My Top 5 Literary Paris Cafes: Harry's

Harry's is one Paris cafe that makes no pretense of being French!

Since its inception, this decidedly American "Paris Cafe" has been draped with Ivy League banners!

....and  ex-pats...
F Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein, Humphrey Bogart and, of course,  Hemingway (whose shotgun is prominently displayed in the back) all hung out here.   Americans were (and still are) told to tell any taxi driver to take them to "Sank Roo Doe Noo", a slogan born of the address, 5 Rue Daunou.

...and American specialties, like the ole hot dog, known here as a Red Hot!  (which i found to be neither red, nor particularly hot, but I wasn't going to refuse a "dog" on a pub crawl!)


Some remarkable American traditions have thrived here, like the presidential straw poll, conducted here every election since the 20's (and it's been right all but 2 times!).







Harry's could not be any more different than the neighboring Paris cafes.  There's no café on the menu. No wine.  And (how refreshing!),  no TV!

In fact, the actual interior IS American.   First owner, a prohibition-frustrated Ted Sloane, actually dismantled a bar from NYC (complete with wooden counter that still had american university plaques embedded along the edge) and shipped it to Paris!    He shortly sold it to a Harry MacElhone, who christened it with his name.


Bartenders are a little surly, but the cocktails are famous.
You've heard of the Bloody Mary?  It was born here in 1921, when the bartender played around with tomato juice and vodka, to which one patron said "it looks like my girlfriend, Mary, who I met in a cabaret".  Turns out that dance hall was the Bucket of Blood, and, thus, the drink was born!

Ever had a Monkey Shoulder (a type of whiskey sour)?  Or a Horse's Neck (that's a one-piece orange rind curl in some sort of brandy)?

Wonder which of these drinks James Bond was referring to when he said, in Casino Royale, that Harry's was the only place he could get a "solid drink"in all of Paris.

As cocktails shook rhythmically behind the bar,  George Gershwin sat in the crowd, jotting his composition for American in Paris.

Never to be confused with Harry Capriani's bar, of Venice fame, Harry's New York Bar, by Place Vendome, is one of my favorite Paris cafes!

Last year,  Harry's turned 100!

My Top 5 LIterary Paris Cafes: L'Hotel

Email me here, to hear how YOU can incorporate literary cafes into YOUR Paris vacation! 

"Either the wallpaper goes... or I do!"

You may know Oscar Wilde by his clever quotes, but did you know he spent time in prison?  
Afterwards, he moved into Room 16 at what was to become one of the most discreet but lavish Paris cafes:   L'Hotel.   Squeezed between the Latin Quarter and St Germain, L'Hotel started as the rather rundown Hotel D'Alsace where Wilde famously "lived above his means". 


"All of us are in the gutter, but some of us are looking up at the stars"

L'Alsace was eventually renovated into this prestigious Paris cafe which virtually hides down a plain street (albeit with a fancy name), Beaux-Arts,  behind this simple facade







marked only by a small plaque: 

"True friends stab you in the front"

Wilde lived, and eventually died, in Room 16,  on the 2nd floor up a stunning spiral staircase.

But downstairs, friends -- from Salvatore Dali to Frank Sinatra -- gathered in velvet chairs in the parlor of this Paris cafe,

and the clientele became so famous that cocktails today are named after them: the Born to be Wild, the Lillet Rouge Royal, and Tommy's Margarita

Rock stars, like Mick Jagger, also frequented L'Hotel as the years marched on, and, today, this Paris cafe celebrates that rock-n-roll past by showcasing new talent, Mondays at 8:30pm. 

"Always forgive your enemies -- nothing annoys them so much"

Where is this Paris cafe? 13 Rue des Beaux-Arts,  +33 1 44  41 99 00

When to go to this Paris cafe?  On your walk between Rue Huchette and St Germain, for some refreshment before the Delacroix museum

Most surprising about this Paris cafe?   There's a private hammam pool, sequestered in the basement.

Want to get a flavor for life in this Paris cafe?  Check out this video!

"A work of art is the result of a unique temperament"

My Top 5 Literary Paris Cafes: Closerie des Lilas

 

Intrigued by the literary life of 1920's Paris?   I can send you on a Cafe A Day scavenger hunt -- it's a side of Paris most travelers miss, but you shouldn't!  Email me for more info!

 In 1922,  an elated James Joyce stepped out of Shakespeare & Co, and headed straight for Closerie des Lilas, a Paris cafe known to double as his office!  He needed to celebrate – Sylvia Beach (the owner of Shakespeare & Co, which was still at its original location in the 6^th Arr) had just agreed to publish his controversial Ulysses!

Today, you can trace the steps of Joyce and other literary greats,  by visiting their storied Paris cafes.   Oscar Wilde lived, and later died, in room 16 at L’Hotel.  Hemingway frequented many Paris cafes, leaving his hunting rifle to hang today  alongside the  Red Hot sign at Harrys on Rue Daunou.  Marcel Proust consumed jugs of beer under the “belle époque”-tiled decor of Brasserie Lipp.

Here's Stop #1 (of 4) on my literary Paris cafe tour:   Closerie des Lilas!

It's not hard to find this Paris cafe, on a prominent Montparnasse corner....




But it IS hard to leave.  The tunes of the charming jazz pianist float into the dusky leather-adorned bar, where dark wooden tables have small brass plaques engraved with the names of famous patrons.

If you want to sit in Hemingway’s spot, go to the middle of the bar and look for this:

A glass of wine is about 10 €, and is a perfect compliment for the foie gras and toasts,  but the classic Paris café drink is the Kir Royale, a not-quite-sweet and very refreshing champagne with a dash of cassis, or blackberry.

Order one, then sit back and soak in the literary lore.

This Paris café started as a mere stopover on the carriage road from Fontainbleu into the city.   Over time, it drew a true mix of money-ed Parisians, straight from the nearby Bullier ball,  and penniless artists from Apollinarie to Cezanne.    

The roof over the courtyard retracted, and writers would gather to share ideas as well as dances “en plein air”. 

With prohibition going strong in the US, ex-pats from Fitzgerald to Miller found a home at Closerie des Lilas in the ‘20s,  and for the next century, this Paris café saw the birth or surrealism and  cubism, and nurtured some of our culture’s greatest minds.

Still, today, the tradition of the Arts lives on at Closerie.  As you sit in this cozy Paris cafe, it is easy to imagine Joyce crammed into a corner, surrounded by his poet comrades, gesturing strongly over a table littered with cups and half-empty glasses,  in animated chat about politics or focused recitation of their latest prose.

Where is this Paris café: 171 Boulevard du Montparnasse

When’s best to go to this Paris café:   after you’ve toured the Pantheon (want a museum pass?  Ask me why this is good!)  or before you strike out in the Montparnasse cemetery to “visit” Baudelaire.

What’s this Paris café feel like?   Click this link: http://www.closeriedeslilas.fr/  (hit “Enter”, then “Piano Bar” on left)

If you love this romantic side of Paris, let's talk more!  Text or call me, Melanie,  at this number, now!  (609) 923-0304.

Just for fun, here's a sneak peak into that famous bookstore, Shakespeare & Co, on the Left Bank.  Frequented by Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, and countless others, there's still a typewriter where anyone can sit down and start their Great American Novel... a reading room on the 2nd floor.. and this piano nook!  Stay tuned for more Paris notes, coming this winter!
  

Gargoyles of Notre Dame de Paris

700-year-old Notre Dame Cathedral, on Ile de Cite in the heart of lovely Paris, is adorned with a family of gargoyles.

Gargoyle is a french and latin term, meaning "throat", a name given to these mythical creatures who originally functioned as gutters to sluice rainwater away from the cathedral. 

Sometimes, gargoyles are referred to as chimeras, which, in Greek mythology,  was a fanciful beast or creation, that was groundless, harmless. 

But, in fact, the guide told us that gargoyles represented evil, and served as a warning to churchgoers who might consider skipping church.

Click HERE

to meet more of the Notre Dame gargoyles!