Les Deux Magots: The Artists' Literary Café

Cross the crosswalk and you'll see it: Les Deux Magots, a café that opened in 1885. We recommend it as a landmark rather than a place for a memorable meal. While you listen to the story, stand off to one side where it is less crowded.

The name comes from two Chinese porcelain figures inside the café. In French, deux means "two" and magot means a porcelain figurine. Before the café opened, the building housed a shop selling Chinese silk, so two figures symbolizing China, the home of silk, were installed inside and the café was named "Two Magots."

From the late 19th century to the mid-20th century the café was beloved by countless artists, writers and philosophers, earning the nickname "the literary café." Simone de Beauvoir, the French writer, philosopher and pioneer of the women's liberation movement, and Jean-Paul Sartre, the leading figure of existentialism, with whom she entered a free, contract-style marriage and spent her life, were regulars. So were Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince, and Albert Camus, author of The Stranger. All gathered here to discuss art and philosophy.

Beauvoir and Sartre worked here every day and treated the café like their private office. One day, Sartre got so caught up in a lively conversation with Beauvoir that he left his entire manuscript on the table. A thoughtful waiter kept it safe and handed it back when Sartre rushed in a few hours later. Picasso, they say, often sketched on napkins here. When a waiter asked why he always drew on napkins, he reportedly replied, "Because it makes the coffee taste better!"

Today, framed photographs of the artists hang at the tables they favored. If you love art and literature, take the seat your favorite artist used to sit in and imagine sharing the same space across the years. The café is famous for its hot chocolate (chocolat chaud), delicious pastries and classic croque-monsieur. If you'd like to step inside, a cup of hot chocolate is a good choice.

Our next stop is Café de Flore, just a minute's walk further in the same direction, right behind this one.