Café de la Paix facts for kids
The Café de la Paix is a very famous café in Paris, France. It sits on a busy corner near the Palais Garnier opera house. An architect named Alfred Armand designed it in the fancy Napoleon III style. This café is part of the historic InterContinental Paris Le Grand Hotel. Its beautiful inside, special location, and famous visitors have made it known all over the world. It's a place with a lot of cultural history.
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History of the Famous Café
The Café de la Paix first opened its doors on June 30, 1862. It was built to serve the Grand-Hôtel de la Paix, which is now called Le Grand-Hôtel. Both buildings were part of a big project to rebuild Paris, led by Georges-Eugène Haussmann. Rich brothers, the Pereire brothers, helped pay for it.
Early Fame and Famous Visitors
The café became famous around the world during the International Exposition of 1867. Many important people visited Paris for this event. Because it was so close to the Palais Garnier opera house, many famous artists and writers became regular guests. These included Jules Massenet, Émile Zola, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Guy de Maupassant.
During a time called the Belle Époque (which means "Beautiful Era"), even more well-known people came to the café. Some of these were Sergei Diaghilev, Oscar Wilde, and even the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII of the United Kingdom.
The Café in Pop Culture
The Café de la Paix quickly became a major attraction. It started appearing in movies as early as 1896. Famous Hollywood stars like Marlene Dietrich, Yves Montand, and Roman Polanski visited. Sometimes, films were even shot right there!
The café is also mentioned in songs by Sidney Bechet and Thomas Fersen. It's the subject of many beautiful impressionist paintings. Artists like Konstantin Korovin, Antoine Blanchard, and Édouard Cortès painted it.
It's even in a poem called The Absinthe Drinkers by Robert Service. The short story My Old Man by Ernest Hemingway is also set there. You can even spot it in the Disney movie The Aristocats. Walt Disney himself had visited the café when he was a Red Cross ambulance driver during World War I.
Later, a radio studio was set up inside the café. In 1948, it broadcast a show called This Is Paris. This was the first live radio show ever sent from Paris to the United States!
Changes and Preservation
In 1897, a French hotel owner named Arthur Millon took over the café and the Grand-Hôtel. He made them part of a very large hotel business in Paris. After he passed away, his son André continued the business.
In 1972, the café and the hotel were sold. Then, on August 22, 1975, the French government declared the café's inside a monument historique. This means it's a protected historical site. In 2002, the café was carefully renovated by a special French firm that works on old buildings.
See also
In Spanish: Café de la Paix para niños
