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SIGNATURE MOMENT
Walking in the footsteps of Balzac, Dumas, and Sand
SIGNATURE MOMENT
Savouring bistro meals in some of Paris’s most iconic establishments
SIGNATURE MOMENT
Soak in the history of some of Paris’s most famous cafés
SIGNATURE MOMENT
Create a classic three-course meal at a Left Bank cooking class
SIGNATURE MOMENT
Enjoy the colourful leaves in Paris’s gardens as we enter the fall season

Thinking Space, Drinking Space: Paris Café Culture

Oct 11-17, 2024

7 days | France | Literary Adventures

Lisa Pasold hosted a fantastic webinar, "The Early Days of the Paris Café". Click here to watch it (61 min. + Q&A)

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READINGS
L'Assommoir by Emile Zola, along with selections from The Belly of Paris (part of Zola’s Rougon-Macquart series)

From the 17th century to today, cafés have been an irreplaceable feature of life in the capital. Some of the earliest Parisian café patrons were traders at the great St-Germain fairs, and foreigners who frequented the Turkish-style coffeehouses around the St-Michel bridge. With the opening of cafés like the Procope, near the Comédie-Française in the 1680s, the café became fashionable—a place to see and be seen for the minor aristocracy and later the flâneur and dandy. Paris, said historian Jules Michelet, was “one vast café.”

Cafés were also places to debate and exchange ideas. Michelet and some modern scholars see coffee drinking and the rise of the café as fueling the Enlightenment, the French revolution, and the spread of scientific, artistic and philosophical ideas in France and Europe. Voltaire, Robespierre, Beauvoir, Baldwin and many other writers and artists have been associated with cafés. These “third spaces” were no less important to those unknown to history, or to us today. Cafés have been escapes from cold and poverty, de facto offices, places to meet friends and lovers, or refuges where one can simply sit and observe. When we go to them, for whatever reason, we are taking part in the comédie humaine.

Our trip will feature custom walking tours with novelist and storyteller Lisa Pasold, museum visits, a cooking class, and time to enjoy Paris’s many distinctive cafés. We’ll study these thinking/drinking spaces through the works of the prolific writers Honoré de Balzac and Emile Zola—the first a consumer of prodigious quantities of coffee, the second obsessed with food and the way it is bought, sold and eaten.

Join other bons vivants for a relaxed yet stimulating exploration of Paris’s café culture and history.
Literary Adventures Cultural Explorations Worldwide Explorers Club
Tour Cost (per person):
US$4495  Includes all taxes and gratuities.
Group Size:
12 - 16 participants

What’s included: Accommodation based on double occupancy; most meals; Paris Métro tickets; Cooking class with dinner; wine and cheese tasting; Paris Métro tickets; all activities and entrance fees to sites visited with the group; four guided walks with Lisa Pasold; three literary discussions with Suzanne Bodner; all taxes and gratuities for local guides, hotel, and group meals; hosted by Suzanne Bodner

"Lisa is so knowledgeable and enthusiastic and a pleasure to be around. She was always well prepared and happy to answer questions." - Anna A.
"I loved hearing everyone’s take on the readings and their reactions. I teach literature so this was fun for me!" - Quest traveller
"I am very glad I decided to take this trip! I was quite anxious after I booked it, but everything turned out well." - Quest traveller

Itinerary at a Glance

DayActivity
1Meet in Paris
2Les Halles, the “Belly of Paris”
3The New Athens and the Musée de la Vie Romantique
4Coffee & politics - Cooking Class
5Balzac and Passy - Cooking class
6Coffee, cigarettes, and printing presses
7Depart Paris
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Your Tour Leaders

Suzanne Bodner has created and led tours to France, England, Italy, Canada and the US for more than 10 years. Her first career was as a teacher of ESL to francophones at institutions in France and Canada.

Lisa Pasold is a Canadian writer who divides her time between Paris and New Orleans. She is currently the host of Discovery’s travel show, “Paris Next Stop.” She has published a novel and three books of poetry.

Email Us

Or call 1-800-387-1483 with any questions or to reserve your spot!

Literary Adventures Cultural Explorations Worldwide Explorers Club
Tour Cost (per person):
US$4495  Includes all taxes and gratuities.
Group Size:
12 - 16 participants

What’s included: Accommodation based on double occupancy; most meals; Paris Métro tickets; Cooking class with dinner; wine and cheese tasting; Paris Métro tickets; all activities and entrance fees to sites visited with the group; four guided walks with Lisa Pasold; three literary discussions with Suzanne Bodner; all taxes and gratuities for local guides, hotel, and group meals; hosted by Suzanne Bodner

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Thinking Space, Drinking Space: Paris Café Culture

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