Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) is well known among Francophiles for his book “A Moveable Feast,” in which he wrote, in vivid color and with endless affection, about his time in Paris. He arrived in the City of Light in 1921 with his wife Hadley, and before long he became one of the most important figures in the American community that settled in Paris after World War I.
One of Hemingway’s favorite pastimes, back when he didn’t exactly have money to spare (to put it mildly), was walking the streets of Paris and visiting Sylvia Beach’s bookstore, Shakespeare and Company, where he met the writers Gertrude Stein (1874-1946), Ezra Pound (1885-1972) and F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940). The three of them would later sit for hours in the cafés of Montparnasse.
Hemingway left Paris in 1928 with a new wife (Pauline), but he kept coming back over the following years. His most famous visit came in 1944, when he returned to the City of Light to “liberate” the Ritz hotel (or, more accurately, its wine cellar).
Legend has it that his good friend, the photographer Robert Capa, drove like a maniac to Paris, determined to be the first to reach the Ritz hotel, only to find Hemingway already sitting at the famous bar (now named after him) with a drink in hand…
The route you’ll find here focuses on the Latin Quarter, where Hemingway lived and worked, and it works as a kind of companion route to the walking tour of the Latin Quarter I published earlier.
The House Where Hemingway and His Wife Lived in Paris
Start the walk by coming out of the Cardinal Lemoine metro station. Walk to number 74 on the street the station is named after. This is where Ernest Hemingway lived with his wife Hadley when they first arrived in Paris. They lived in a two-room apartment with a bathroom shared by the whole floor, though according to Hemingway, they were “very poor and very happy.”
Rue Mouffetard
Continue on to Place Contrescarpe, which stars in his book “A Moveable Feast.” To the left of the square you’ll find Rue Mouffetard, which Hemingway described as “a wonderful, crowded, narrow market street.” I recommend walking this street especially on a Sunday, when a market takes over its lower section and Parisians gather every week at 11:00 a.m. for a bit of impromptu public singing.
Once you’ve done a bit of shopping on Rue Mouffetard, turn right onto Rue Clovis and continue toward the Panthéon. On your right you’ll see the Église Saint-Étienne-du-Mont. It’s not particularly connected to Hemingway, but it’s well worth stepping inside.
The Luxembourg Gardens: Hemingway’s Favorite Park
After visiting Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, and maybe stopping in to see the great figures of France resting in the Panthéon, walk along Rue Soufflot toward the Luxembourg Gardens, where Hemingway used to stroll every day.
Legend has it that Hemingway was so poor that, driven by hunger, he used to hunt pigeons in the Luxembourg Gardens. One day, while hunting pigeons (or just wandering around the park, depending on who you ask), he met Gertrude Stein, whom we’ll get to in a moment.
Hemingway’s Bar
Leave the Luxembourg Gardens heading south along Avenue de l’Observatoire until you reach the Closerie des Lilas, Hemingway’s favorite café and the quietest of all the Montparnasse cafés. Go inside and look for the small plaque at the bar marking his usual spot.
Time to Visit a Few of the Writer’s Close Friends
From here, head to Rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs. At number 113, Hemingway lived right next door to his friend Ezra Pound. As the story goes, Pound gave Hemingway writing lessons, and in exchange Hemingway taught him how to box…
Backtrack a bit and head north to Rue d’Assas, then turn left onto Rue de Fleurus. Gertrude Stein lived at number 27 (apartment 5), and Hemingway spent long hours in her apartment talking about writing and gossiping about their friends (all of this came to an end a few years later, when the two had a falling out).
Hemingway’s Bookstore
Head back to the Luxembourg Gardens (there’s no such thing as “too much Luxembourg Gardens”) and exit onto Rue Férou. From there, walk along Rue Saint-Sulpice and turn right onto Rue de l’Odéon. This was the route Hemingway took to reach the Shakespeare and Company bookstore, which originally stood at 12 Rue de l’Odéon, avoiding the restaurants along the way since his finances didn’t allow him to go into them. The store, which you can find today on Rue de la Bûcherie, was something like a second home for him, and the books he borrowed there gave him the inspiration he needed.
The Restaurants Where the Writer Loved to Eat
Continue along Rue de l’Odéon to Rue Racine, then keep going until you reach the restaurant Polidor, on Rue Monsieur le Prince. This is where Hemingway used to eat on the days when money was tight. If he were alive today, it’s not clear he could afford it…
Continue on Rue Monsieur le Prince and turn left onto Boulevard Saint-Germain to reach Brasserie Lipp and Les Deux Magots. Hemingway loved both places, and in “A Moveable Feast” he wrote about eating a potato salad and a sausage at Lipp, washed down with a cold beer. If the prices there don’t scare you off, feel free to sit down and do the same, since this is exactly where our walk comes to an end.
Finally, Looking for a Companion for This Walk? Midnight in Paris!
Usually, when Americans make movies about France, the result is dreadful kitsch. But in the case of “Midnight in Paris,” Woody Allen managed to capture the Paris of the 1920s, the Paris Hemingway lived in, in a way that’s both charming and accurate. So before you set out on this walk, or after you finish it, you really have to watch this movie.
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