Table of Content
5 Lost Generation Cafés in Paris That Are Still Open in 2026
Most literary pilgrimages end in disappointment: the house with a plaque, the room behind a velvet rope. Paris is the rare exception. The cafés where Hemingway wrote, where Fitzgerald drank himself out of a chapter, where Stein held court and Joyce cashed checks against future books, are still open at the same addresses.
You can sit at La Closerie des Lilas and read the brass plaque with Hemingway's name on it while you order the steak tartare he ordered. You can take a Bloody Mary at the bar where the drink was invented in 1921. Below are the five Lost Generation cafés in Paris that still operate in 2026, each with its writer-anchor and the dish or drink to order today.
Contents
- Le Dôme — Hemingway's Friday Lunches in Montparnasse
- La Closerie des Lilas — The Brass Plaque and "The Sun Also Rises"
- Les Deux Magots — Where Saint-Germain Crossed Paths
- Café de Flore — The Upstairs Writers' Room
- Harry's New York Bar — Where the Bloody Mary Was Born
- The Merveil Paris Experience
- Direct Booking Benefits and Personalized Support
Le Dôme — Hemingway's Friday Lunches in Montparnasse
Le Dôme has been at 108 boulevard du Montparnasse since 1898. By the early 1920s it was the unofficial canteen of the American expat circle: Hemingway, Henry Miller, Man Ray, Anaïs Nin, Ezra Pound, often at the same long table. Hemingway came on Fridays. He wrote about it in "A Moveable Feast" and never quite stopped showing up.
The Artists' Table, Now a Brasserie de Poissons
Le Dôme today is one of the great seafood brasseries of Paris. The kitchen took that turn in the 1980s. The dining room, with its frosted glass, mahogany banquettes, and Art Deco lights, is largely the same one Hemingway knew. The bouillabaisse is the dish to order, around €68, served with rust-colored rouille and grilled croutons. It arrives whole, and the waiter ladles the broth in front of you.
What to Know Before You Sit Down
Lunch service runs from 12:15 to 2:30 p.m., dinner from 7 to 10:30 p.m., seven days a week. Reserve at least three days ahead for a Friday. If the bouillabaisse feels heavy, the sole meunière is the second classic: pan-fried whole, deboned at your table. A glass of Sancerre is the right pour.
La Closerie des Lilas — The Brass Plaque and "The Sun Also Rises"
La Closerie des Lilas opened in 1847, and Hemingway wrote chunks of "The Sun Also Rises" there in 1925, in pencil, at a corner table by the window. His name is engraved on a brass plaque set into the bar, one of about fifteen honoring writers who worked there, from Baudelaire and Verlaine to Beckett.
The Bar, the Plaque, and the Steak Tartare
The bar is where you want to be. It runs the length of a wood-paneled room with red leather banquettes, low lamps, and a pianist most evenings from 7 p.m. The plaque sits on the right side of the bar, near the brasserie entrance. Order what he ordered: the steak tartare, hand-cut, mixed at your table, around €38. The waiter brings the egg yolk, capers, Worcestershire, and Dijon in small dishes and asks the heat level. Pair it with a glass of Brouilly.
Two Sides, Two Different Evenings
La Closerie has two rooms. The brasserie, on the right, holds the plaques and the white tablecloths. Book here for the literary pilgrimage. The restaurant on the left is more formal, in a different price band. The address is 171 boulevard du Montparnasse, a five-minute walk from the Luxembourg Gardens, and the kitchen serves until 11 p.m.
Les Deux Magots — Where Saint-Germain Crossed Paths
Les Deux Magots has stood on place Saint-Germain-des-Prés since 1885, in the shadow of the abbey church. It is where Sartre and Beauvoir wrote at separate tables in the morning, where Hemingway met James Joyce for drinks, and where the Prix des Deux Magots has been awarded every January since 1933. The two wooden statues of Chinese merchants on the back wall have watched all of it.
The Terrace, the Room, the Hot Chocolate
The terrace gets the morning sun until 11 a.m. and looks straight at the abbey. Order the chocolat chaud, around €9.50: thick, dark, served in a small pitcher with a separate jug of warm milk so you can adjust. Pair it with a buttery croissant from the in-house bakery, or a slice of tarte Tatin in the afternoon.
How to Avoid the Tour Group Lunch
By 11:30 a.m. the terrace is fully tourist. Come at 8 a.m. for breakfast, at 4 p.m. for an apéritif, or at 10 p.m. for a nightcap. The kitchen serves until 1 a.m. Hemingway used Les Deux Magots as a daytime crossroads, never his writing café. You will run into French publishers from Gallimard and Grasset, whose offices are still around the corner.
Café de Flore — The Upstairs Writers' Room
Café de Flore opened in 1887 at 172 boulevard Saint-Germain, fifty yards from Les Deux Magots. Picasso painted nearby and drank here. Apollinaire used the upstairs room as his unofficial editorial office for the magazine "Les Soirées de Paris". Hemingway slipped in often. The upstairs writers' room is still in use, with the same red banquettes and small marble tables.
The Croque-Monsieur and the Room Above
The Flore croque-monsieur is the dish to order, around €15.50, made with thick country bread, gruyère, and a slice of jambon de Paris, broiled until the cheese has just blistered on top. It comes with a small green salad. The other ritual is the café crème at €7.20, served in a thick white cup. Ask for the upstairs at the host stand. The writers' table is the corner one by the rue Saint-Benoît window.
Apollinaire, Sartre, and the Prix de Flore
The Prix de Flore, founded in 1994 by Frédéric Beigbeder, is awarded here every November and comes with a glass of Pouilly-Fumé per day for a year. Sartre and Beauvoir defected here from Les Deux Magots during the Occupation because the heating worked better. Service runs from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. daily.
Harry's New York Bar — Where the Bloody Mary Was Born
Harry's New York Bar opened on Thanksgiving Day 1911 at 5 rue Daunou, two blocks from the Opéra Garnier. The address is famously coded into the cab instruction "Sank Roo Doe Noo." Hemingway and Fitzgerald drank there together. Gershwin composed parts of "An American in Paris" at the downstairs piano. The Bloody Mary was invented at the bar in 1921 by Fernand Petiot. The recipe is the same.
The Original Bloody Mary, Standing at the Bar
You order the Bloody Mary, around €18, standing at the long mahogany bar where the regulars stand. The wood is the original, polished by a hundred years of elbows. Petiot's recipe is straightforward: vodka, tomato juice, lemon, salt, pepper, Worcestershire, Tabasco. The other house drink is the White Lady, also invented at Harry's, in 1929. If the Bloody Mary is the famous one, the White Lady is the one bartenders drink.
The Downstairs Piano Bar and the Hot Dog
The downstairs Ivories piano bar opens at 10 p.m. nightly. Gershwin played that piano. Today it is a jazz pianist taking requests until 2 a.m. Upstairs the food menu is brief and intentionally American: hot dog at €12, cheeseburger at €22, club sandwich at €20. Order the hot dog. It is the dish Hemingway ate here when he was broke. The bar opens at noon and closes at 2 a.m.
The Merveil Paris Experience
A literary pilgrimage works best when your apartment is a fifteen-minute walk from the cafés. Three of the five (Les Deux Magots, the Café de Flore, La Closerie des Lilas) sit inside or adjacent to Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Le Dôme is in Montparnasse, ten minutes south on foot. Harry's is two blocks from the Louvre. Merveil Paris has residences in all the right districts.
Residences Within Walking Distance of Every Café
Our Saint-Germain apartments put you minutes from place Saint-Germain-des-Prés, with original parquet floors, three-meter ceilings, and curated libraries that include first editions of Hemingway and Fitzgerald in our larger residences. Our Louvre and Palais Royal apartments place you within a five-minute walk of Harry's.
| Café | Writer Anchor | Order Today | Closest Merveil District |
|---|---|---|---|
| Le Dôme | Hemingway (Friday lunches) | Bouillabaisse, around €68 | Saint-Germain |
| La Closerie des Lilas | Hemingway ("The Sun Also Rises") | Steak tartare at the bar, around €38 | Saint-Germain |
| Les Deux Magots | Sartre, Beauvoir, Joyce | Chocolat chaud, around €9.50 | Saint-Germain |
| Café de Flore | Picasso, Apollinaire, Sartre | Croque-monsieur upstairs, around €15.50 | Saint-Germain |
| Harry's New York Bar | Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Gershwin | Bloody Mary at the bar, around €18 | Louvre / Palais Royal |
Five-Star Service for the Literary Traveler
You will have a 24/7 concierge who can secure a reserved banquette at La Closerie, a guided tour of the Hemingway addresses with a Paris-based historian, or a private viewing of the Sylvia Beach archive at the American Library. Our private chef can recreate the menu Hemingway ate at the Closerie, in your apartment, on the night before your day at the cafés.
Direct Booking Benefits and Personalized Support
Reserving directly with Merveil Paris is the most efficient way to plan a literary stay. You deal with our team end to end, with no platform fees and a flexible 14-day cancellation window on most reservations.
Best Rates and Real People
Reserve through merveil-paris.com and you are guaranteed the most competitive rate. You also get a direct line to our office on rue Royale, a real person, available in English. If you want all five café reservations on one card, a guided Hemingway walk, or a first-edition copy of "A Moveable Feast" waiting on the desk when you arrive, the concierge handles it before you land.
A Welcome Detail You Will Remember
Guests who confirm a reservation this week receive a complimentary bottle of champagne on arrival. For a bespoke proposal, call our advisors at +33 1 76 38 11 02 or visit merveil-paris.com. We are available 24/7.
FAQ
Are the Lost Generation cafés in Paris still operating in 2026?
Yes. All five are open at the same addresses. Le Dôme since 1898 at 108 boulevard du Montparnasse; La Closerie des Lilas since 1847 at 171 boulevard du Montparnasse; Les Deux Magots since 1885; the Café de Flore since 1887; Harry's New York Bar at 5 rue Daunou since 1911. Each has been continuously in operation, with menu adjustments but no relocations.
Which café did Hemingway prefer for actual writing?
La Closerie des Lilas. He wrote chunks of "The Sun Also Rises" there in 1925, in pencil, in blue notebooks, at a corner table near the bar. The brass plaque marks the spot. He used Le Dôme and Les Deux Magots as social cafés, but his actual desk hours were at the Closerie.
Where can you order the original Bloody Mary in Paris?
Harry's New York Bar at 5 rue Daunou. Fernand Petiot invented the drink there in 1921, and the recipe (vodka, tomato juice, lemon, salt, pepper, Worcestershire, Tabasco) has not changed. Order it standing at the mahogany bar, around €18.
How long should you spend on a Lost Generation café tour?
Two days, ideally split. Day one covers Saint-Germain-des-Prés and Montparnasse: Les Deux Magots for breakfast, the Café de Flore mid-morning, Le Dôme for lunch, and La Closerie des Lilas for dinner at the bar. Day two starts with a Bloody Mary at Harry's, leaving room for the Shakespeare and Company bookshop and the Sylvia Beach addresses on rue de l'Odéon.
5 Lost Generation Cafés in Paris That Are Still Open in 2026
Most literary pilgrimages end in disappointment: the house with a plaque, the room behind a velvet rope. Paris is the rare exception. The cafés where Hemingway wrote, where Fitzgerald drank himself out of a chapter, where Stein held court and Joyce cashed checks against future books, are still open at the same addresses.
You can sit at La Closerie des Lilas and read the brass plaque with Hemingway's name on it while you order the steak tartare he ordered. You can take a Bloody Mary at the bar where the drink was invented in 1921. Below are the five Lost Generation cafés in Paris that still operate in 2026, each with its writer-anchor and the dish or drink to order today.
Contents
- Le Dôme — Hemingway's Friday Lunches in Montparnasse
- La Closerie des Lilas — The Brass Plaque and "The Sun Also Rises"
- Les Deux Magots — Where Saint-Germain Crossed Paths
- Café de Flore — The Upstairs Writers' Room
- Harry's New York Bar — Where the Bloody Mary Was Born
- The Merveil Paris Experience
- Direct Booking Benefits and Personalized Support
Le Dôme — Hemingway's Friday Lunches in Montparnasse
Le Dôme has been at 108 boulevard du Montparnasse since 1898. By the early 1920s it was the unofficial canteen of the American expat circle: Hemingway, Henry Miller, Man Ray, Anaïs Nin, Ezra Pound, often at the same long table. Hemingway came on Fridays. He wrote about it in "A Moveable Feast" and never quite stopped showing up.
The Artists' Table, Now a Brasserie de Poissons
Le Dôme today is one of the great seafood brasseries of Paris. The kitchen took that turn in the 1980s. The dining room, with its frosted glass, mahogany banquettes, and Art Deco lights, is largely the same one Hemingway knew. The bouillabaisse is the dish to order, around €68, served with rust-colored rouille and grilled croutons. It arrives whole, and the waiter ladles the broth in front of you.
What to Know Before You Sit Down
Lunch service runs from 12:15 to 2:30 p.m., dinner from 7 to 10:30 p.m., seven days a week. Reserve at least three days ahead for a Friday. If the bouillabaisse feels heavy, the sole meunière is the second classic: pan-fried whole, deboned at your table. A glass of Sancerre is the right pour.
La Closerie des Lilas — The Brass Plaque and "The Sun Also Rises"
La Closerie des Lilas opened in 1847, and Hemingway wrote chunks of "The Sun Also Rises" there in 1925, in pencil, at a corner table by the window. His name is engraved on a brass plaque set into the bar, one of about fifteen honoring writers who worked there, from Baudelaire and Verlaine to Beckett.
The Bar, the Plaque, and the Steak Tartare
The bar is where you want to be. It runs the length of a wood-paneled room with red leather banquettes, low lamps, and a pianist most evenings from 7 p.m. The plaque sits on the right side of the bar, near the brasserie entrance. Order what he ordered: the steak tartare, hand-cut, mixed at your table, around €38. The waiter brings the egg yolk, capers, Worcestershire, and Dijon in small dishes and asks the heat level. Pair it with a glass of Brouilly.
Two Sides, Two Different Evenings
La Closerie has two rooms. The brasserie, on the right, holds the plaques and the white tablecloths. Book here for the literary pilgrimage. The restaurant on the left is more formal, in a different price band. The address is 171 boulevard du Montparnasse, a five-minute walk from the Luxembourg Gardens, and the kitchen serves until 11 p.m.
Les Deux Magots — Where Saint-Germain Crossed Paths
Les Deux Magots has stood on place Saint-Germain-des-Prés since 1885, in the shadow of the abbey church. It is where Sartre and Beauvoir wrote at separate tables in the morning, where Hemingway met James Joyce for drinks, and where the Prix des Deux Magots has been awarded every January since 1933. The two wooden statues of Chinese merchants on the back wall have watched all of it.
The Terrace, the Room, the Hot Chocolate
The terrace gets the morning sun until 11 a.m. and looks straight at the abbey. Order the chocolat chaud, around €9.50: thick, dark, served in a small pitcher with a separate jug of warm milk so you can adjust. Pair it with a buttery croissant from the in-house bakery, or a slice of tarte Tatin in the afternoon.
How to Avoid the Tour Group Lunch
By 11:30 a.m. the terrace is fully tourist. Come at 8 a.m. for breakfast, at 4 p.m. for an apéritif, or at 10 p.m. for a nightcap. The kitchen serves until 1 a.m. Hemingway used Les Deux Magots as a daytime crossroads, never his writing café. You will run into French publishers from Gallimard and Grasset, whose offices are still around the corner.
Café de Flore — The Upstairs Writers' Room
Café de Flore opened in 1887 at 172 boulevard Saint-Germain, fifty yards from Les Deux Magots. Picasso painted nearby and drank here. Apollinaire used the upstairs room as his unofficial editorial office for the magazine "Les Soirées de Paris". Hemingway slipped in often. The upstairs writers' room is still in use, with the same red banquettes and small marble tables.
The Croque-Monsieur and the Room Above
The Flore croque-monsieur is the dish to order, around €15.50, made with thick country bread, gruyère, and a slice of jambon de Paris, broiled until the cheese has just blistered on top. It comes with a small green salad. The other ritual is the café crème at €7.20, served in a thick white cup. Ask for the upstairs at the host stand. The writers' table is the corner one by the rue Saint-Benoît window.
Apollinaire, Sartre, and the Prix de Flore
The Prix de Flore, founded in 1994 by Frédéric Beigbeder, is awarded here every November and comes with a glass of Pouilly-Fumé per day for a year. Sartre and Beauvoir defected here from Les Deux Magots during the Occupation because the heating worked better. Service runs from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. daily.
Harry's New York Bar — Where the Bloody Mary Was Born
Harry's New York Bar opened on Thanksgiving Day 1911 at 5 rue Daunou, two blocks from the Opéra Garnier. The address is famously coded into the cab instruction "Sank Roo Doe Noo." Hemingway and Fitzgerald drank there together. Gershwin composed parts of "An American in Paris" at the downstairs piano. The Bloody Mary was invented at the bar in 1921 by Fernand Petiot. The recipe is the same.
The Original Bloody Mary, Standing at the Bar
You order the Bloody Mary, around €18, standing at the long mahogany bar where the regulars stand. The wood is the original, polished by a hundred years of elbows. Petiot's recipe is straightforward: vodka, tomato juice, lemon, salt, pepper, Worcestershire, Tabasco. The other house drink is the White Lady, also invented at Harry's, in 1929. If the Bloody Mary is the famous one, the White Lady is the one bartenders drink.
The Downstairs Piano Bar and the Hot Dog
The downstairs Ivories piano bar opens at 10 p.m. nightly. Gershwin played that piano. Today it is a jazz pianist taking requests until 2 a.m. Upstairs the food menu is brief and intentionally American: hot dog at €12, cheeseburger at €22, club sandwich at €20. Order the hot dog. It is the dish Hemingway ate here when he was broke. The bar opens at noon and closes at 2 a.m.
The Merveil Paris Experience
A literary pilgrimage works best when your apartment is a fifteen-minute walk from the cafés. Three of the five (Les Deux Magots, the Café de Flore, La Closerie des Lilas) sit inside or adjacent to Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Le Dôme is in Montparnasse, ten minutes south on foot. Harry's is two blocks from the Louvre. Merveil Paris has residences in all the right districts.
Residences Within Walking Distance of Every Café
Our Saint-Germain apartments put you minutes from place Saint-Germain-des-Prés, with original parquet floors, three-meter ceilings, and curated libraries that include first editions of Hemingway and Fitzgerald in our larger residences. Our Louvre and Palais Royal apartments place you within a five-minute walk of Harry's.
| Café | Writer Anchor | Order Today | Closest Merveil District |
|---|---|---|---|
| Le Dôme | Hemingway (Friday lunches) | Bouillabaisse, around €68 | Saint-Germain |
| La Closerie des Lilas | Hemingway ("The Sun Also Rises") | Steak tartare at the bar, around €38 | Saint-Germain |
| Les Deux Magots | Sartre, Beauvoir, Joyce | Chocolat chaud, around €9.50 | Saint-Germain |
| Café de Flore | Picasso, Apollinaire, Sartre | Croque-monsieur upstairs, around €15.50 | Saint-Germain |
| Harry's New York Bar | Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Gershwin | Bloody Mary at the bar, around €18 | Louvre / Palais Royal |
Five-Star Service for the Literary Traveler
You will have a 24/7 concierge who can secure a reserved banquette at La Closerie, a guided tour of the Hemingway addresses with a Paris-based historian, or a private viewing of the Sylvia Beach archive at the American Library. Our private chef can recreate the menu Hemingway ate at the Closerie, in your apartment, on the night before your day at the cafés.
Direct Booking Benefits and Personalized Support
Reserving directly with Merveil Paris is the most efficient way to plan a literary stay. You deal with our team end to end, with no platform fees and a flexible 14-day cancellation window on most reservations.
Best Rates and Real People
Reserve through merveil-paris.com and you are guaranteed the most competitive rate. You also get a direct line to our office on rue Royale, a real person, available in English. If you want all five café reservations on one card, a guided Hemingway walk, or a first-edition copy of "A Moveable Feast" waiting on the desk when you arrive, the concierge handles it before you land.
A Welcome Detail You Will Remember
Guests who confirm a reservation this week receive a complimentary bottle of champagne on arrival. For a bespoke proposal, call our advisors at +33 1 76 38 11 02 or visit merveil-paris.com. We are available 24/7.
FAQ
Are the Lost Generation cafés in Paris still operating in 2026?
Yes. All five are open at the same addresses. Le Dôme since 1898 at 108 boulevard du Montparnasse; La Closerie des Lilas since 1847 at 171 boulevard du Montparnasse; Les Deux Magots since 1885; the Café de Flore since 1887; Harry's New York Bar at 5 rue Daunou since 1911. Each has been continuously in operation, with menu adjustments but no relocations.
Which café did Hemingway prefer for actual writing?
La Closerie des Lilas. He wrote chunks of "The Sun Also Rises" there in 1925, in pencil, in blue notebooks, at a corner table near the bar. The brass plaque marks the spot. He used Le Dôme and Les Deux Magots as social cafés, but his actual desk hours were at the Closerie.
Where can you order the original Bloody Mary in Paris?
Harry's New York Bar at 5 rue Daunou. Fernand Petiot invented the drink there in 1921, and the recipe (vodka, tomato juice, lemon, salt, pepper, Worcestershire, Tabasco) has not changed. Order it standing at the mahogany bar, around €18.
How long should you spend on a Lost Generation café tour?
Two days, ideally split. Day one covers Saint-Germain-des-Prés and Montparnasse: Les Deux Magots for breakfast, the Café de Flore mid-morning, Le Dôme for lunch, and La Closerie des Lilas for dinner at the bar. Day two starts with a Bloody Mary at Harry's, leaving room for the Shakespeare and Company bookshop and the Sylvia Beach addresses on rue de l'Odéon.
