Café de la Paix in Paris

Tuesday, 13 February 2024 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General, Bon appétit, Paris / Île-de-France
Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Arthur Weidmann/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Arthur Weidmann/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Café de la Paix is a famous café located on the northwest corner of the intersection of the Boulevard des Capucines and the Place de l’Opéra, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. Designed in the Napoleon III style by the architect Alfred Armand, who also designed the historic Grand-Hôtel in which the café is located, its florid interior decorations, historic location, and high-profile clientele have all brought it international recognition as a site of great cultural significance.

The Café de la Paix was opened on 30 June 1862 to serve the Grand-Hôtel de la Paix, whose name was later shortened to Le Grand-Hôtel. Both were constructed as part of Haussmann’s renovation of Paris, with financing from the wealthy Pereire Brothers. It first gained an international reputation by servicing visitors to the International Exposition of 1867. Its proximity to the Palais Garnier opera attracted many famous regulars including Jules Massenet, Émile Zola, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Guy de Maupassant. During the Belle Époque, visitors to the café included Sergei Diaghilev, Oscar Wilde, and the Prince of Wales and future King of the United Kingdom, Edward VII.

The Opera and Café de la Paix © Jorge Royan/www.royan.com.ar/cc-by-sa-3.0 © Arthur Weidmann/cc-by-sa-4.0 © DIMSFIKAS/cc-by-sa-3.0 Grand Hôtel and Café de la Paix © flickr.com - d4nyl0/cc-by-sa-2.0 Grand Hôtel and Café de la Paix © flickr.com - francisco.j.gonzalez/cc-by-2.0 Grand Hôtel and Café de la Paix © Zairon/cc-by-sa-4.0
<
>
Grand Hôtel and Café de la Paix © flickr.com - francisco.j.gonzalez/cc-by-2.0
The café quickly became a major cultural phenomenon and tourist attraction, being depicted in numerous forms of media beginning in the late 1800s. It was first used as a site for film screenings in 1896, and continued to attract Hollywood figures like Marlene Dietrich, Yves Montand, and Roman Polanski throughout its life, both as guests and as the crew of films shot onsite. The café is referenced in musical works by Sidney Bechet and Thomas Fersen, and is the subject of numerous impressionist paintings by artists like Konstantin Korovin, Antoine Blanchard, and Édouard Cortès. It is the setting for the poem The Absinthe Drinkers by the Canadian poet Robert Service and a short story My Old Man by Ernest Hemingway. It is also depicted in the Disney film The Aristocats, inserted as a reference by Walt Disney who had visited during his time as a Red Cross ambulance driver in World War I. A radio studio was later installed in the café, which broadcast the 1948 program This Is Paris — the first-ever live broadcast from Paris to the United States.

On 1 September 1897 ownership of the café and the Grand-Hôtel were transferred from the Pereires to French hotel magnate Arthur Millon, who leveraged the site to create one of Paris’ largest hospitality industry conglomerates. Upon his death in 1913, he bequeathed his hotel empire to his son André. Following disputes over the latter’s succession, the conglomerate (including the café itself) was sold in 1972. On 22 August 1975 the café’s interior, as well as numerous parts of the hotel which house it, were declared a monument historique by the French government. The Café de la Paix was renovated in 2002 by the Bâtiments de France, a state-run architectural firm specializing in historic preservation.

Read more on Café de la Paix and Wikipedia Café de la Paix (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.






Recommended posts:

Share this post: (Please note data protection regulations before using buttons)

Lāhainā on Maui

Lāhainā on Maui

[caption id="attachment_236356" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © PaulT (Gunther Tschuch)/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Lahaina (Hawaiian: Lāhainā) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States,...

[ read more ]

The Valle Riviera in Switzerland

The Valle Riviera in Switzerland

[caption id="attachment_153938" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Iragna © biascaturismo.ch[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Descending from the North, the Riviera suddenly opens up, as the alpine valleys of Leventina and Blenio come togethe...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Madrid - The Cuatro Torres Business Area

Theme Week Madrid - The Cuatro Torres Business Area

[caption id="attachment_153898" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Archivaldo/cc-by-3.0[/caption] [responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Cuatro Torres Business Area (CTBA) (Spanish for Four Towers Business Area) is a business district located in the Pase...

[ read more ]

Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro

Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro

[caption id="attachment_185661" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Jorge Morales Piderit[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Christ the Redeemer is an Art Deco statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, created by French sculptor Paul...

[ read more ]

Abisko in Sweden

Abisko in Sweden

[caption id="attachment_173936" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Abisko Östra © Helleborus[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Abisko is a village in Sápmi (Lapland), in northern Sweden, roughly 250 km within the Arctic Circle, and near Abis...

[ read more ]

Miami Tower

Miami Tower

[caption id="attachment_227750" align="aligncenter" width="590"] lit as American flag for Independence Day, President's Day & Veterans Day © Averette[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Miami Tower is a 47-story, landmark office skyscraper...

[ read more ]

Bacău in the Eastern Carpathians

Bacău in the Eastern Carpathians

[caption id="attachment_152462" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Bacău Administration © Nicoleta Tudor[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Bacău is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. As of 2011 census, it has a population of 133,460, m...

[ read more ]

Le Mans in the Pays de la Loire

Le Mans in the Pays de la Loire

[caption id="attachment_184697" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Palais du Grabatoire © Fafner/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Le Mans is a city on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is no...

[ read more ]

Theme Week East Frisian Islands - Baltrum and Norderney

Theme Week East Frisian Islands - Baltrum and Norderney

[caption id="attachment_152929" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Baltrum - Aerial view © Huebi[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]BALTRUM Baltrum is a barrier island off the coast of East Frisia and is a municipality in the district of Auric...

[ read more ]

The East Indiamen

The East Indiamen

[caption id="attachment_221486" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Batavia replica © Ökologix[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India ...

[ read more ]

The Berlin Victory Column

The Berlin Victory Column

[caption id="attachment_25038" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Manfred Brückels[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Victory Column is a monument in Berlin. Designed by Heinrich Strack, after 1864 to commemorate the Prussian victory in ...

[ read more ]

Ambergris Caye on Belize Barrier Reef

Ambergris Caye on Belize Barrier Reef

[caption id="attachment_153620" align="aligncenter" width="590"] San Pedro Beach © Areed145/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Ambergris Caye is the largest island of Belize located northeast of the country in the Caribbean Sea. ...

[ read more ]

Return to TopReturn to Top