The oldest cafe in the world: Napoleon used to mortgage his hat for a cup of coffee to take you back to history.

Located at 13 Rue Saint-Germain on the left bank of Paris, the cafe is 330 years old.

Its die-hard fans pull out an absolute all-star lineup: Napoleon, Rousseau, Voltaire, Hemingway, Diderot, Hugo, Balzac. Almost all the celebrities of the 17th and 18th centuries drank coffee here.

How did this ashes-grade cafe survive the long three centuries? Our friend, Claudia, who lives in Paris, was commissioned by our domestic companion Ka sir to go into Le Procope to find out in person.

The prime location lasts forever.

Before walking into this cafe, I specifically searched Wikipedia for its history.

In 1686, a Sicilian named Le Procope began the legendary journey of the cafe. Now the cafe is 330 years old.

Le Procope Cafe, which began in 1686

Le Procope Cafe, located at 13 Rue Saint-Germain in Paris. In the Middle Ages, it was the heart of the left bank of Paris, and daily life was quite lively.

At that time, Louis XIV moved to Versailles, and the left bank became the only way from Paris to Versailles, entering the golden period of development. At that time, dignitaries and celebrities came here to build mansions, gradually forming a middle-class community.

It was at this moment that Le Procope began its legendary journey in the prime location on the left bank of the Seine.

History has once again proved that the prime location is everlasting and the century-old shop will last forever.

The ability to recite a hat

At the main entrance of the cafe, in the window on one side is the shop's "treasure of the town shop"-Napoleon's iconic hat.

The hat that Napoleon used to mortgage coffee money.

I stopped in front of the window to watch, the waiter watched, and enthusiastically introduced the story of the hat:

According to legend, when Napoleon was a young officer, he came here one day for coffee, and because he had no money with him, he put this hat here to pay the bill.

At that time, no one would have thought that the young man who could not afford the coffee would become the founder of Napoleon's empire.

The story was simple, but the waiter spoke eloquently, as if to witness the embarrassment that the little man could not afford to pay at that time.

Le Procope took this story out of many sage stories and painted it into a wealth cat for the history and brand of the cafe.

From cafes to caf é s

Yes, the oldest cafe has now been transformed into a curry restaurant, and the number outside has changed from caf é to Restaurant.

Transformed into a coffee restaurant, coffee + traditional French food

In addition to coffee, the menu also serves traditional French dishes such as braised chicken and snails.

The name of the signature dish who relies on the old to sell the old is: 1686.

Of course, French food still plays the historical star card. One of the most famous is the "philosopher set meal", with appetizers, entrees and desserts made entirely in the traditional way.

A set meal costs about 35 euros. The price is moderate, the quantity of food is OK, but it is not exquisite enough and the taste is beyond circle.

Have a cup of coffee, of course. In fact, that's why most people come here.

I ordered a Nespresso.

After drinking, it can be said for sure that this old shop has lived for three long centuries, and it definitely does not depend on the quality of coffee.

"We sell the smell of the 18th century."

Obviously, today's Le Procope sells its history.

Le Procope Cafe has a long-running slogan: a place for artists to date with writers.

When I walked into the lobby, the walls were covered with portraits of great men. Those who look familiar are Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, Hugo, Balzac and so on.

Without exception, these bigwigs are all "die-hard fans" advertised by Le Procope Cafe.

In the corner near the window on the second floor, there is still a chair with Hemingway's name engraved on the back of the chair, called Hemingway's chair. It is said that Hemingway completed his "Sun Rises as usual" in this chair.

In the other corner is Voltaire's desk marked "King of French thought", where he brewed the Enlightenment.

Voltaire's desk, in the corner of the cafe.

The address of the bathroom has the characteristics of the 18th century. It does not write "Toilettes" or "WC", but "Commodit é", meaning "convenience". The elegant expression in French is like "changing" in Chinese.

The bathroom door is marked with "Citoyen" (male citizen) and "Citoyenne" (female citizen) respectively.

Standing in front of the door, what you smell is the history of the French Revolution.

Today's Le Procope provides customers with a magical time tunnel. Here, you can feel that those figures who had the ability to move the historical hour hand were talking, pondering and debating fiercely, thus the ideological trend of enlightenment burst out.

Look, it inadvertently plays an important historical role as an incubator of ideas.

Source: Wechat official account "Ka Men"