Up close to the romance of Paris
The story of an old and wonderful Parisian cafe

“I spent most of my day at the cafe.”
_ Jean-Paul Sartre

When thinking of the beautiful city of Paris, one cannot help but picture a café terrace under the dazzling sunlight.
For Parisians, cafes have long been an important part of their daily lives, and for travelers to Paris, cafes are the closest place to experiencing the Parisian spirit.
Throughout history, countless painters, writers, philosophers and thinkers have spent significant time in cafes.
For enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire and Rousseau, Sartre and Beauvoir who laid the foundations of existentialist philosophy, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Lautrec, and Modigliani who created great masterpieces even in the midst of their lonely lives as artists, and Hemingway, Saint-Exupéry, Baudelaire, and Rimbaud who found literary inspiration in cafes and left behind great works, cafes were invaluable studios and sanctuaries.


This book contains various interesting stories about Parisian cafes, including Paris's first Cafe Procope, De Magot, which first created the Cafe Literature Prize, Cafe Flor, the hideout of Sartre and Beauvoir, the philosophical Cafe des Partes in Place de la Bastille, Coupole and Select, which welcomed lonely artists, as well as Jules Verne at the Eiffel Tower, Maxime with its Art Nouveau sensibility, and Shakespeare & Company, filled with the scent of books.
For those who reminisce about Paris, it will bring the joy of reliving happy moments of the past, and for those who will one day visit Paris, it will offer an irreplaceable thrill.

Many people gathered at the magnificent and magnificent Café de la Paix, decorated with marble, as befitting the work of Charles Garnier, who designed the opera house.
Victor Hugo, Émile Zola, Guy de Maupassant, Hemingway, Tchaikovsky, and Oscar Wilde all visited this place and it became a motif for their works.
--- From "Into the Beautiful Era of Belle Époque, Cafe de la Paix"

Just looking at the words written on the menu by Sartre, “For me, the road to Flor was the road to freedom,” you can see how much Sartre loved this place.
Apollinaire also said, 'We chose Café Flor.
Because this is a place where there is less disturbance than other places,' he writes.
--- From "The Road to Freedom, Cafe Flor"

Lautrec became the most enthusiastic audience member and greedily depicted the bodies of the dancers.
But deep into the night, the performance ended, and only an insatiable hunger and silence threw him out into the streets of Montmartre.
For him, such nights were the greatest pain.

--- From "The Red Windmill of Montmartre, Moulin Rouge"

The Rotondo was a meeting place and workshop for many painters and writers, but it was here that the traces of Modigliani remained the most.
Here, where the ceiling, floor, and interior are all decorated with red lighting, creating a fantastical atmosphere, you can spend time reflecting on Modigliani's works and his life.
--- From "Remembering Modigliani, Rotonde"

This place, with its serenity and magical beauty, was enough to attract the attention of many painters, including Van Gogh.
Van Gogh's house in Auvers-sur-Oise, where he stayed for the last 70 days of his short 37-year life and created 72 works of art, is a place where you can feel his solitude and life.
--- From "A Life So Lonely, Van Gogh's House"

With its majestic pillars, high arched ceilings, and elegant and sophisticated red and gold décor, just staying here will make you feel good.
The cozy and luxurious atmosphere, decorated with soft chairs and golden wood designed by Olivier Gagnère and Yves Taralon, seems to have been brought straight from the Louvre Palace to this place today.

--- From "A Break at the Louvre Museum, Café Marly"

Opened in 1983, Maxim has become a social hub in Paris and is beloved by many artists.
In the 1900s, the space was decorated in the Art Nouveau style, becoming more famous for its elegant and sophisticated atmosphere, and in 1981, it was designated a historical monument by the French government.
The sofas, lamps, and gorgeous vases inspired by Spanish architect Gaudi exude captivating beauty.
--- From "Space of Art Nouveau Sensibility, Maxim"

As you browse the bookstore and sit in the café, you can see Notre Dame Cathedral, the setting of Victor Hugo's Notre Dame de Paris, which was devastated by a fire in 2019, and the bookstores lining the Seine River.
I was able to spend a sweet and languid time at the Shakespeare & Company café, thinking about the romance and literature of Paris, stories of writers and books, and the love between lovers.

--- From "When You Miss the Scent of Books, Shakespeare and Company"