Situated in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district, the Café de Flore and the Deux Magots have been social hubs for creatives and celebrities in Paris for more than a century. Surrealists, existentialists, filmmakers, actors and tourists are drawn to these two Parisian institutions ideally located just a 5-minute walk from the Hotel Danube.
The Café de Flore; frequented by the famous
© Brian Solis - Café de Flore
The Café de Flore, along with Les Deux Magots, is one of the most famous Parisian literary cafes. The most illustrious personalities of arts and letters have graced this Parisian institution since it opened in the 1880s. Its iconic red leather banquettes and elegant terrace were favoured by writers and poets such as André Breton, Guillaume Apollinaire, and two of France’s most celebrated lovers, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. In the 1960s, the Café de Flore was a rendezvous for French movie industry insiders, hosting famous filmmakers and actors such as Alain Delon, the couples Vadim and Bardot, and Montand and Signoret, as well as numerous intellectuals and artists.
Les Deux Magots; a hub of Parisian artistic and intellectual life
© Roger Salz - Les Deux Magots
Like its close neighbour, the Café de Flore, the Deux Magots has risen to the rank of café de légende. Also dating from the 1880s but partaking of the character of its early 20th century heyday, this literary cafe is a great place to soak up atmosphere. It was here that Mallarmé, Verlaine and Rimbaud used to meet and sip absinthe on the terrace. The surrealists led by André Breton gathered there with Giraudoux or Hemingway before the existentialists came to frequent the Saint-Germain jazz cellars. The Deux Magots terrace also saw the birth of Picasso's love for the photographer Dora Maar during the time he was working on Guernica.
Take a break at one of these legendary Parisian locations and you might just bump into a French or international celebrity of the arts, letters, fashion or politics ...
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Hotel du Danube, a 3 star hotel at the heart of Saint Germain des Prés