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Call 1-800-387-1483 or email us
Call 1-800-387-1483 or email us
SIGNATURE MOMENT
Savouring bistro meals in some of Paris’s most iconic establishments
SIGNATURE MOMENT
Café-hopping to visit John’s favourites places
SIGNATURE MOMENT
Preparing a classic three-course meal at a Left Bank cooking class
SIGNATURE MOMENT
Walking in the footsteps of Balzac, Dumas, and Sand
SIGNATURE MOMENT
Get inspired by the magic of Paris in the spring

Thinking Space, Drinking Space: Paris Café Culture

May 07-13, 2023

7 days | France | Literary Adventures

Now seen as quintessentially French, the café was slow to catch on in Paris. But once it did, it was an irreplaceable feature of life in the capital. The earliest Parisian café patrons were traders at the great St-Germain fairs, and foreigners and working-class people who frequented the Turkish-style coffeehouses around the St-Michel bridge. With the opening of the Procope near the Comédie Française in 1689, the café became fashionable—a place to see and be seen for the aristocracy and later the flâneur and dandy. Paris, said historian Jules Michelet, was “one vast café.”
 
Cafés were also places to debate and exchange ideas. Michelet and many modern scholars see coffee drinking and the rise of the café as fueling the Enlightenment, the French revolution, and the spread of scientific, artistic and philosophical ideas in France and Europe. From Voltaire at the Procope to Robespierre at the Régence, Simone de Beauvoir at the Deux Magots and James Baldwin at the Select, writers and artists have gathered at cafés. These egalitarian “third spaces” were no less important to those unknown to history, or to us today. Cafés have been escapes from cold and poverty, de facto offices, places to meet friends and lovers, or refuges where one can simply sit and observe. When we go to them, for whatever reason, we are taking part in the comédie humaine.

Our trip will feature walking tours led by novelist and storyteller Lisa Pasold, museum visits, a cooking class, and plenty of time to enjoy Paris’s many distinctive cafés. We’ll study these thinking/drinking spaces primarily through the works of the prolific writers Honoré de Balzac and Emile Zola—the first a consumer of prodigious quantities of coffee, the second obsessed with food and the way it is bought, sold and eaten. We’ll also look at selected poetry and short fiction from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Modern-day flâneur and cartoonist L. John Harris will share with us his writings and drawings on café life.

Join other bons vivants for a relaxed yet stimulating exploration of Paris’s fascinating café culture and history.
Literary Adventures Cultural Explorations Worldwide Explorers Club
Tour Cost (per person):
Approx. US$4295  Includes all taxes and gratuities.
Group Size:
12 - 16 participants

What’s included: Accommodation based on double occupancy; most meals; Paris Métro tickets; all activities and literary discussions and any entrance fees; four guided walks with Lisa Pasold; cooking class with dinner; all taxes and gratuities; three literary discussions with Melanie Blake; hosted by L. John Harris and Melanie Blake.

Itinerary at a Glance

DayActivity
1Meet in Paris
2Paris - The New Athens
3Les Halles, the Belly of Paris
4Balzac and the joy of cooking
5Coffee and politics
6Coffee, cigarettes, and printing presses
7Depart Paris
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Your Tour Leaders

L. John Harris is a food writer, filmmaker, cartoonist and cookbook publisher. He played a founding role in the food revolution that started in Berkeley, California, in the late ’60s and spread across North America. Harris is the author of The Book of Garlic, Foodoodles and Café French, among others. From his earliest visits to Paris in 1963, he has been drawn to the “third space” of the café as a place to work, daydream, observe and seek inspiration.

Lisa Pasold is a Canadian writer who divides her time between Paris and New Orleans. She is currently the host of Discovery’s travel show, “Paris Next Stop.” She has published a novel and three books of poetry.

Melanie Blake is the executive director of Classical Pursuits and organizer of the annual Toronto Pursuits cultural salon. She studied English and French at Fordham University and the Université de Montpellier, and has an MA in literature and linguistics from the University of Nottingham. She loves languages, cocktails, and the unexpected.

Email Us

Or call 1-800-387-1483 with any questions or to reserve your spot!

Literary Adventures Cultural Explorations Worldwide Explorers Club
Tour Cost (per person):
Approx. US$4295  Includes all taxes and gratuities.
Group Size:
12 - 16 participants

What’s included: Accommodation based on double occupancy; most meals; Paris Métro tickets; all activities and literary discussions and any entrance fees; four guided walks with Lisa Pasold; cooking class with dinner; all taxes and gratuities; three literary discussions with Melanie Blake; hosted by L. John Harris and Melanie Blake.

What You'll See:
What You'll Taste:
Where You'll Stay:
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Thinking Space, Drinking Space: Paris Café Culture

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Privacy Policy:

We abide by the new Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) and take your privacy very seriously. We will not share, sell or otherwise make your mailing list subscription information available to any third parties. By submitting your email address, your grant us explicit consent to send you e-newsletters as detailed above. You may withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link found at the foot of every email that we send to you. You may also withdraw consent by sending an email request to: travel@worldwidequest.com.

We use your address information and details that you provide about your personal preferences or past trips to mail you selected brochures. If at any point you wish to have your name removed from our mailing list, please email or call us toll free at 1-800-387-1483.

We invite you to read our full Privacy Policy.