Le Procope

Sicilian Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli opened it in 1686 on what is now rue de l'Ancienne-Comédie, opposite the Comédie-Française theatre of the day, and it is considered the oldest café in Paris. It was a meeting place for Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire, Diderot and Rousseau, and for Benjamin Franklin.

During the Revolution, Danton, Marat and Robespierre were regulars. Today it is a restaurant serving classic French dishes such as coq au vin or calf's head, in red-and-gold rooms, and a cabinet displays a bicorne hat attributed to Napoleon.