Picasso, Café de Flore, 1939. Photo by Brassaï
The Café de Flore, opened in the 1880s during the Third Republic, is celebrated for its famous clientele which have included some of the greatest French writers and philosophers. Georges Bataille, Robert Desnos, Léon-Paul Fargue, Raymond Queneau were all regulars, along with the artist Pablo Picasso. Jean-Paul Sartre spoke of the café during the war: “We got completely settled here: from 9 a.m. till noon we worked here, then we went for a lunch and at 2 p.m. were coming back and talked with friends till 8 in the evening. After the dinner we arranged meetings with friends here. It can seem strange but we are at home at the Café de Flore”.
After the war Juliette Gréco, Ernest Hemingway, Trumane Capote, later Roman Polonski, Brigitte Bardot, Alain Delon, Belmondo and Yves Saint Laurent all were regulars. Juliette Gréco has said, “In Flore people are less ugly than anywhere else”.
Located at the corner of Boulevard Saint-Germain and Rue Saint-Benoît with its interior of red seating, mahogany and mirrors little changed from World War II, the cafe is still as popular as it ever was.
Le Café de Flore par Jeanloup Sieff (1933-2000), en 1975.
Le Café de Flore Robert Doisneau (1912-1994), en 1949.
Devant le Café de Flore par © Bernard Lipnitzki, en juin 1959.
Paul Almasy Café de Flore Paris 1960s
En face du Café de Flore, un jour de pluie par © Maurice Bonnel, vers 1955.
Au Café de Flore par © Léon Herschtritt, en 1960.
Paris 1966 (Paul Almasy)
Boris Lipnitzki, Le Café de Flore – Paris 1959
Ed van der Elsken, Café de Flore, Paris 1953
Edouard Boubat – Cafe De Flore, Paris, 1953
1946 (Willy Ronis)
1900
Alla and her dog sitting at Cafe de Flore,Paris, 1952. Photo by · Robert Capa
Christer Stromholm : Café de Flore – Paris, 1949
Paris – 1949 – Photo by Robert Doisneau
French writers in the Cafe de Flore
Brassaï – jean Paul Sartre – café de Flore – Paris 1944
Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gelhorn
In the snow
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