The Sicilian Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli surely did not imagine that, more than 3 centuries after its opening, his café would still exist! The Procope has however largely survived him by being, notably between the 17th and 19th centuries, the meeting place of the greatest artists and intellectuals. It became a restaurant in 1890 and is a must for history and heritage lovers.
This café is not decorated like the others [...] but it is adorned
with the memory of the Great Men who frequented it [...].
Benjamin Franklin wrote elements of the future Constitution of the United States, Verlaine some of his prose and Diderot some articles of the Encyclopedia (which, according to the legend, was born there following his exchanges with d'Alembert).
Attracting both intellectuals and politicians (Anatole France, Gambetta and Colbert, among others, frequented it), this café ideally located - at its creation in 1689 - at the exit of the old French Comedy became, at the end of the 18th century, the active center of the French Revolution, where the Phrygian cap was worn for the first time. Danton came there as a neighbor, Marat launched (via a cable connected to his printing house located just next door) the edition of his first gazettes and the Cordeliers club met there around Robespierre.
In the 19th century, an artistic revolution took place there: the Romantics George Sand, Musset and Théophile Gautier met to exchange ideas and this literary tradition continues today with, since 1954, the annual Black Humor awards ceremony and, since 2011, the Procope des Lumières prize (presided over by Jacques Attali) rewarding a political, philosophical or social essay.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 covering the walls of one of the rooms, the doors of the toilets indicating "Citizen" and the wallpaper (from 1830) stamped "Freedom, Equality" are all vestiges of the birth of the Revolution and the Republic on the spot. As a legacy of the Empire, Napoleon's bicorn enthroned in the entrance remains a must seen element of the café, as does Voltaire's table that he used as a desk for years and served as a votive altar when his ashes were transferred to the Pantheon in 1794.
With its Pompeian red walls, crystal chandeliers and oval portraits of its illustrious patrons, the Procope is also worth a look for its architecture and decoration, its roof and wrought iron balconies in the front being registered as historical monuments.
Timeless, the Procope still attracts media, literary and political personalities who like to show themselves there, but also tourists, French or foreign, who like to dive into the history of France while enjoying a good meal (the menu remains, despite the prestige of the place, affordable). To know more about it.
Valérie from Comme des Français
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Discover other historical and culinary addresses:
. The oldest inn in France
. A wine museum in medieval cellars
. The oldest house in Paris (and a restaurant)
