The Cafés of Paris: A Guide, Second Edition [Paperback]

Christine Graf (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In which café did Robespierre play chess? Where was Napoleon forced to leave his hat in lieu of payment when he forgot his purse? In what establishment did Simone de Beauvoir find respite from loneliness after Sartre left for the Front? The Cafés of Paris ... a Guide provides much more than the encyclopedic listing of establishments one might expect.

In rich detail, author Christine Graff has conjured up the kind of book no lover of Paris should be without. "In the 11th arrondissement, close to the Bastille on the rue Saint-Sabin is a real find: the Café de L'Industrie.... Here, in a café that looks as if it might have been Bogart's just before he went off to Casablanca, you can sip coffee for five francs standing or nine francs seated at the dark red banquettes next to old wood tables. Faded cream walls, the frosted Deco glass, old photos of French celebrities, Oriental rugs well past their first splendor, an artsy crowd, and strains of traditional French folksinging coming from the back create an ambiance of Old France."

Flavored with witticisms from Montesquieu to Henry Miller, The Cafés of Paris shines like the city itself. Chapter titles such as "The Ratman of Paris and Other Café Stories," "A Cheapskate's Guide to Cafes," and "Parisians Discuss Their Favorite Cafes" offer only a hint of the wealth of information to be found in this charming guide. --Jhana Bach --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

Graf, who has been visiting Paris annually for 25 years, has compiled a compact, attractively priced guide to Parisian cafes. Each chapter is organized around a theme, ranging from the American cafes favored by Hemingway and the Lost Generation to the Left Bank cafes frequented by Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, the artists' cafes of Montmartre and Montparnasse, and Inspector Maigret's favorite haunts. The guide is packed with anecdotes about French and American literati and artists. Even if the reader is not planning a trip to Paris, these anecdotes alone make the book worth reading. Listings for cafes include information about location, telephone number, hours, prices, nearest Metro station, and maps. Additionally, there is a brief description about the ambience and decor of each cafe, a chapter in which Parisians discuss their favorite cafes, and a section on where to obtain the cheapest coffee in Paris. It is a pity there are no photographs. This is nice coverage of a subject that usually gets cursory treatment in most guidebooks. Recommended for general travel collections.?Ravi Shenoy, Hinsdale P.L., Ill.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Interlink Pub Group Inc; 2 edition (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566562783
• ISBN-13: 978-1566562782
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,385,439 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All for the Price of a Cup of Coffee, March 29, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cafes of Paris: A Guide (Paperback)

The book, "Cafes of Paris," offers American tourists the cheapest and, I believe, the most entertaining and comfortable way to experience Paris, especially with the weak U.S. dollar. You can sit in a coffee shop for hours - reading and enjoying Paris street life - all for the price of a cup of coffee. Inexpensive lunches can be shared with friends in the cafe's casual atmosphere. The book is extremely well organized for the sight-seer; cafes are indexed by tourist attraction and arrondissement with the nearest metro stop and the price of a cup of coffee available at a glance. And if you aren't going to Paris, read the humorous anecdotes, descriptions of the decor, and the literary history of cafe life for a vicarious mini-vacation. Revised in 2000, prices have gone up but the richness of Paris cafe life will never be out of date.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars more history than anything, May 1, 2002

By 

trystan "trystan" (Silicon Valley, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Cafés of Paris: A Guide, Second Edition (Paperback)

This book is mostly about cafes of the past. Very interesting reading if you're a fan of Sartre, Hemmingway, etc., & the book has plenty about those writers' cafe haunts & habits. But there's not much about what these cafes are like today or what modern cafes are the big literary hangouts.

3 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is the finest informational book on Paris cafes, January 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cafes of Paris: A Guide (Paperback)

I first had the pleasure of reading the Cafes of Paris guide book just last year as a young woman travelling to Paris for the first time. Since the book was written by my high-school English/Spanish teacher, Christine Graf, the greatest Spanish/English/French teacher of all time, it naturally was a masterpiece!! I recommend that everyone buy this book because she is forced to make her living as a school teacher, and the book is truly wonderful and has vital information for anyone who ever travels to Paris or dreams of travelling to Paris(the city of lights!!!)