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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 6:35:50 GMT
Thread created by kerouac2 Cafés are still a major part of Parisian life, even though the number of cafés has declined by about 75% over the last 50 years. A large number of the remaining ones manage to survive by also being restaurants, but often the café activity is abandoned altogether sooner or later -- too much work for not enough money. It isn't hard to figure out why things have changed over the years, although there is no single reason. 50 years ago, the café was where some people would go to watch the television they did not have at home, while others would go to the café to escape the television. It was also a place to keep warm in the winter when one's lodging was not properly heated. France was very far behind in telephone equipment until the mid-1970's, so the café was also the place to find out what your friends were doing. I've barely scratched the surface of the social role of cafés, but it is also easy to understand why they have become obsolete in modern times due to mobile phones, the internet and just the world being so much busier than it used to be. People don't even have time these days to sit down at a café and relax. Anyway, there are 1142 cafés in Paris or one for every 1964 inhabitants. Just for comparison, Rouen is the French city with the most cafés per inhabitant (1404) followed by Lille and Rennes. The cities with the least number of cafés are Marseille (3731), Nice and Toulouse. I thought it might be useful to take photos of Parisian cafés at random before they disappear -- nice ones, seedy ones, big ones, small ones... Anybody with their own photos of cafés in Paris is more than welcome to add them to this repository.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 6:48:40 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 7:23:23 GMT
Thanks, Kerouac.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 7:26:18 GMT
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Post by bjd on Aug 19, 2014 8:28:40 GMT
My first instinct was to say that I don't go to cafés, but then realized that I do every time I go to Paris. Always to meet somebody, never on my own just to sit.
I wonder whether the fact that cafés are more numerous in the north has anything to do with the climate? It's easier to sit around anywhere outside when the weather is warmer, like in the south.
Sorry, but I don't have any photos of Parisian cafés.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 10:31:18 GMT
I never set foot in cafés either except as a social activity with friends, but I do understand people who need the "contact" of such places.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 10:52:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 14:50:18 GMT
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Post by anshjain97 on Aug 19, 2014 15:45:02 GMT
Great compilation, and I very much enjoyed the vibe of Parisien cafes when I was there, because that culture is very minimal in most of India.
In the original post, 6th picture- Cafe de la Colonnade- is that in front of the Louvre?
Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of them either- during that time I rarely took pictures of anything apart from monuments and iconic sights and the like.
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Post by htmb on Aug 19, 2014 15:49:07 GMT
I started to post a couple of photos and then I realized I was only sure one qualified for "café" status since you'd already posted a partial picture if the front. What is your actual definition of a Paris café, Kerouac?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 16:19:17 GMT
I adore Paris cafés, when I see the awnings and the seats outside I get the same warm feeling I do when I see the edifice of a traditional pub in England - it make me want to go in and order and sit and watch.
Do you think over the years, between those of us who live in Paris and those who visit from time to time, we could photograph every café?
I'm loving the building the Brasserie L'Olive is in.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 16:22:29 GMT
A café is a traditional establishment where people can sit and have a drink. It obligatorily has an espresso machine or it is not a café. There are lots and lots of sandwich and snack stands that have tables and chairs out front, but they are not cafés because their primary products are snacks and sandwiches, same thing for boulangeries that have tables and chairs. They do not qualify in my book. However, when I was going through my photos, I saw that even I got tricked a few times at first glimpse, but I deleted those places from my upload.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 16:25:32 GMT
I'm loving the building the Brasserie L'Olive is in. Quite a few buildings in my neighbourhood (where the Brasserie l'Olive is located) are like that. I have another photo coming up, probably tomorrow, that most people should enjoy, but it won't be on this thread.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 16:28:56 GMT
Yes, that building screams 18th/17th century to me. Looking forward to more photos.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 17:17:26 GMT
I understand how confusing it can be for non locals to understand exactly what a café is, since the lines have become fuzzier and fuzzier over the decades. And of course there is no lack of names to call something a café other than café: bar, bistro, bistrot, brasserie, zinc, taverne, pub, troquet, buvette... and I am barely scratching the surface. On top of that, just like in English, the names are often misused or diverted to make them seem more interesting. English speaking countries seem to have decided that a bistro/bistrot is a small restaurant, but if you use the word to a French person, the only thing that comes to mind is a café, and even the expression "la tournée des bistros" translates to "bar hopping." There are plenty of restaurants of course with the word 'bistro' in their name and also lots with the word 'café' even when they stopped operating as a café a half century ago. An English equivalent might be the misuse of the word 'inn' to mean anything from a hotel to a restaurant to a bar. When all three are rolled into one, the name is perfect, but that is rarely the case.
In the 21st century, it has become a matter of instinct. You recognise a café on sight from a number of little clues, no matter what the place is called, and yes, sometimes you are wrong but not too often. People coming from countries that do not have a café culture will probably remain confused until they learn the ropes.
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Post by tod2 on Aug 19, 2014 17:28:19 GMT
A wonderful compilation of cafe`s Kerouac! I was thrilled to see you have included my "always pay a visit when in Paris" Cafe`, namely Le Chaland. Facing the Canal Saint Martin at Quai de Valmy (and on the corner of Passage Delessert) it has been a pilgrimage for me every trip. Sometimes I've wondered why as the food is no great shakes and the toilet leads directly into the dining area. So, I guess it must be the vibe. Never eaten there surrounded by other tourists like myself - just all locals from the apartments around I guess.... You have featured some of the cafe`s in my books on Paris Bistros, Brasseries and Cafe`s. I have this awful thing with cafes & bars.....If they don't have the correct 'Parisian' seating, by which I mean those plastic wicker-looking basket weave jobs, I tend to avoid. So silly, but I'm in the Paris mood and I want the full treatment! I can sit on silver stainless steel here and plastic bucket chairs are a real no-no for me. That's going down to wedding caterers chairs.... Again, I hardly ever go inside. I love the side-by-side two chairs with a little round table to share on the terrace ( we call it the pavement and Americans, the sidewalk)- just heaven Thank you so much for this thread!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 17:53:15 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 18:10:29 GMT
I understand how confusing it can be for non locals to understand exactly what a café is, since the lines have become fuzzier and fuzzier over the decades. And of course there is no lack of names to call something a café other than café: bar, bistro, bistrot, brasserie, zinc, taverne, pub, troquet, buvette... and I am barely scratching the surface. On top of that, just like in English, the names are often misused or diverted to make them seem more interesting. English speaking countries seem to have decided that a bistro/bistrot is a small restaurant, but if you use the word to a French person, the only thing that comes to mind is a café, and even the expression " la tournée des bistros" translates to "bar hopping." There are plenty of restaurants of course with the word ' bistro' in their name and also lots with the word ' café' even when they stopped operating as a café a half century ago. An English equivalent might be the misuse of the word 'inn' to mean anything from a hotel to a restaurant to a bar. When all three are rolled into one, the name is perfect, but that is rarely the case. In the 21st century, it has become a matter of instinct. You recognise a café on sight from a number of little clues, no matter what the place is called, and yes, sometimes you are wrong but not too often. People coming from countries that do not have a café culture will probably remain confused until they learn the ropes. I have a recording of the music of St-Germain, and it has interludes of interviews between the tracks, my favourite being before Il N'y A Pas D'Amour Heureux. The interviewer says: Les quartiers de plaisir ne sont pas toujours gaies, then he interviews Alice Sapritch, an actress, who says that Léon-Paul Fargue said that he loved bistrots and "au fond, tu sait, le bistrot pour moi, c'est tout l'entreprise contre le désespoir". (Forgive my transcription, francophones!)
Moody poets are so French!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 18:17:33 GMT
Only one mistake: tu sais instead of tu sait.
As for the translation, I would give it as: In the end, you know, for me a bistrot is a mecanism to combat despair. (There are of course a number of other ways to express this idea.)
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 18:52:35 GMT
Thanks for the correction, it's been so long since I've worked on my verb tables. And yes, I believe bistrots and cafés do counter despair.
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Post by mossie on Aug 19, 2014 18:55:39 GMT
What a first class idea, will we finish up with a photo of every one? ?? I shall have to see if I can rake anything else up.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 19:15:07 GMT
I have barely set foot on the Left Bank so far, so there is a huge stock of places left to photograph.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 19:17:57 GMT
Maybe we should start keeping a running tally of names...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 19:25:26 GMT
Oh, that would be useless because the trendy cafés change names all the time...
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Post by htmb on Aug 19, 2014 21:26:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 21:35:03 GMT
I knew you'd have some, htmb. I guess we're going to have to task tod2 with this mission.
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Post by htmb on Aug 19, 2014 21:37:48 GMT
I've got a bunch more on my computer, but they're not loaded in Flickr. Some may be duplicates, while others may not really be cafés, but I'll do my best for the cause. Let me know if any need to come down, Kerouac.
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Post by fumobici on Aug 19, 2014 22:49:10 GMT
I'm surprised how many of those joints look familiar to me. I didn't think I pay much attention to cafes, but I guess I do.
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Post by tod2 on Aug 20, 2014 6:00:25 GMT
My mission will be to photograph every watering hole we imbibe at and then some which we would have to pass by, simply because I would soon be staggering around cross-eyed pointing my camera at a lampost I do have a few from past holidays and will try and find them to post here.
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Post by bjd on Aug 20, 2014 7:30:04 GMT
I'm surprised how many of those joints look familiar to me. I didn't think I pay much attention to cafes, but I guess I do. I think that's because a lot of them look alike. I kept seeing some on this thread that looked familiar, but seeing the street names realized that they in areas I rarely go.
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