Updated on June 26, 2025

Step into Saint Germain des Prés, where writers once gathered and every café terrace holds a story. (Photo credit: Xenia Bunina via Unsplash)

Step into Saint Germain des Prés, where writers once gathered and every café terrace holds a story. (Photo credit: Xenia Bunina via Unsplash)

Paris’ Right Bank cafés deserve their place in literary history. Nevertheless, the history behind Harry’s, Café de la Paix and the Ritz pales in comparison to the formidable literary pedigree of their Left Bank counterparts. The cafes of the Left Bank were immortalized in Ernest Hemingway’s classic works The Sun Also Rises and A Moveable Feast. In both literature and real life, the cafés of Montparnasse and Saint-Germain-des-Prés were packed with intellectuals drinking, socializing and writing. We at New York Habitat are a nostalgic bunch and we can’t resist the charms of the Left Bank watering holes.

Part two of our literary pub crawl through Paris begins in Saint-Germain-des-Prés on the boulevard St. Germain. Three cafés; Les Deux Magots, Café de Flore and the Brasserie Lipp all boast a history of intellectual patrons and belle-epoque charm. Café de Flore was a second home to Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir and was visited, at varying times, by the likes of Pablo Picasso and Truman Capote. Les Deux Magots affectionately calls itself a “literary café,” thanks in part to its frequent visits from the ubiquitous Papa Hemingway. Brasserie Lipp beckons to passersby in this heavily trafficked neighborhood with its mouth-watering neon beer sign. It is said that on the day of Paris’ liberation in 1944 Hemingway was the first in the Lipp’s door for a drink (a claim common among Parisian café lore). All of these eateries are conscious of their history and have raised prices accordingly, and while not outrageous, do expect to pay a bit extra for the ambiance.

Saint-Germain-des-Prés is one of New York Habitat’s favorite Paris neighborhoods and is immensely popular among renters. Luckily because we have plenty of vacation rentals in Saint-Germain too!

Steps from Saint-Germain’s iconic cafés, this cozy apartment echoes the charm of literary Paris (PA-4869).

Steps from Saint-Germain’s iconic cafés, this cozy apartment echoes the charm of literary Paris (PA-4869).

Available is this one-bedroom vacation rental in St Germain des Prés (PA-920). This lovely two-bedroom duplex vacation rental in St Germain des Prés (PA-4869) is spacious, bright and just around the corner from the three cafés mentioned above. New York Habitat also has this awesome one-bedroom furnished rental in St Germain des Prés (PA-1431). The duplex features semi-exposed wood beams, large bay windows facing a quiet courtyard, and warm parquet floors throughout.

If you missed part one of New York Habitat’s Paris Pub Crawl check out: The Right Bank’s Literary Pubs.

The Paris Literary Pub tour continues on to Hemingway’s Montparnasse soon…

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