Café Procope
Ce point d’intérêt est disponible en audio dans le circuit: Visit Paris, Sorbonne University, Pantheon and Luxembourg Gardens
You’re now strolling past the Saint-André Commerce Courtyard and the Café Procope. This passageway was built along the line of the ancient ramparts constructed by Philippe Auguste, one of the seven walls that have protected the city over the centuries. You can even spot the remnants of an old fortification tower inside the restaurant at number 4. The Procope café on your right dates back to 1686! It was founded by a Sicilian named Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, who brought the coffee craze to Paris. Some places just have that certain something, you know. There must be something in the air, sparking creativity and innovation, inspiring great minds to think big. You see, this was the go-to meeting place of Voltaire, Rousseau and Diderot. Then, during the French Revolution, this very same place became a hub of political activity, frequented by figures like Marat, Robespierre, and Danton, who lived right across the street! In the following centuries, it was a favorite haunt of poets and writers, including George Sand, Musset, Verlaine, Hugo, and Balzac. Quite a crowd. Some even say that Benjamin Franklin would come here during his time in France to work on drafts of the US Constitution! Today, the café wears its history with pride, displaying revolutionary texts, as well as plaques, medals of former customers and even a hat that Napoleon had left behind. The walls here are a tapestry of memories, and yet, it’s the revolutionary journalist, Camille Desmoulins who paints the most vivid picture: “This café is not adorned with mirrors, gilding and busts like all others, but rather with the memory of the Great Men who frequented it and whose works could cover every inch if they were kept here.”
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