Les Deux Magots

Les Deux Magots

Les Deux Magots, also translated as "The Two Chinese Figures," is a famous café in Paris, France, featured in guidebooks about the city in various languages. It is located in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district on the Left Bank of Paris, and its name comes from the wooden statues of two merchants on the pillars inside the café.

Les Deux Magots is rightfully regarded as a cultural landmark of Paris, where reputation and tradition intertwine. Jean-Paul Sartre and his partner Simone de Beauvoir were regulars here, while Picasso fell in love at first sight with Dora Maar here. Literary and artistic figures of the time such as Wilde, Ernst, Picasso, Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Saint-Exupéry, Hemingway, and Umberto Eco were all frequent visitors. They were drawn to the “Two Chinese Figures,” and their presence added to the café’s legendary fame.

Les Deux Magots is one of the oldest cafés in Paris, with traditional décor and service styles that have been preserved. The waiters wear black-and-white uniforms, show guests the bottles when serving drinks, prepare chocolate using the old-fashioned method by melting chocolate slabs into milk, and serve coffee just as it was in the past — brought to the table in steaming pots. Although prices are higher than at most cafés and it is now a popular spot among tourists, to truly experience the flavor of Paris, you simply must come here.

Les Deux Magots has appeared in the 1973 film The Mother and the Whore and the 1959 film Le Signe du Lion. Since 1933, the café has hosted the annual Prix des Deux Magots, a literary award for French novels.

Les Deux Magots

Must-visit reason: One of the most famous cafés on Paris’s Left Bank

Continent where the attraction is located: Europe【Europe】

Country/Region where the attraction is located: France[France]

Province/State where the attraction is located: Île-de-France Region [Ile-de-France Region]

City where the attraction is located: Paris [Paris]