Literary Paris?
September 12, 2023 1:00 AM Subscribe
For someone who is visiting Paris soon and enjoys reading about The Lost Generation and the existentialists, where would be some good places to visit? So far I've only got Les Deux Magots (and Saint-Germain-des-Pres), Shakespeare & Co, La Sorbonne, Montparnasse Cemetery. Are tourists allowed to enter the Bibliotheque Nationale at all? Also, any bookstore recs besides Shakespeare & Co would be appreciated!
The Bibliotheque Nationale is apparently open to the public, according to this blog entry
Claudine Hemingway is a relative of Ernest and gives tours of Paris related to his time in Paris
There are several articles, blog posts, and other self-guided tours and lots of other references. Searching for
Hemingway and Paris seems to generate a ton of such links.
Searching for Sartre in Paris also turns up a few links.
The movie "Midnight in Paris" might be worth a watch as its plot involves time travel back to the Paris of the Lost Generation and was filmed in Paris and shows many of the locations you might be interested in.
Bon voyage!
posted by statusquoante at 5:10 AM on September 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
Claudine Hemingway is a relative of Ernest and gives tours of Paris related to his time in Paris
There are several articles, blog posts, and other self-guided tours and lots of other references. Searching for
Hemingway and Paris seems to generate a ton of such links.
Searching for Sartre in Paris also turns up a few links.
The movie "Midnight in Paris" might be worth a watch as its plot involves time travel back to the Paris of the Lost Generation and was filmed in Paris and shows many of the locations you might be interested in.
Bon voyage!
posted by statusquoante at 5:10 AM on September 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
The Bibliothèque Nationale is open to the public, though some spaces require a ticket and some are reserved for students/researchers. Also be aware that there are 4 sites, Richelieu is the one with beautiful old architecture recently renovated.
I second the suggestion for the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, but be aware you need to apply for a card to get in or else there are free visits Wednesday and Saturday afternoons which you need to reserve in advance.
The city of Paris has a great list of literary attractions, including specialist libraries, literature-related museums, bookstores and cafés, the stands of book sellers along the Seine, and a map of novels set in Paris.
posted by orchidee at 5:51 AM on September 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
I second the suggestion for the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, but be aware you need to apply for a card to get in or else there are free visits Wednesday and Saturday afternoons which you need to reserve in advance.
The city of Paris has a great list of literary attractions, including specialist libraries, literature-related museums, bookstores and cafés, the stands of book sellers along the Seine, and a map of novels set in Paris.
posted by orchidee at 5:51 AM on September 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
La Closerie des Lilas in Montparnasse is worth a peek or a drink (it's a pricey restaurant now but preserved.) Many literary greats met there.
posted by Elsie at 6:15 AM on September 12, 2023
posted by Elsie at 6:15 AM on September 12, 2023
Cafe de Flore, where Simone de Beauvoir and Sartre used to hang out because there was heat. Fewer tourists than Les Deux Magots. Also has the best hot chocolate in the entire world IMO.
posted by luckdragon at 7:04 AM on September 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by luckdragon at 7:04 AM on September 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
This doesn't answer your question directly but may be helpful to know: I was just in Paris this week and Shakespeare & Co was on my list, but I didn't get there until later in the afternoon and the line to get in was down the block. Couldn't even get near the building, really. :( So you might want to plan to do that one first thing in the morning, or research best times to go!
posted by carlypennylane at 7:40 AM on September 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by carlypennylane at 7:40 AM on September 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
As others have said, the Bibliothèque nationale is more or less open to the public. Site Richelieu is probably the location you'd be most likely to visit. It has a museum section, and you can poke your head into the famous and gorgeous oval reading room. There's a very good restaurant nearby that is open for lunch and dinner Tu-Sa: Juveniles. You would need to call for reservations but they speak English.
The "new" BnF site is François-Mitterrand in the 13th. That's the one that is described in the blog post link above, with the Globes of Coronelli on display. It's absolutely 100% worth a visit if you're interested in the world's great libraries, it has interesting displays and, I mean, it's just cool to be in a freakin huge library (but I'm a librarian). And it's super easy to get to on the Metro. But again if you had to choose one you'd likely want to go to Richelieu.
If Shakespeare & Co. is too busy, there's another English-language bookstore called The Red Wheelbarrow directly adjacent to le Jardin de Luxembourg. It's tiny but lovely, and near to many other interesting places in the 5th/6th.
posted by CheeseLouise at 8:03 AM on September 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
The "new" BnF site is François-Mitterrand in the 13th. That's the one that is described in the blog post link above, with the Globes of Coronelli on display. It's absolutely 100% worth a visit if you're interested in the world's great libraries, it has interesting displays and, I mean, it's just cool to be in a freakin huge library (but I'm a librarian). And it's super easy to get to on the Metro. But again if you had to choose one you'd likely want to go to Richelieu.
If Shakespeare & Co. is too busy, there's another English-language bookstore called The Red Wheelbarrow directly adjacent to le Jardin de Luxembourg. It's tiny but lovely, and near to many other interesting places in the 5th/6th.
posted by CheeseLouise at 8:03 AM on September 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Just, also to forestal any disappointment, Shakespeare & Co is nowadays 'just' a bookstore - a terrific bookstore by any measure, but it used to be a funky, smelly pile of a place where if you went upstairs you could find a nook where you could well imagine, well, let your imagination go wild. I appreciate the current iteration, but the old version (before the granddaughter took over) was more my speed.
Strongly recommend Père Lachaise cemetery also, it has an extraordinary number of artist's graves and, if you tend that way is well, well worth the effort.
Also, the Catacombs (whether by the 'official' entrance or one of the many un-official ones) which have not really changed in hundred plus years and speak to the timeless-ness of the city.
posted by From Bklyn at 3:23 AM on September 13, 2023
Strongly recommend Père Lachaise cemetery also, it has an extraordinary number of artist's graves and, if you tend that way is well, well worth the effort.
Also, the Catacombs (whether by the 'official' entrance or one of the many un-official ones) which have not really changed in hundred plus years and speak to the timeless-ness of the city.
posted by From Bklyn at 3:23 AM on September 13, 2023
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DUCHAMP AND THE CLASSICAL PERSPECTIVISTS
It may be on the edge of your interests, but still...
La cuisine en dix minutes is also not directly what you are looking for, but sets a tone you might enjoy.
posted by mumimor at 3:55 AM on September 12, 2023