Friends of mine are going to France this summer, and I thought it would be fun to send them to cafes where famous artists and writers used to hang out. Can you think of any off hand?

Tell them to head for MOntmartre for the authentic impoverished artist atmosphere under the Sacre Coeur...

If they only get to one Paris Cafe then Les Deux Magots or the Cafe de Flore, they are side by side on the Boulevard Saint-Germain... Albert Camus, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir to name just a few all used to frequent the two... it was pretty notorious for the desolute artists and intellectuals etc that gathered there..

Sacre Coeur was on my list, as was the high profile Les Deux Magots. I've recently heard about another, La Ruche, in the rue de Dantzig. Apparently it's still a refuge for artists .

that should be enough to keep hem goibg then... there is so much to see in Paris, that they won't want to spend too much time on just one thing..

You might suggest they go to the Moulin Rouge as well... it is awfully touristy these days, but the can can live is still something worth going to!

stav1 wrote:
that should be enough to keep hem goibg then... there is so much to see in Paris, that they won't want to spend too much time on just one thing.

We went to Paris and hated it, I was really glad when it was time to leave. Different places attract different peope

Out of curiosity, what was it that put you off? Did you go during high tourist season, by any chance?