Where to sit, sip and slow down in Paris.
Coffee shops, bakeries with seats and the places Paris lingers in over a cortado.
Telescope in Paris was one of the first third-wave coffee bars in the 1er, opened by Nicolas Clerc in 2012. Order the filter coffee. Open mon-fri 08:30-17:00.
Signature drink: Filter coffee
Tip: Laptops fine before 10:30 and after 14:30. The kouign-amann from Ten Belles is the pair.
Ten Belles in Paris is the canal-side cafe that gave the 10e its third-wave centre. Anna Trattles and Alice Quillet's cardamom buns sell out by 11:00.
Signature drink: Cortado
Tip: The bigger sister Ten Belles Bread on Rue Breguet bakes the bread; the cafe pulls the coffee.
Café Kitsuné in Paris's Palais-Royal gardens is the fashion-label cafe that helped reset Parisian matcha standards. At 51 Galerie de Montpensier.
Signature drink: Matcha latte
Tip: The terrace catches gallery light all afternoon. Order matcha cold-brew in summer.
Coutume Café in Paris's 7e is the laboratory cafe of the city's longest-running specialty roaster. Open mon-fri 08:00-18:00, sat-sun 09:00-19:00.
Signature drink: Espresso
Tip: Order the day's filter on a V60 first, then a flat white; the bar will tell you which Ethiopia is up.
Tiba in Paris's 3e Haut Marais is the brutalist-minimal cafe Kevin Cerqueira and Linda Huynh opened in March 2025. Open tue-sun 10:15-18:00, closed mon.
Signature drink: V60 pour-over
Tip: Closed Monday. The V60 is the room's signature; the carrot cake and madeleines come out mid-morning.
Holybelly 5 in Paris's 10e set the city's brunch standard in 2013. Arrive at 09:00 or after 14:30 to avoid the queue. The pancake stack is the dish.
Signature drink: Filter coffee
Tip: Arrive at 09:00 or after 14:30 to avoid the queue. The pancake stack is the dish.
Café Nuances Marais in Paris's 4e is the Corot brothers' specialty espresso bar with a Crosby Studios interior of mirrored ceilings and recycled-aluminium.
Signature drink: Single-origin espresso flight
Tip: Pair an espresso with the Kyoto matcha; the Crosby-designed glass façade catches afternoon light on Rue des Francs-Bourgeois.
Hexagone Café in Paris's 14e is the Montparnasse-side specialty bar pouring single-origin espresso and Italian-style breakfast pastry. At 121 Rue du Château.
Signature drink: Espresso
Tip: The cornetto from the bakery next door is the breakfast set; chase with an Ethiopian filter.
Shakespeare and Company Café in Paris pulls Cafés Belleville espresso beside the English bookshop. The Notre-Dame terrace is the 5e's most photographed.
Signature drink: Filter coffee
Tip: The terrace catches the cathedral view; arrive at 09:30 for a seat before the tour buses.
Strada Café in Paris's 5e is the Latin Quarter specialty room that anchors Sorbonne students on a thesis week. Order the espresso. Open mon-fri 08:00-17:00.
Signature drink: Espresso
Tip: Plug points along the long bench. The €8 filter-and-pastry set is the lunch deal.
Boot Café in Paris is the postcard 3e Marais espresso bar with a painted boot facade and seven seats inside. Pulls Lomi beans, runs a cash-only counter.
Signature drink: Flat white
Tip: Cash only. Take a coffee to the Square du Temple a block away rather than waiting for a seat.
Café de Flore in Paris is the Saint-Germain literary cafe Sartre and de Beauvoir made famous. Order the café crème. At 172 Boulevard Saint-Germain.
Signature drink: Café crème
Tip: The first-floor mezzanine is quieter than the terrace. Order the chocolat chaud in winter.
Les Deux Magots in Paris faces Café de Flore on the Saint-Germain square and serves the city's most expensive chocolat chaud in a black china pitcher.
Signature drink: Chocolat chaud
Tip: Pay for the view, not the food. The chocolat chaud at €9 is worth the terrace seat alone.
Angelina in Paris has poured the chocolat l'Africain hot chocolate at the same Rue de Rivoli tea room since 1903. Open daily 07:30-19:00. Booking recommended.
Signature drink: Chocolat l'Africain
Tip: The line is for tourists; the take-out counter is fast and the chocolate travels in a flask.
The Coffee Sorbonne in Paris's 5e is the Japanese-style takeaway counter the São Paulo roaster opened in December 2023, two steps from the Sorbonne campus.
Signature drink: Brazilian single-origin espresso
Tip: Order the V60 at the counter; the Cardinal Lemoine and Notre-Dame branches share the same Brazilian roast if Sorbonne is full.
Yellow Tucan in Paris's 4e is the Marais-side micro-roaster with a single counter, rotating Latin American single origins, mostly Colombian and Peruvian.
Signature drink: Pour-over
Tip: The bench seats are for short stays; for longer work, head to Fragments three blocks north.