Café de la Rotonde, Art deco restaurant in Montparnasse, France.
Café de la Rotonde is an Art Deco restaurant on Boulevard du Montparnasse featuring large mirrors, red velvet benches, and white tablecloths that create an elegant dining space. Natural light streams through tall windows and illuminates the interior, making it bright and inviting throughout the day.
Victor Libion founded the restaurant in 1911, and it quickly became a central meeting place for international artists during the early twentieth century. The space grew important because painters and sculptors from many countries gathered there and shaped the artistic movements of the time.
Artists who frequented this place sometimes paid with their artwork instead of money, showing how welcoming it was to creative people. This practice made it a gathering spot where painters and sculptors felt accepted and could network with each other.
The restaurant is open daily from early morning until late evening and offers parking as well as a separate room for smaller groups. Visitors should know that the place is quite popular and can become crowded depending on the time of day.
In the 1920s, the establishment became known for allowing women to smoke on the outdoor terrace, which was unusual at that time. This freedom attracted a new circle of visitors, including the prominent art collector Peggy Guggenheim.
Location: Paris
Inception: 1910
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible
Address: Boulevard du Montparnasse
Opening Hours: Monday-Sunday 07:30-24:00
Phone: +33143264826
Website: https://larotonde-montparnasse.fr
GPS coordinates: 48.84236,2.32921
Latest update: December 6, 2025 16:01
Paris has several dozen historic cafés that have endured centuries, retaining their original decor and unique character. These establishments, some over three hundred years old, have hosted generations of artists, writers, and thinkers, making them places for creation and intellectual discussion. Their listed facades, velvet benches, and antique mirrors today testify to an era when cafés served as important social and cultural hubs. Le Procope, founded in 1686, remains the oldest operating café in Paris and has welcomed figures such as Voltaire, Diderot, and revolutionary leaders. On Boulevard Saint-Germain, Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots have marked 20th-century literary history by hosting Sartre, Beauvoir, and Hemingway. In Montparnasse, La Rotonde gathered Picasso and Modigliani in the 1910s, while La Closerie des Lilas became a meeting point for American writers of the lost generation. More recent but equally storied, Café de la Paix near the Opera and Angelina on Rue de Rivoli continue the tradition of grand Parisian establishments where visitors come for both the decor and the cuisine.
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