Paris City Guide 
The comprehensive Insider's Guide for Visitors, Residents, Professionals & Students on Living in Paris

Cafés and Bars Culture

Cafés are places where people go to be among friends and acquaintances. They are meeting places, solariums (the French are notorious sun-worshipers) or shelters from bad weather; places to sit, talk, dream, make friends, make out or eat. They are also handy for their telephones and toilets.

Café and bar-sitting are an integral part of daily French life. Knowing a little about how cafés function will save you from a lot of surprises. First of all, the large, well-situated cafés on the Champs-Elysées, on the Boulevard Saint Germain at Saint Germain-des-Prés, at Montparnasse, along all the major boulevards, and in the Latin Quarter are expensive. But remember, you are not paying for your cup of coffee or glass of beer as much as for your right to sit in a pretty spot for as long as you like and talk, read, watch, or daydream.

If you're spending 12 FF for an express or 20 FF for a demi (half a half of a pint of draught beer), think of it as rent for the time and space. You should know that the prices of drinks in cafés depend on whether you're standing at the bar (comptoir) orzinc (counter bar) or sitting, and then, of course, where you're sitting. Drinks are less expensive if you are served at the bar. The outside terrace is always the most expensive. And then don't forget that the prices of drinks go up after 20h.

Also, you can order some drinks at the bar which you cannot order sitting down. A glass of draught of lemon soda (limonade), the cheapest drink available and very refreshing on warm days, can only be ordered when you're standing at the bar. Otherwise you get the more expensive and overly sweetened bottled lemon soda. No matter where you're sitting or when, the tip is always included.

Although not required or even really expected, it is customary to leave the copper-colored coins (la feraille) in your change as a little extra tip. But, beware! After the introduction of the Euro, these coins can sum up to a very costly amount. At the counter, you'll be presented with a little plastic dish for payment, which is then flipped over to signify that the barman has collected from you. At the tables, the serveur leaves a slip of paper from the cash register indicating what you owe. Usually, you pay at the end of your stay, but sometimes the serveur (not to be called garçon, even though old guidebooks will still indicate so) will come around to collect as he goes off duty. When you've paid he'll crumple or rip slightly the paper indicating that you've paid. Chacun son style!

Cafés are open very early for coffee and croissants. One of the more delightful and simple practices is to ask for a tartine-a buttered stick of baguette-to dunk in your coffee. Très Parisien.