La Closerie des Lilas

The Closerie opened in 1847 at the Montparnasse end of Boulevard Saint-Michel and has been the working address of writers ever since: Apollinaire, Hemingway (who wrote much of The Sun Also Rises in the brasserie, with the table marked by a brass plaque), Beckett, Sartre. The complex has three rooms — restaurant gastronomique, brasserie, and piano bar — at three different price points; the brasserie is where you actually want to be, with the pewter bar, mosaic floor, and Hemingway's bourbon-flambéed beef fillet. Live piano nightly from 8pm. Open until 1am. Reserve for the brasserie; the bar takes walk-ins.