Cafe Les Deux Magots - A Brief History
This is a famous café on the Left Bank of the Seine called Les Deux Magots. It’s popular with both tourists and Parisians, and has a long and colorful history as a meeting place for famous writers and philosophers. Deux Magots (as it is known to Parisians) was once a favorite spot for existentialist writers Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Bouvoir, and a favorite of Hemmingway and Picasso's (who is said to have created Cubism here - why they say that I have no clue, but I've seen the comment in several writings). It's now a favorite for anyone who can afford the price tag - you're paying for the vibrant location and history. The hot debate over the name of the cafe rages on a hundred years later. The literal translation of the name into English of 'two nest eggs' and the sound of the name has many arguing that it's an age old sly joke in naming a restaurant 'The Two Maggots'. However, the majority opinion is that Deux Magots is named after two wooden statues of Chinese mandarins which still dominate the room (one of the definitions of “magots” in French is “chunky Eastern figurine, made from stone, jade, or porcelain”). Only the original owner will ever know for sure.
The picture above was taken from the northeast corner of the Place du Québec, which is at the intersection of the boulevard Saint-Germain and the rue de Rennes. The boulevard Saint-Germain continues into the heart of the Latin Quarter behind the camera. To the right, and also off-camera, is the rue Bonaparte, which leads a short distance north to the left (southern) bank of the Seine river (that’s where the Left Bank gets its name—the southern bank of the river is on the left in the direction of the river’s flow, which is westward). To the left, and off-camera, the intersection leads into the rue de Rennes, which continues south into the Montparnasse area. All of this is in the sixth district of Paris, best known as the home of the Latin Quarter, the students’ district. This part of Paris, like many others, is filled with people from morning until very late at night.- John Brody Photography
