda Lear (; born 1939) is a French singer, songwriter, painter, television presenter, actress, and former model. She began her professional career as a fashion model in the mid-1960s, and went on to model for Paco Rabanne, Ossie Clark, and ...

filmed her music video " Égal" in Café de Flore in 1981. * The café was a setting and featured in the dust jacket of ''

Ravelstein ''Ravelstein'' is Saul Bellow's final novel. Published in 2000, when Bellow was eighty-five years old, it received widespread critical acclaim. It tells the tale of a friendship between a university professor and a writer, and the complications t ...

'', written by

Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; 10 July 1915 – 5 April 2005) was a Canadian-born American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only wr ...

. * The café was featured in the 3rd episode ("Paris") of

series 4 Series 4 could refer to: * Aston Martin Lagonda Series 4, the automobile model * BMW 4 Series, the automobile model line * GeForce 4 series, line of nVidia video cards * Scania 4-series, the truck model line * South African Class 6E1, Series 4, e ...

of ''

Absolutely Fabulous ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (also known as ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom based on the ''French and Saunders'' sketch, "Modern Mother and Daughter", created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. The show was created and written by Saund ...

'' in 2001. * The coffeehouse appeared in the lyrics of the 2002 song "L'Entarté" by

Renaud Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan (), known as Renaud (), born 11 May 1952, is a French singer, songwriter and actor. His characteristically 'broken' voice makes for a very distinctive vocal style. Several of his songs are popular classics in F ...

. * It's subject of ''

Les Amants du Flore ''Les Amants du Flore'' (''The Lovers of Café de Flore, Flore'') is a 2006 French TV film, directed by Ilan Duran Cohen, about the relationship between Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir beginning with their university years, then the follow ...

'' (2006), a film about

and

. * Parts of the 2011 film ''

Love Lasts Three Years ''Love Lasts Three Years'' (french: L'Amour dure trois ans) is a 2011 French-Belgian comedy film written and directed by Frédéric Beigbeder and starring Gaspard Proust. It is based on Beigbeder's novel '' Love Lasts Three Years''. Cast * Gasp ...

'' were filmed in Café de Flore. * Season 1, episode 6 of ''

Emily in Paris ''Emily in Paris'' is an American romantic comedy television series created by Darren Star for Netflix. Set in Paris, the series stars Lily Collins as aspiring marketing executive Emily Cooper, an American who moves to France to provide an Amer ...

'' contains a scene filmed in Café de Flore. * "Cafe de Flore", 2022 song by the Moldovan singer ''

The Motans Denis Roabeș, better known as The Motans, is a Moldovan singer, songwriter and lyricist. Life and career 1989–2014 Denis Roabeș was born on August 2, 1989, in the Republic of Moldova. After graduating from high school, he worked as a market ...

'' which appears on the album "Great Expectations"

References

External links

*
Official Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cafe De Flore Buildings and structures in the 6th arrondissement of Paris Coffeehouses and cafés in Paris Restaurants in Paris

History

In popular culture

See also

References

External links