The French Cafe

The French café epitomizes the French art of living. Open early until late, the café is both focus and microcosm of society. Friends talk; lovers linger; the white saucers pile up as the world goes by; the alone customer comes in to read the newspapers or for a petit verre at the bar. The French café is a refuge, a place to meet, to sit inside or out, to see and be seen.

For anyone interested in French life and culture, here is a wonderfully new and intimate look at a great institution, from the grand establishments dating from the beginning of the century to the small rural bistro, from the workers’ local cafés to the legendary Parisian cafés where the poets, painters and philosophers gathered. From Directoire decoration to Starck style, this book reveals the rich variety and extraordinary inventiveness of café design.