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In spring and summer, the innumerable café terraces dotting the Left and Right Banks of the Seine make Paris a friendlier place, as though slowing down time in this bustling city. The city has many unusual and remarkable café terraces, some near famous architectural sites, others nestled away in green and natural settings - but all are located in the heart of Paris.

In Paris, cafés and their terraces are both a national institution and a way of life. Often somewhat small, apartments in France’s capital are an indirect source of revenue for the city’s café owners. Cafés in Paris serve as an extension of one’s home and punctuate the lives of many of the city’s inhabitants. Some come to read the paper or a book, others to ponder life, write the novel of the century, or finish up office work. Adepts of the café serré (good, strong coffee) - the price of a cup of coffee, incidentally, is a barometer of the cost of life in Paris - will down their demitasse at the bar or zinc (counter) at the crack of dawn before starting a busy day. Others prefer variations on the theme: cafénoisette (with a drop of milk), café allongé (espresso drawn out with water) and the petit or grand crème (small/large cup of white coffee).

At lunchtime, the café takes on another function, becoming the place to go for a quick bite to eat, alone or with colleagues, with business contacts or with friends. When the weather gets warm, this pause is enjoyed, preferably, on the café terrace. And in the evening, before going home, many Parisians stop off at the terrace for a refreshing glass of Perrier citron (Perrier with a slice of lemon), a glass of white wine, or even dinner. Some terraces are equipped with heat lamps for cooler evenings, such as the Café du Marché in the 7th district.

For many people, meeting up at the café provides a time for conversation and exchange in a neutral setting, often as a preliminary to inviting somebody to one’s home. The Fumoir, a cosy café renowned for its big, leather armchairs, dimmed lighting and wide selection of international newspapers, is a very popular spot for an aperitif, especially in financial circles.

Meeting at a café can also be a geographical compromise, enabling Parisians to meet up at the halfway point, determined using a metro map to count the number of stops. Centrally located locations familiar to everybody generally win favour. The four cafés in the Tuileries Gardens, near the Louvre, with their burgundy-coloured parasols, are sought out in spring and summer by Parisians and tourists alike until late in the evening, in particular Dame Tartine. A bit further away, the more select ambiance of the elegantly decorated Café Marly, with a terrace looking out onto the Louvre Pyramid, is also much coveted. Nearby, the silhouette of the Comédie-Française falls over the Nemours, on the Place Colette, while a stone’s throw away away, under the arcades of the Palais-Royal Gardens, peaceful terraces welcome Parisians in a timeless setting, right at the heart of the financial district. The Paris Opéra is located in the same vicinity, which boasts the legendary Café de la Paix, a favourite with tourists.

In the Marais, cafés and terraces such as the Victor Hugo are nestled under the arcades of the historical Place des Vosges. Further down the road, the leafy terraces of the Place Sainte-Catherine offer a delightful peace haven. But if you’re looking for a real change of scenery, then a visit to the Jemmapes is a must. Visiting this summertime bar feels a bit like playing hooky from school, explains Marie Leyre, a thirty-something woman who moved to Paris from the provinces and works in theatre. “At this summertime bar, you can order a drink at the bar and sip it on the water’s edge while enjoying a terrific view of the Canal Saint-Martin, before taking in, around 5 or 6pm, the lovely evening hues of the sky”. While the natural decor or the architectural setting often give Parisian cafés an extra dose of soul, certain very typical establishments assert themselves in all simplicity. According to Marie Leyre, these cafés acquire a unique personality. For instance, near the Bastille, on the Avenue Ledru Rollin, the Bistrot du Peintre seduces customers with its “wooded and warmdécor, and its intimate atmosphere - it’s an extremely Parisian and trendy place”.

On the Left Bank, near Montparnasse, with the Closerie des Lilas, or in the Latin Quarter, near the Sorbonne University, cafés are often viewed as “temples” of literary and artistic life, or as the “central nervous system of intellectual or political life”, with the Brasserie Lipp, for example. In Saint-Germain-des-Prés, writers and publishers often meet near the neighbourhood’s renowned publishing houses, such as Gallimard or Grasset. Literary prizes are even awarded at Le Flore and Aux Deux Magots, two cafés with worldwide fame. Le Flore is redolent with the memory of men of letters such as Guillaume Apollinaire, André Breton and André Malraux, who also spent time at Aux Deux Magots, a café much appreciated by foreign writers such as Hemingway, Stefan Zweig and Bertolt Brecht, among others. In the fifties, this same café became the legendary HQ and salon of writer Jean-Paul Sartre, the father of existentialism and Simone de Beauvoir’s companion, after they deserted the Flore, their home base during the German Occupation. While cafés can serve as fertile ground for the formulation of new ideas and the painstaking production of manuscripts, they are also used by journalists as the setting for interviews, such as the café of the Hôtel Lutétia, highly prized by women’s fashion magazine Elle, or the Café Beaubourg, where the worlds of media, the arts and fashion rub shoulders in a vast venue enhanced by a library. However, for a bird’s eye view of the city, a trip to the top floor of Beaubourg (Pompidou Centre) is essential. From the Georges café, visitors can take in a breathtaking view of the Paris rooftops and even challenge themselves by trying to spot, from the café’s terrace, the city’s most recognizable monuments, such as the Invalides or the Pantheon.

Written Inès Chapron-Somarriba taken from Actualité en France 2005 (magazine of the ministry of Foreign Affairs)