Best Bars in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris
Hotel bars, jazz cellars, literary cafés — the most consistently civilised bar neighbourhood in Paris.
Saint-Germain-des-Prés has been the literary, philosophical, and bar centre of Paris for a hundred years. The streets between Boulevard Saint-Germain and the Seine still hold the cafés where Sartre wrote, the cellars where jazz lived, and the hotel bars that anchor the most civilised drinking in the city.
Eight Saint-Germain picks for a properly Parisian evening.
The best bars in Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Le Bar du Lutetia
Boulevard Raspail Belle Époque hotel bar. Restored 2018, classic cocktails, full Saint-Germain dressed-up evening.
Bar Hemingway at The Ritz
Place Vendôme hotel bar where Hemingway drank. Colin Field's martini ritual is the most precise in Paris.
La Closerie des Lilas
Boulevard du Montparnasse Hemingway haunt. Brass plaques mark where he sat. Heritage Paris drinking, polished cocktails.
Caveau de la Huchette
Rue de la Huchette jazz cellar from 1949. Three sets a night, dance floor, the original Paris jazz cellar.
Bar Joséphine at Lutetia
Lutetia's secondary bar named for Joséphine Baker. Quieter than the main bar, deep cognac selection, full Saint-Germain hotel feel.
Les Deux Magots
Place Saint-Germain café where Sartre and de Beauvoir wrote. Tourist-heavy now but the terrace is still the iconic Saint-Germain seat.
Café de Flore
Boulevard Saint-Germain café across from Les Deux Magots. Same literary heritage, same tourist crowds, same iconic terrace.
Le Bar 228 at Le Meurice
Rue de Rivoli hotel bar. Wood-panelled, deep whisky list, the most quietly grown-up bar in Paris.
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