LES DEUX MAGOTS
6, place St Germain des Pres
75006 Paris

Perhaps one of the most iconic cafe-brasserie landmarks of Paris, Les Deux Magots is located right on the place St Germain des Pres opposite the church of the same name. Originally a store selling imported silk and art objects from the Orient, Les Deux Magots became a café-bar around 1885. The name Les Deux Magots comes from two Chinese figurines dating back to this period which can still be seen mounted on a wall inside the café to this day. Les Deux Magots quickly acquired a reputation as a favorite hangout of the literary and artistic communities. French poets Rimbaud and Mallarme were among its earliest patrons. Between the two World Wars, it became a watering hole for artists of the Surrealistic movement. In 1935, Paul Eluard introduced Pablo Picasso to his future mistress and muse, Dora Maar, at the café. Famous authors who frequented Les Deux Magots included Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Andre Gide, Apollinaire, Francois Mauriac and Andre Malraux to name but a few. Ernest Hemingway became a regular patron of Les Deux Magots after World War Two and in his book “The Moveable Feast,” mentions having drinks there with James Joyce.