Falling in Love at Café de Flore: The Celebrity-Favorite Literary Café

▲A view of Café de Flore. (Photo / ONE DAY IN PARIS Takes You on a Slow Tour of Paris)
Text and photos / ONE DAY IN PARIS Takes You on a Slow Tour of Paris

At Café de Flore, Sartre and Camus completed their "existentialism," and even Xu Zhimo once visited. But among the café’s artistic romance, the most famous story is still that of Sartre and Beauvoir’s love affair...

We practically glued ourselves to this place: from nine in the morning until noon, we wrote here, then went for lunch, came back at two in the afternoon to chat with friends we met here until eight at night. After dinner, we’d meet people we’d made plans with here. It might sound a bit strange, but we basically treated Café de Flore like our second home.

Nous nous y installâmes complètement : de neuf heures du matin à midi, nous y
travaillions, nous allions déjeuner, à deux heures nous y revenions et nous causions alors
avec des amis que nous rencontrions jusqu’à huit heures. Après dîner, nous recevions les
gens à qui nous avions donné rendez-vous.
Cela peut vous sembler bizarre, mais nous étions au Flore chez nous.

Sartre’s writing not only shows us how he and Beauvoir spent their time together, but also vividly depicts the literary atmosphere of the café back then.

Once a cradle of artistic thought, today it’s a bustling tourist café. But if you look closely, the napkins still bear Sartre’s nickname for it—Les Chemins de la liberté (Paths to Freedom). For him, intellectual freedom was the truest form of liberty. Though the people and times have changed, the spirit of that golden age still lingers quietly in the little details of Café de Flore.

Café de Flore remains a favorite haunt of Parisian celebrities. We’ve seen actor Gilles Lellouche discussing a new script with a producer here, and once spotted Pierre Bergé, Yves Saint Laurent’s former partner, chatting near the cashier with a young man who looked just like Saint Laurent.

In fact, the seating at Café de Flore has its own secrets. Celebrities who crave attention and being recognized tend to sit along the long row of tables on Boulevard Saint Germain. Smokers and cigar aficionados prefer the cozy corner on Rue Saint Benoit. Regulars and waitstaff have an unspoken understanding—sometimes just saying “Comme d’habitude” (As usual) is enough. They also have their own tricks, like covering the coffee pot with the saucer to keep the brew warm on cold days.

Heading east along the lively Boulevard Saint Germain all the way to Mabillon metro station, the nearby markets and shops make up one of the most youthful and vibrant areas in Paris. This neighborhood is packed with American-style brunch spots beloved by young Parisians, which are guaranteed to be packed with queues every weekend.

Actually, the French don’t really have a formal breakfast tradition. Usually, it’s just a cup of coffee or hot chocolate with a croissant or pain au chocolat. A more substantial version might be a slice of baguette spread with butter and jam—a “tartine”—accompanied by juice, which would be considered quite luxurious. And you can’t really blame them—this breakfast style of bread dipped in milk only became common after the Renaissance, when queens from other European countries brought various “creamy sweet breads” to France.

Even so, the concept of breakfast as an important nutritional meal didn’t take hold in France until after World War II. In fact, the French word for breakfast, “petit-déjeuner,” literally means “little lunch,” which shows just how unofficial its status has been. And the most common French breakfast items today—coffee, croissants, and chocolate milk—are all post-Renaissance imports. Many travelers to France are surprised to find that the more authentic the guesthouse or small hotel, the more modest the breakfast seems. In reality, the image of a lavish breakfast spread with toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, and ham is actually more German or British. That’s why Parisians’ obsession with “American brunch” items like maple pancakes, eggs Benedict, bagels, and milkshakes feels especially intriguing.

Modern everyday French is peppered with English words. Aside from direct borrowings (like “internet”), many English nouns have been creatively “Frenchified” into verbs—“bruncher” is a perfect example. By adding the French verb ending “-er” to the English word “brunch,” you get “Alors on va bruncher!” (“So let’s go for brunch!”)—a phrase that’s just perfect for the weekend. To truly experience Saint Germain, you have to do as the locals do and join Parisians for a laid-back weekend brunch here.

This article is excerpted from ONE DAY IN PARIS Takes You on a Slow Tour of Paris, published by Times Publishing.
Authors / The team behind the popular fan page One Day In Paris, by Zhang Chun, Hong Liting, Lai Yiqiu, and Huang Xiangling