The famed Café de Flore, a tourist haven where the coffee has much improved. | Alex Segre/Shutterstock
Though Parisian coffee shops historically serve subpar coffee, a wave of craft roasters and ambitious baristas now serve great espresso, lattes, and bags of specialty beans all over the city
Paris has long been famous for its cafes. The coffee served at those cafes, though, not so much. The city is dotted with historic locations where luminaries and artists historically gathered to gossip, but it used to be surprisingly hard to come by a decent cup of coffee in Paris.
That has changed massively in the last decade, as roasters popped up all over town and shops started serving craft coffee with carefully sourced and roasted beans. Along with decent coffee came a variety of environments to enjoy a roast in, meaning there’s bound to be a setting for any occasion, from a quiet, intimate spot filled with a local boho-chic crowd to a busy cafe in a historic neighborhood.
Note: This guide is organized by arrondissement, spiraling out from the 1st.
Originally from London, Rooksana Hossenally has been a Paris-based food and travel journalist and author for the last decade. Most recently, she launched a newsletter What’s Up, Paris? about places and people of Paris that have flown under the radar.
