Shakespeare & Co - Sagesse

As you step up from the entrance to the main sales floor of Shakespeare and Company, this is what you see. A little wisdom from Paris. Next week, even more wisdom from the City of Light.

Shakespeare & Co - Storefront

This is the standard view of the shop. The one most commonly seen in guidebooks and on the internet. Iconic some might say.....

Shakespeare & Co - A Happy Pilgrim

Shakespeare & Company is the most well-known English-language bookshop in Paris. Located at  37 Rue Bûcherie in the Latin Quarter, it was opened in August 1951 by George Whitman, an American ex-patriot who found himself in Paris after World War II. It is the perfect place to while away a hour to two, or even a whole day.

Before Sunset - Where He Slept

In the movie, Jesse says he spent the night in the loft of Shakespeare and Company where a cat slept on his head. Here is a photo of one of the visiting author beds, tucked in safely among the books. (For even more "shot on location" information check out the Before Sunset page on www.movie-locations.com.)

Before Sunset - Port Henry 4

Also known as Quai Henri IV. This is where Jesse tells his driver to meet him after he and Celine impulsively jump on one of the Bateaux Mouches.

Before Sunset - Walking and Talking

This is where Jesse and Celine begin their long walk around Paris, on the Rue Saint-Julien le Pauvre, right around the corner from Shakespeare and Company. (That's Notre Dame you can see in the background.)

Before Sunset - Where He Sits

This is where Jesse sat, behind a table of books, giving his reading not yet aware of how he was about to be transported back to the night he had spent years writing about. (You can see in this photo how Shakespeare and Company makes use of every bit of space in the shop and fills it all with BOOKS!)

Before Sunset - Where She Stands

This week, the Paris of Before Sunset, the Richard Linklater film (and sequel to Before Sunrise), in which Jesse and Celine reminisce about the romantic night they spent together in Vienna nine years earlier.

This is where Celine hides out, at the Shakespeare and Company bookshop, watching Jesse give his reading, until that moment when he turns, and sees her standing there.

Les Cafés - Le Pure Café

Saving the best for last - Le Pure Café. One of my favorite cafés in Paris.

Fans of Before Sunset will remember this as the place where Celine and Jesse order "un café et un citron pressé" and continue their decades-long conversation. A great place to have coffee btw....it is off the beaten path (14 rue Jean Macé) and almost half the price of anything you will find near most of the tourist destinations.

More Before Sunset spots next week....

Les Cafés - Les Deux Magots

One of the most famous cafés in all of Paris, Les Deux Magots, was once the meeting place of the literary and cultural élite of the city. Famous people known to have frequented Les Deux Magots include Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, Albert Camus, and Pablo Picasso. The café got it's name from the novelty store that originally occupied the same storefront.

Les Cafés - La Terrasse

La Terrasse (144 rue de Clignancourt) with it's round tables, sway back wicker chairs and deep red awning looks like the quintessential Parisian café. The perfect place to take a rest after a long day of playing the tourist.

Les Cafés - Les Arts & Metiers

Cafe des Arts & Metiers was our "local" bistro, just down the street from our appartement in the Marais. It was a great place to sit outside and people watch or have a delicious meal inside. And it looks wicked cool at night.

Les Cafés - Le Café Maure de la Mosquée

This week: Les Cafés! What would a trip to Paris be without some time spent sipping espresso in some of the world's finest cafés?

Following on from last week, we start at Le Café Maure de la Mosquée, a North African café and tea room located within La Grande Mosquée de Paris. It serves wonderful traditional pastries and delicious mint tea.

La Grande Mosquée de Paris - Mosquée Comme Perchoir

A pigeon roosting in one of the outside walls of La Grande Mosquée de Paris.

La Grande Mosquée de Paris - Mosaic

One of many beautiful mosaics on the wall of La Grande Mosquée de Paris.

La Grande Mosquée de Paris - Hall d'Entrée II

An alternate view of the entrance hall of La Grande Mosquée de Paris.

La Grande Mosquée de Paris - Hall d'Entrée

The main entrance hall of La Grande Mosquée de Paris.

La Grande Mosquée de Paris - Entrée

Following on from the Architecture theme of last week, this week: La Grande Mosquée de Paris. Founded in 1926 as a token of gratitude to the Muslim infantry, some 100,000 of whom died fighting against the Germans in World War I, many portions of the Mosque are open to the public, including the traditional Turkish baths (hammam), gift shop (souk) and tea room (salon de thé).

Architecture - Pont Saint Michel

Pont Saint Michel is one of many bridges (ponts) across the Seine which you cross under while riding Les Bateaux Mouches, as I was when I snapped this picture. Pont Saint Michel links Place Saint-Michel on the left bank of the river to the Île de la Cité. It was named after the nearby chapel of Saint-Michel. Click here for a positively gorgeous shot of the whole bridge.