At 13 rue de l’Ancienne Comédie, you’ll find one of the capital’s oldest addresses, right in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in the 6th arrondissement. Le Procope, founded in 1686, is currently the establishment of restoration the oldest still open in Paris! Listed as a Monument Historique since 1962, the restaurant where you can dine today isn’t exactly the original location. The “Café Procope”, or simply “Le Procope” opened in the 17ᵉ century and closed in 1890, but a new restaurant of the same name has occupied the premises nonetheless since 1957. Although two establishments make up this single address, it has seen the history of Paris pass by.
Le Procope, the world’s oldest café
Before the French Revolution, the Café Procope was the HQ of Enlightenment philosophers, who met there to exchange ideas. Legend even has it that this is the address where Diderot and d’Alembert were inspired to write their famous Encyclopédie. History also has it that Benjamin Franklin, a regular visitor, thought up the first elements of the American Constitution here, and prepared the first Franco-American alliance treaty with Louis XVI in 1778. Even without these legends, the Procope is one of cafés of the time. Voltaire, Anatole France, Montesquieu…
At the end of the 18th century, the café was a hangout for revolutionaries. The Cordeliers, and in particular Danton and Marat, met there, as did the Jacobins and even Robespierre! It was at Le Procope that the Phrygian cap was first worn. Symbol of the revolutionaries, of France and today of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
In the following century, Procope once again became a literary café, attracting the greatest minds of the age. George Sand, Paul Verlaine, Théophile Gautier… And in 1883, it was within these walls that the Stade Français!
Despite its renown, the address closed in 1890 due to financial problems. It eventually reopened in 1957 under a different format and the same name, in honor of the original café, and is now occupied by a Parisian bouillon. Since its rebirth, the café has hosted a number of literary prize-giving ceremonies, including the Prix Procope des Lumières for political, philosophical and social essays. A cultural heritage dating back more than 300 years, with no end in sight!
📍13 Rue de l’Ancienne Comédie, 75006 Paris