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Number 19 of 20 in Paris

Café de Flore

The Flore and the Deux Magots have faced each other across a side street for more than a century, and Paris has never agreed which is the better. The Flore has the better room.

The Café de Flore on the boulevard Saint-Germain, its terrace under a white awning and a balcony of plants.
Alexemanuel, Public domain
What it is
Café
Opened
The 1880s
Area
Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Nearest museum
Musée d'Orsay, 800 m

Paris this week

    What Café de Flore is known for

    1. The room

      An Art Deco interior of red seats, mahogany and mirrors that has changed little since the Second World War. In winter the regulars go upstairs, where it is quieter.

    2. The regulars

      Picasso, Georges Bataille and James Baldwin all sat here, and Zhou Enlai as a young man in the 1920s. Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir divided their days between this café and the one next door.

    3. The prize

      The Prix de Flore, for a young writer, has been given at the café every year since 1994.

    What to know

    • Opened in the 1880s; the exact year is not known
    • Named after a statue of the goddess Flora that stood across the boulevard
    • The Prix de Flore has been awarded here since 1994

    Where Café de Flore is

    Address

    172 boulevard Saint-Germain
    75006 Paris, France

    Nearest station

    Saint-Germain-des-Prés, on line 4

    Museums and sights nearby

    Distances are in a straight line from the restaurant.

    The other café

    The Flore appeared in the 1880s at the corner of the boulevard Saint-Germain and the rue Saint-Benoît, and took its name from a sculpture of Flora, the goddess of flowers, on the far side of the boulevard.

    It has been a writers' café for most of its life, and since the 1960s a film and fashion one as well. Like its neighbour, it charges for its name.

    Café de Flore: common questions

    Where is Café de Flore?
    At 172 boulevard Saint-Germain, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. The nearest station is Saint-Germain-des-Prés, on line 4.
    Which museums and sights are near Café de Flore?
    Musée d'Orsay is 800 m away, Louvre Museum is 800 m away, Sainte-Chapelle is 900 m away. Distances are in a straight line from the restaurant.
    What is Café de Flore known for?
    The room, The regulars, The prize. The rival of the Deux Magots, a door away on the boulevard Saint-Germain: red banquettes, mahogany and mirrors, hardly touched since the war.
    When did Café de Flore open?
    In the 1880s. The exact year is not known.

    What visitors say about Café de Flore

    Rating from Google

    3.9

    14,530 ratings on Google

    Google's figures as read on 5 October 2026.

    Read every review on Google

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