The cafes of Paris are the most iconic institutions about the city. Everyone writes about them. Beyond the must-see sights there, like that certain pointy tower and the big museum and the stone church, everything you read commands you to take pleasure in hanging out in a Parisian café.
The institution of a café started around the time of the French Revolution, along with the assurgency of the coffee-drinking habit, which is how these gathering spots developed anyway. People didn’t make coffee at home, any more than they made bread at home. You go to a certain place for it. The age of coffee grew with the age of the leisure class, who joined the already monied gentry as having some free time to simply hang out.
That’s why cafes are named just for coffee. In Britain, pubs (public houses) filled this role of gathering people together, and in America, bars did, but continental Europe developed this establishment that expanded into other drinks and into food. Paris even today isn’t much on bars and pubs — people mostly still go to a café to do their drinking. It’s not even a city known for nightclubs. People would rather crowd a café.
Every article about cafés must mention, seemingly by law, these two points:
—The French use a café as an extension of their living room. People read books there, or write books there. Meetings, gatherings, rendez-vous are set up not in people’s houses, but in cafés.
—Ordering something in a Parisian café is not just substance; it’s rent. You get to hang at your table as long as you like. If you want to order one simple coffee and hang there for three hours working on your novel, eh bien, that’s your affair.
It’s often easy to spot the visitors and the natives in a café, as the Parisians look as relaxed in a café as they do at home. I feel cafés and public parks are where Parisians are most at ease. Visitors are often a bit uneasy because a café doesn’t quite feel the same as a restaurant. The waitstaff comes over to ask want you want without offering a menu, although they do exist. After that, they leave you alone.
There are no couches. No one cares about providing outlets for your laptop, nor do they care about wifi. Tables are small, not very stable, and are rather close together. Sometimes visitors sit, get their drink, and wonder what the fuss is about, especially as the average cup of coffee in a Paris café isn’t all that great. I’ve seen “French Roast” referred to as “burning the evidence“.
You can usually get a better cuppa back home in New Zealand. In fact, don’t expect epicurean bliss at any random café. Some cafés are known for their great coffee, or wine, or food, and the rest are simply not.
Cafés are far more public and more open than restaurants, bars, pubs, and coffeehouses elsewhere. Notice how every table has chairs only on one side, facing the street, because one large function of a café is to watch the world go by. Friends don’t sit across from each other; they sit side by side, both facing outward.
Some writers gush about cafés, probably because they write essays entitled “The Pleasures of a Paris Café”. I feel they are overly romanticized, but it’s true that cafés are awfully nice to have around. They remind you that you can always take a break, in a decent spot. They have an irritating habit of not appearing immediately when you really need one, but keep walking and one will show up.
Cafés will force you to slow down. It takes time to get the waitstaff, have them bring you something, get the bill. You have to flag someone down for everything. No one is in a hurry in a café, as that’s the whole point, and sometimes that’s irritating.
If you’re more interested in just a coffee or a beer than a café experience, pick a working class café (cheaper) and go inside to the counter, the bar. It may be small, with no stools, but you can order there and get your drink quickly, and since you’re not taking up table space, they charge you less.
Café de Flor above, in St-Germain, is but one of many places overly famous because of all the illustrious and notorious people who used (past tense) to hang out there, a list that almost always includes Hemingway. Today, these cafes can feel as dead as their former patrons, but the rush of history may be worth one visit. If you go, you’ll pay for it.
I’ve seen far too many “How to enjoy a café” lists to want to create my own, but I’ll just throw out a few points:
- Relax. This is your space.
- To truly explore your café options, look pensive when the waiter arrives and then ask for “la carte”, which is the menu, often an abbreviated drink menu. Asking the waiter for a suggestion is fine.
- Pick your café and your seat for the people-watching abilities.
- Find a habitual café, one you can call your own. This should be a place where the waitstaff warms up the second time they see you.
- Breakfast is cheaper and more interesting at a café than at your hotel, but it’s still not very good, unless it’s brunch. The French don’t really eat breakfast anyway.
Just love, love, love this post. Pictures are stunning, and the black & white makes them so much more dramatic. The narrative is succinct, yet all-encompassing. I feel like going to one of these cafes right now for a few hours of writing!
While reading you post, all the while I was just thinking how vibrant the places would have been in real when you were there! I wish I could see the colours in the post.
Love the photo essay. For the first time, I have seen a filly black and white post and I must say, it is amazing. love the way you have captured the essence of cafes!
Thaks! If you like this, check out the other B&W photo essays—links at the bottom of the page.
I LOVE your concept on this post! 🙂 I’ve always loved monochrome photography and you managed to capture so much movement and magic in yours! thanks for sharing.
love the way you tell about this place. It’s amazing information the places with wonderful pics. I’ve never gone there before. Noted it!
How I wish the cafes here in Manila are also like in Paris. Its a lifestyle that doesn’t need to be extravagant. I like it!
Beautiful black and white pictures! I’d love to read a book or write in there, even if you say sometimes slow down can be irritating
I love your photo essay, you have surprised very well the relaxed feeling of the Parisians that you are talking about in your post. I haven’t been to Paris but I did find this feeling in the spanish and italian cities, where you just have coffee in order to watch the world go by. And I love doing the same.
There’s nothing that I enjoy more in Paris than just sitting outside enjoying a coffee while watching the people walk by… Your photography is amazing, thanks so much for sharing!
I wish I would have had more time for dining and cafe experiences in Paris. So much to offer in that realm. Love the black and white!
I feel like saying I love your pictures is an understatement. The narrative and images blend together effortlessly and the way you capture the actual moment on people’s faces is absolutely stunning. Ab.So.freaking.Wonderful.post!
High praise indeed! Thanks!
I love reading this post and interesting information which you’ve shared about French Cafes! Your pictures are just breathtaking!
I love everything about this post as it reflects the Parisian life that I adore. The cafes in Paris are such wonderful subjects as there is so much life in people. The beauty and wonder of the city comes through every time. Great photo essay indeed.
Love how you’ve gone in depth about the cafe culture, and to be honest, it’s one of the best things about Paris. And okay, they do some of the best cheeses and breads so maybe it’s fine that they relinquish the best coffee award to somewhere else 😉
Good point! I’ll try to stop complaining.
I too have wondered several times why having coffee at one of the crowded, tightly packed tables so romanticized. I roamed in that city for a couple of days, never did I feel like sitting at one of those tables. Your B&W pics depict that same suffocation. Loved this different take. At the same I will say Paris is vibrant and we have to look at other places too. :0
Thanks much for understanding that I was trying to show a few sides of the cafe-sitting. Some people get into it, some don’t. Either way, the coffee could at least be better.
Loved this post. I loved your pictures too. Did not know so much trivia about cafes. I loved all of them in Europe for the precise reason that you have cited – just watching people and life around 😀
Incredible shots! Browsing through your pictures drifted me back in time. It was as if I was watching some old classic movie and the real Paris I have ever imagined it to be. Thanks for this amazing post!
Oh, the photos looked soo awesome! If there is one reason I want to go to Paris is to have a glimpse of coffee culture. And your photos captured such culture well! Great job!
My first read of this kind! Loved this concept and all the pictures are just fabulous!
I love sitting at a Parisian café and watching the world go by – I always think London should have more cafés.
My mother always makes me go to Café de Flore. It’s lovely but the prices are crazy!
Really enjoyed reading this and it’s a great idea to capture locals and tourists when they think nobody’s watching!