La Palette, Paris


 

La Palette is a charming little cafe/restaurant in Paris’ Saint-Germain-des-Prés district.  Of recent times, it became famous as it featured in the video for Taylor Swift’s song “Begin Again”.  See video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMPEd8m79Hw

My photo of Taylor was taken off the Internet.  In the photo of me, I am sitting in Taylor’s seat.  The lady next to me is just a random customer, who happened to be sitting there.  I asked her husband to take the photo.

But La Palette has a much longer history, with its opening in 1902.  The name “La Palette” is inspired by its close proximity to the nearby Beaux-Arts school, and was also the inspiration for the many artists’ palettes gracing the wall.  This district is also rich in galleries and artists’ studios.

La Palette was initially attended by students of Beaux-Arts school, and became popular in the 1930s with renowned painters such as Cézanne, Picasso and Braque.  After the Second World War, the establishment consolidated its status as a fashionable cafe and restaurant and celebrity hangout. 

Ernest Hemingway, then Jim Morrison, actors such as Harrison Ford and Julia Roberts, and politicians like President Jacques Chirac became loyal customers.  In the book “Invisible” by Paul Auster, the main character frequently goes to La Palette.  It was designated a historical landmark in 1984.

The front and interior decoration of its two interior rooms were also protected as historical monuments in 1984. In the first room, paintings and palettes were offered by famous clients and artists, and in the second, six ceramic panels evoking the daily life of the café and restaurant in the 1930s and 1940s justified this inscription.

For tourists and locals wishing to imbibe the arty atmosphere of Paris, la Palette is an ideal spot for a coffee, lunch or dinner – even if that arty atmosphere is more historic than actual.  You have all the atmosphere you could wish for – a zinc bar, dark wood paneling, waiters wearing starched white aprons from the waist down, classic rattan café chairs, dark leather banquettes, extended white canvas awnings, chalkboard menus, and worn-out wood tabletops.

On the day of my visit, the coffee was good, and the food was passable.  But the atmosphere was wonderful.  And that is the best thing that Paris has to offer.

 


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