Cafés and bars

 

Le 10 10 rue de l'Odéon, 6e. Mº Odéon. Daily 6.30pm-2am.
The beer here is very cheap, which is why it attracts young people, particularly foreigners. Small dark bar with old posters, a jukebox, and a lot of chatting up.

L'Assignat 7 rue Guénégaud, 6e. Mº Pont-Neuf. Mon-Sat 7.30am-8.30pm, food noon-3.30pm; closed July.
Zinc counter, bar stools, bar football and young regulars from the nearby art school in an untouristy café close to quai des Augustins. ¬4.12 for a sandwich and a glass of wine.

Chez Georges 11 rue des Canettes, 6e. Mº Mabillon. Tues-Sat noon-2am; closed July 14-Aug 15.
An attractive wine bar in the spit-on-the-floor mode, with its old shop front still intact, situated in a narrow street off place St-Sulpice.

Les Deux Magots 170 bd St-Germain, 6e. Mº St-Germain-des-Prés. Daily 6.30am-1.30am; closed one week in Jan.
Right on the corner of place St-Germain-des-Prés, this café owes its reputation to the intellos of the Left Bank, past and present. In summertime, it picks up a lot of foreigners seeking the exact location of the spirit of French culture, and buskers galore play to the packed terrace. Come early for an expensive but satisfying ¬11.43 breakfast.

Le Flore 172 bd St-Germain, 6e. Mº St-Germain-des-Prés. Daily 7am-1.30am.
The great rival and immediate neighbour of Les Deux Magots , with a very similar clientele. Sartre, De Beauvoir, Camus and Marcel Carné used to hang out here. Best enjoyed during a late-afternoon coffee or after-dinner drink.

Le Mazet 60 rue St-André-des-Arts, 6e. Mº Odéon. Mon-Thurs 10am-2am, Fri & Sat till 3.30am; happy hour 5-8pm; closed Sun.
Historically, a well-known hang-out for buskers and heavy drinkers. For an evil concoction, try a bière brûlée - it's flambéed with gin. Small glass beer ¬3.05, cocktails ¬7.47.

La Paillote 45 rue Monsieur-le-Prince, 6e. RER Luxembourg & Mº Odéon. Mon-Sat 9pm-dawn; closed Aug.
The late-night bar for jazz fans, with one of the best collections of recorded jazz in the city. Soft drinks start from ¬4.57.

La Palette 43 rue de Seine, 6e. Mº Odéon. Mon-Sat 8am-2am.
Once-famous Beaux-Arts student hang-out, now more frequented by art dealers and their customers. The service can be uncivil, but the murals and every detail of the decor are superb, including, of course, a large selection of colourful, used palettes.

Pub Saint-Germain 17 rue de l'Ancienne-Comédie, 6e. Mº Odéon. Open 24hr.
Stocks 26 draught beers and hundreds of bottles. Huge, crowded and expensive. Hot food at mealtimes, otherwise cold snacks. For a taste of "real" French beer, try ch'ti (patois for "northerner"), a bière de garde from the Pas-de-Calais. Live music nightly from 10pm.

La Taverne de Nesle 32 rue Dauphine, 6e. Mº Odéon. Daily 9pm-4am, Fri & Sat till 5am.
Vast selection of beers. Full of local night birds. Cocktails from ¬6.86.

Restaurants

aux Charpentiers 10 rue Mabillon, 6e tel 01.43.26.30.05. Mº Mabillon. Daily until 11pm; closed hols.
A friendly, old-fashioned place belonging to the Compagnons des Charpentiers (Carpenters' Guild), with appropriate decor of roof-trees and tie beams. Traditional plats du jour are their forte - tripe sausage, calf's head and the like - for about ¬11.43. Around ¬30.49 à la carte ; lunch menu at ¬18.29.

Cosi 54 rue de Seine, 6e tel 01.46.33.35.36. Mº St-Germain-des-Prés. Daily noon-midnight.
Fantastic sandwiches (¬4.57-7.32) made on home-made focaccia bread. Mix and match your own ingredients, including roast beef, tomatoes stewed with coriander, cucumbers with chèvre, ricotta with nuts, roasted vegetables, smoked salmon, and on it goes. Wine by the glass (¬2.74), rich desserts (¬3.35). The opera-loving owner has a different opera on the CD player each day.

Lipp 151 bd St-Germain, 6e. Mº St-Germain-des-Prés. Daily until 12.30am; closed mid-July to mid-Aug.
A 1900s brasserie, and one of the best known establishments on the Left Bank; haunt of the very successful and very famous. Plat du jour ¬15.24-17.53; no reservations, so be prepared to wait.

Le Muniche 7 rue St-Benoît, 6e tel 01.42.61.12.70. Mº St-Germain-des-Prés. Daily noon-2am.
A crowded old-style brasserie with an oyster bar, mirrors and theatre posters on the walls, serving classic French brasserie fare: seafood, chou croute , leg of lamb. Menus at ¬14.94 and ¬27.44; carte ¬27.44.

Orestias 4 rue Grégoire-de-Tours, 6e tel 01.43.54.62.01. Mº Odéon. Mon-Sat lunchtime & evening till 11.30pm.
A mixture of Greek and French cuisine. Good helpings and very cheap - with a menu at ¬7.01 available weekdays until 8pm.

Le Petit St-Benoît 4 rue St-Benoît, 6e tel 01.42.60.27.92. Mº St-Germain-des-Prés. Mon-Fri noon-2.30pm & 7-10.30pm.
A simple and genuine local, popular with the neighbourhood's chattering classes. Serves solid, traditional fare in a brown-stained, aproned atmosphere. Menu at ¬19.82.

Le Petit Zinc 11 rue St-Benoit, 6e tel 01.42.61.20.60. Mº St-Germain-des-Prés. Daily noon-2am.
Excellent traditional dishes, especially seafood, in stunning Art-Nouveau style premises (built thirty yearsago). Not cheap - menu ¬28, seafood platter ¬68.60 for two.

Polidor 41 rue Monsieur-le-Prince, 6e tel 01.43.26.95.34. Mº Odéon. Mon-Sat till 12.30am, Sun till 11pm.
A traditional bistro, open since 1845, whose visitors' book, they say, boasts more of history's big names than all the glittering palaces put together. Not as cheap as it was in James Joyce's day, but good food and great atmosphere. Lunches at ¬8.38 during the week, and an excellent ¬25.15 evening menu.

Le Procope 13 rue de l'Ancienne-Comédie, 6e tel 01.40.46.79.00. Mº Odéon. Daily noon-1am.
The first establishment to serve coffee in Paris, opened in 1686, Le Procope is still a great place to enjoy a cup and bask in the knowledge that over the years, Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, Rousseau, Marat and Robespierre, among others, have done the very same thing. Fairly good ¬19.82 menu (up to 8pm) and ¬27.13 menu with wine included after 11pm, though some say it caters too much to tourists' weary tastebuds.

Restaurant des Beaux-Arts 11 rue Bonaparte, 6e tel 01.43.26.92.64. Mº St-Germain-des-Prés. Daily lunchtime & evening till 10.45pm.
The traditional hang-out of Beaux-Arts students. The choice is wide, portions are generous and queues are long in high season. The atmosphere is generally good, though the waitresses can get pretty tetchy. Menu at ¬12.04, including wine.