Is there anything more stereotypically Parisian than sipping an espresso on a street-side terrace? Vive la France, where the national pastime is people watching, and the people passing by are well groomed and seductively uninterested if you’re watching them or not.
The cafe scene is a magical aspect of Parisian culture that has roots as far back as 1686. The burst in popularity of cafes in the 1940s mirrored the post-war burst of creativity in French literature. Today, the cafes in Paris mix past and present, romance and cynicism, energy and calm, pleasure and practicality. From Cafe des Chats, a popular lunch spot near the LGBT center that is filled with free-roaming cats to Anti-Cafe, where you pay by the hour for a clean work space, a functional printer, and a buffet of drinks and snacks–cafes in Paris are diversifying and adapting to the demands of a 21st-century clientele. Thankfully, some traditions have continued to be safeguarded. Where else, besides Les Deux Magots, can you indulge in a 3,200 euro bottle of Petrus 1999 Pomerol in the lingering presence of Andre Gide, Simone de Beauvoir, and Jean-Paul Sartre? Yet even these famous institutional palimpsests have loosened their bow-ties over the years. The cafe scene in Paris today is modern, diverse, and casual.
Highlighted below are some of my favorite cafes in Paris. I’ve specifically left out cafes that would otherwise be great cafes, where I’ve experienced anti-gay hostility from staff or clientele, such as Cafe Lomi in the 18th district, or where I’ve noticed a particularly high rate of pickpocketing, such as Ten Belles in the 10th district along Canal Saint-Martin.
Image via Marco Munda
The post Eating Out: Paris appeared first on Purple Roofs Gay Travel Blog.