Café de Flore () is one of the oldest

coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

s in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, known for its emblematic shopfront and celebrated for its famous clientele, which in the past included influential writers, philosophers, and members of Parisian high society ( tout-Paris). The café is located in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, a historic quarter on the left bank of the Seine. It sits the corner of

Boulevard Saint-Germain The 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 Concord ...

and Rue Saint-Benoît, in the 6th arrondissement. The nearest underground station is Saint-Germain-des-Prés, served by line 4 of

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

. While attracting numerous tourists due to its historic cachet, the coffeehouse remains a popular hang-out spot for Parisians and celebrities alike.

History

The café appeared in the 1880s, during the Third Republic; however, the exact opening date remains unknown. The name is taken from a sculpture of

Flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

, 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, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to th ...

, located on the opposite side of the boulevard. Authors Joris-Karl Huysmans 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 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 – 8 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, Léon-Paul Fargue, Raymond Queneau were all regulars, as was

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

. Chinese Premier

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...

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 (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Like its nearby rival,

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

, Café de Flore was 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, who was raised in Montreal, Canada. He is best known as a staff writer for ''The New Yorker,'' to which he has contributed nonfiction, fiction, memoir, and criticism since 19 ...

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 a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

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, nor was she ...

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

, and other famous thinkers of the 1940s and 1950s. A Romanian thinkers league also frequented the place, notably Emil Cioran, Eugene Ionesco and essayist Benjamin Fondane. The Prix de Flore, 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 '' A French Nov ...

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 café is mentioned in the 1975 song "Et mon père" by Nicolas Peyrac. * Amanda Lear filmed her music video " Égal" in Café de Flore in 1981. * James Baldwin wrote much of his 1953 classic " Go Tell It On The Mountain" while drinking cognac and coffee on the cafe's second floor. * The café was a setting and featured in the dust jacket of '' Ravelstein'', written by

Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; June 10, 1915April 5, 2005) was a Canadian-American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the 1976 Nobel Prize in Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only write ...

. * The café was featured in the 3rd episode ("Paris") of series 4 of '' Absolutely Fabulous'' in 2001. * The coffeehouse appeared in the lyrics of the 2002 song "L'Entarté" by

Renaud Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan (; born 11 May 1952 in Paris), known as Renaud, is a French singer-songwriter. With twenty-six albums to his credit, selling nearly twenty million copies, he is one of France's most popular singers. Several of h ...

. * It is the subject of '' Les Amants du Flore'' (2006), a film about

and

. * Parts of the 2011 film '' Love Lasts Three Years'' were filmed in Café de Flore. * Season 1, episode 6 of '' Emily in Paris'' contains a scene filmed in Café de Flore. * "Cafe de Flore", 2022 song by the Moldovan singer '' The Motans'' which appears on the album "Great Expectations"

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cafe De Flore 1880s establishments in France Companies established in the 1880s Restaurants established in the 19th century Buildings and structures in the 6th arrondissement of Paris Coffeehouses and cafés in Paris Restaurants in Paris Flora (mythology) Sculptures of Roman goddesses

History

In popular culture

See also

References

External links