Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
bd. St-Germain), founded in 1870; and
Les
Deux Magots
(6 place St-Germain-des-
Prés), founded in 1875. For a more local
experience, head to relative newcomers
La
Palette
(43 rue de Seine), with its 1930s-vin-
tage tiled murals, or
Le Rouquet
(188 bd.
St-Germain), founded in 1922, with decor
from the 1950s.
In the 8th arrondissement, posh cafes
along the Champs-Elysées are designed
for unabashed people-watching, from
tables set on extrawide terraces shaded
by canopies and bordered by flower-filled
planters. The chichi places to see and be
seen are
Fouquet's
(99 av. des Champs-
Elysées) and
Le Deauville
(75 av. des
Champs-Elysées); locals go instead to the
friendlier (and cheaper)
Café Le Paris
(93
av. des Champs-Elysées). Across from the
Opéra, the
fin de siècle
elegance of the
Café de la Paix
(in the Grand Hotel, 12 bd.
des Capucines) is another glam setting for
people-watching.
On Place de la Bastille, the adjacent
Café
des Phares
(7 place de la Bastille) and
Café
Le Bastille
(8 place de la Bastille) have
reinvented themselves as
philocafés,
where
groups of people meet to argue great
ideas. In the trendy Marais,
La Belle
Hortense
(31 rue Vieille du Temple, 4e) has
book-lined walls and regularly scheduled
poetry readings. Up in Montparnasse,
Ernest Hemingway's old hangout,
Closerie
des Lilas
(171 bd. du Montparnasse), open
since 1847, has preserved its vintage 1920s
look with leather banquettes, wood tables,
and cozy red lampshades. Its counterpart—
barnlike
La Coupole
(102 bd. du Montpar-
nasse), once patronized by Josephine
Baker, Henry Miller, Salvador Dalí, and Sam-
uel Beckett—has been renovated beyond
recognition. In Montmartre,
Café des
Deux Moulins
(15 rue Lepic, 18e;
&
01-42-
54-90-50
) preserves a 1950s look, right
down to the yellowed ceilings and lace
curtains (parts of the 2001 film
Amélie
were
shot here).
(
De Gaulle (23km/14 miles); Orly
(14km/8
2
⁄
3
miles).
L
$$$
Hôtel Luxembourg Parc,
42
rue de Vaugirard, 6e (
&
33/1/53-10-36-50;
www.luxembourg-paris-hotel.com). $$
Hôtel Saintonge,
16 rue Saintonge, 3e
(
&
44/1/42-77-91-13;
www.saintonge
marais.com).
Coffee
432
Espresso Bars
Standing Room Only
Rome, Italy
In Paris, coffee is often just an excuse to
linger for hours at a table; Italians, on the
other hand, stand at a counter to down
tiny shots of coffee before heading back
out the door in 10 minutes. Of course,
they'll dart back in to repeat the process
several times a day, during which time
Parisians won't have budged from their ad
hoc office/living rooms in the cafe.
Perhaps that's why there's an espresso
bar on nearly every corner in Rome, serving
bracing doses of strong coffee to get
Romans through their day. In a typical Ital-
ian espresso place, a skilled barista exe-
cutes a continual dance, smartly jerking the
levers and hissing spigots of his espresso
machine hundreds of times a shift. The
preferred look for an espresso bar is gleam-
ing and modern, with chrome counters,
neon signs, and impeccable cleanliness—
forget the vintage atmospheric looks that
Parisian cafes trade in. There's a limit to
