This year marks 20 years since I left home and moved to Paris where I ended up staying over 5 years. Since I left in 2000, I have had the good fortune to have visited the city fairly regularly and one of the things I have noticed, especially over the past few years is how the coffee scene has changed. When I moved to Paris in early 1995, decent coffee was nowhere to be found. the whole idea of the “café culture” sounded so romantic yet the reality was that whilst sitting on a café terrace people watching for a few hours was a great way to pass the time, the coffee that accompanied this activity was sub-par (and that’s putting it niucely). Coming from Australia where we I the good fortune to have grown up with a great coffee culture, (thanks to the huge influx of Europeans migrants in the 1950s who brought good quality coffee (espresso) to the country), I had been spoiled. As a high school student, I felt so sophisticated when, on a Friday afternoon, I would gather with my girlfriends at the now defunct Al Fresco Café on Rundle Street (which opened in 1980 and was one of the first in Adelaide to introduce the patio people-watching culture, sadly closing its doors in 2012) and order a cappuccino. We all felt SO sophisticated!
Needless to say, arriving in Paris in 1995 I was a little lost without my daily coffee fix but over the past few years, thanks to some of the newer coffee drinking establishments – often owned and operated by Australians! – I have able to order fabulous coffee – there is so much choice these days and it seems that a new place is popping up every week. No matter where you are staying, you aren’t too far from a decent cortado or flat white.
Here, in no particular order (and this is a work in progress and obviously not an exhaustive list) are some of my favourite places to enjoy my java in Paris:
La Caféothèque de Paris
La Caféothèque de Paris
52, rue de l’Hôtel-de-Ville
75004 Paris
http://www.lacafeotheque.com/
Ob-La-Di
Ob-La-Di
54 Rue de Saintonge,
75003 Paris
https://www.facebook.com/ObLaDiParis
Fondation Café
Fondation Café
16 Rue Dupetit-Thouars,
75003 Paris
https://www.facebook.com/fondationcafe
HolyBelly
HolyBelly
19 Rue Lucien Sampaix,
75010 Paris
http://holybel.ly/
Café Kitsuné
Café Kitsuné
51 Galerie de Montpensier,
75001 Paris
http://kitsune.fr/
Télescope
Télescope
5 Rue Villedo,
75001 Paris
http://www.telescopecafe.com/
Loustic
Loustic
40 Rue Chapon,
75003 Paris
https://www.facebook.com/cafeloustic
Folks and Sparrows
Folks and Sparrows
14 Rue Saint-Sébastien,
75011 Paris
https://www.facebook.com/folksandsparrows
Merci
Merci
111 Boulevard Beaumarchais,
75003 Paris
http://www.merci-merci.com
Boot Café
Boot Café
19 Rue du Pont aux Choux,
75003 Paris
http://cargocollective.com/bootcafe/
Ten Belles
Ten Belles
10 Rue de la Grange aux Belles,
75010 Paris
http://www.tenbelles.com/
Café Craft
Café Craft
24 Rue des Vinaigriers,
75010 Paris
http://cafe-craft.com/home/
You might also enjoy:
Good Coffee in Paris
The best coffee in Paris via Time Out (March 2015)
Paris by Mouth’s guide to decent coffee
Lindsey’s ever-evolving guide to Paris coffee on Lost in Cheeseland
Ah, to be a coffee lover in Paris these days 🙂 Thanks for mentioning my article!
Wow, the coffee has changed, but is it hot?
I’ve always been a tea drinker, but moving into an Italian neighbourhood in my youth gave me an appreciation for good coffee, too. Your list must have been an awful lot of fun to compile.
LOL – I just love that some of the best Eureopean coffee houses are run by Aussies. I am liking the look of th everything at Merci.
Manila has some decent coffee shops but nothing like Paris!
Well it’s only been in the past few years that these have all popped up…
Mardi, I love this post. As an Aussie who is truly spoilt for coffee, travelling seems to often disappoint on the coffee front. I am going to put this post in my Paris Planning list. I am also going to give you a little bonus surprise for this contribution to Paris in July. drop me an email with your address and I’ll send you a gift.. Thanks so much.
Bookmarking this one!!