La Closerie Des Lilas was one of Hemingway’s favorite cafe’s. He used to come there to write and didn’t like it when people would discover his hide out. The cafe is still there on the corner of Boulevard du Montparnasse and Boulevard Saint-Michel. The most inner part of the cafe still houses the original bar and the tables and seats around the bar all have name tags on them. You’ll not only find Hemingway, but also Oscar Wilde, Jean-Paul Sartre and Pablo Picasso. Unfortunately this is not the only bar trying to cash in on its former famous clientele. This in turn has spawned a trend in new bars that have tags attached to their bar and seats that read “Hemingway never sat here”.
Funny thing is that with today’s prices Hemingway could have never afford to drink in La Closerie Des Lilas. A beer is around 10 euro’s and it is a really small one at that too. Something Hemingway in my believe would have objected against knowing his favorable attitude towards beer.
Still La Closerie Des Lilas is worth paying a visit. True, you ‘ll get ripped off but you also get to experience a little of the ‘old days’, the days that Hemingway sat there and was working on one of his Nick Adams stories or maybe put the last words to The sun also rises.
Weird tip: While you are there don’t forget to pay the toilets a visit. One of the most beautiful toilets we have seen ever..