The “Closerie des Lilas” was a former post house, near the famous Bullier Ball, and attracted partygoers, including many writers: Émile Zola, Paul Verlaine, Charles Baudelaire, Théophile Gautier and the Parnassian poets.
At the beginning of the 20th century , the playwright Paul Fort played chess with a futur revolutionary , Lenin. But it is with the Americans of the “Lost Generation” that the Closerie des Lilas knows its hour of glory. Hemingway, Francis Scott Fitzgerald and Henry Miller meet in it the Montparnasse’s artistic bohemianism: Breton, Modigliani, Picasso, Van Dongen, Aragon, Gide, Man Ray, Eluard … Their names are engraved on the tables.
A copper plaque commemorates Ernest Hemingway at the American bar. Pillar of La Closerie, there where he writes The sun also rises. The decor is superb: mosaic floor, oak bar, red leather stools, old mirrors, paneling … Always frequented by intellectuals and artists (as well as some snobs), “La Closerie des Lilas” is also a restaurant (very expensive ) and brewery (more affordable).