Café de Flore, Art Deco coffeehouse in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, France
Café de Flore stands at a corner at 172 Boulevard Saint-Germain and shows red leather seats, mahogany furniture, and mirrored interior walls. The narrow tables line up along the window front and on the terrace, where guests can watch the street traffic.
The establishment opened in 1887 and received its name from a sculpture of the Roman flower goddess Flora on the opposite side of the street. The Art Deco interior dates from the 1920s, when Paris experienced a high point of intellectual and artistic life.
Sartre and de Beauvoir sat here regularly during the 1940s, discussing existentialist ideas. Today, regulars arrive in the morning for coffee and croissants, while tourists photograph the legendary red banquettes.
The establishment opens daily at 7:30 in the morning and closes at 1:30 at night. The terrace fills up quickly on weekends, so a visit on weekdays or early morning is recommended to find a seat.
The Prix de Flore was created in 1994 and rewards the winner with a glass of white wine daily for an entire year at this establishment. Many writers and artists still come here to work in the same rooms where philosophy and literature once emerged.
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