Best Cafes near the Louvre Museum

Best Cafes near the Louvre Museum

Updated by Vanessa M in August 2023.

You’ve had a long day in the Louvre, the biggest museum on the planet, and you’re ready to refuel with a delicious cafe lunch.

Graciously, the 1st arrondissement offers more cafes than probably necessary. Within just a short walking distance from the museum doors are a handful of them; all of which are open seven days a week, to cater to the highly saturated tourist demand in this neighborhood.

Baguett’s Café near the Louvre Museum

I tend to choose my Parisian cafes depending on the season. In the summer, I seek out spots that are bright, cool and well ventilated. In the winter, I want the dimmest, coziest and warmest little nook possible — Baguette’s Cafe is just that.

This cafe is a short walk from the Louvre, up toward the palace gardens. It’s a tiny cafe, lit mostly by the fairy lights that are suspended from the ceiling.

Baguett’s Café – by Baguett’s Café – Uploaded by them

The petite kitchen caters paninis, sandwiches, toasts, croissants, bagels, pancakes and quiche. Rumor has it they also make some of the best scrambled eggs in the world — you’ll have to visit for breakfast to get to try them.

Baguette’s has a small bakery section as well; you can take home treats like banana bread and pastries.

Bring a book along and cozy-up for a well deserved meal.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday — 9:30am to 5pm

ADDRESS: 436, Rua do Poço Novo 180, 2750-642 Cascais, Portugal

Metro STATION: Pyramides

Café Blanc near the Louvre Museum

Cafe Blanc is situated right outside of the entrance to the Louvre, so a lot of visitors have breakfast here before starting their journey through the museum.

Cafe Blanc is more of a traditional Parisian cafe as opposed to an international, artisanal-style one. This means they also open very early, and close very late; 2am to be exact.

Café Blanc – by Café Blanc – Uploaded by them

You’ll eat breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner and late night meals all under one roof. There is a balanced menu consisting of all the authentic French dishes you need to try while visiting the capital city.

I don’t recommend this spot for plant-based eaters looking for a cafe experience while in the Louvre district. Like almost all traditional bistros, there isn’t much on the menu made free of eggs, milk or animal parts — go elsewhere!

Here is more information on the Best Traditional French Cafes in Paris

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday — 7am to 2am

ADDRESS: 10 Rue Croix des Petits Champs, 75001 Paris, France

Metro STATION: Pyramides

Loup near the Louvre Museum

Technically, Loup is a brewery, but the menu and experience are exactly what you’d want out of a great cafe concept.

This quirky spot feels like 1950s Parisian cafe meets 1970s Californian diner. It’s bright blue facade and retro interior make it one of the best places to eat in the 1st arrondissement.

You’ll enter the cafe to the sweet smell of fresh rotisserie chicken, slowly baking away at the building entrance. Service is good, morning until night. You won’t ever find the space in a lull, mostly thanks to the melodic jazz that is pumped trough the space at all times.

Loup – by Loup – Uploaded by them

The menu is very diverse, featuring international cafe dishes amongst traditional bistro foods. They also cater generously to gluten free individuals.

This is the kind of spot that gets recommended to you once, and that you continue to recommend to anyone who brings to your attention that they are visiting Paris soon. Don’t miss this cafe!

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday — 9am to 2am

ADDRESS: 44, rue du Louvre Angle, Rue Coquillière, 75001 Paris, France

Metro STATION: Pyramides

Café Kitsune Palais Royal near the Louvre Museum

If something lighter than a full meal is on the cards, the Cafe Kitsune is probably where you want to go. This is a spot that I enjoy in the spring and summer months, as the majority of their space is situated on their outdoor terrace.

Fast becoming Paris’ favorite coffee spot, Cafe Kitsune is where you can drop in for a hot cuppa and a treat to accompany it. If you’d like something more filling, find the restaurant on the first floor and their menu of light meals.

Café Kitsune Palais Royal – by Café Kitsune – Uploaded by them

Cafe Kitsune was the first place I’ve found a dirty chai latte in Paris. They also offer oat milk, which is something not many places are doing yet either.

My order? Regular chai with oat milk, and a side of matcha cake. Summer or winter.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday — 9:30am to 7pm

ADDRESS: 51 Galerie de Montpensier, 75001 Paris, France

Metro STATION: Pyramides

Café Verlet near the Louvre Museum

If you’re one of those people who judges a cafe based on whether or not they ahem Eggs Benedict on the menu, then this spot is for you.

Cafe Verlet is a cafe combined with a French patisserie. You’ll enjoy wonderful breakfast and lunch foods, in addition to freshly baked treats in their age old tradition.

As mentioned, Cafe Verlet does a classic Eggs Benedict, as well as a salmon and spinach variation. I tend to go all out when I come here and just go straight to the waffle and cream dish.

Café Verlet – by Café Verlet – Uploaded by them

Cafe Verlet is silently competing with Cafe Kitsune for the title of best coffee in all of Paris. Since the spots are within walking distance of one another, coffee lovers from around the world make their way between the two spots just to put the rumors at bay. To put things into perspective, Cafe Verlet has been making coffee in Paris for over 125 years.

You can also read about Best Internet Cafes in Paris here

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday — 9am to 7pm

ADDRESS: 256 Rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris, France

Metro STATION: Pyramides

Anticafé near the Louvre Museum

This Anticafé is the most international, conveniently positioned between the Comédie Française, the Louvre, and the Opera! It has an unusual setting and a basement in the shape of a chalet next to the Palais Royal to make ideas grow in this exclusive region.

If you’re looking for a nice place in Paris to work on your laptop for a couple of hours while sipping tea or coffee and nibbling on sweets look no further. Anticafé is an intriguing concept that combines a coworking space and a nice coffee shop.

Photo by Valeriia Miller from Pexels

Rather than ordering espresso after espresso to avoid feeling bad when setting up camp at a café, you pay by the hour at Anticafé which includes drinks, snacks, and Wi-Fi. For 5€/hour you can have reliable Wi-Fi excellent food, and as many hot or cold beverages as you want.

While it may not be a traditional Parisian café experience, Anticafé is a must-visit if you’re in the city, especially if you’re on business or a digital nomad.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Opening Hours: Monday to Friday — 9 am to 7 pm

ADDRESS: 10 Rue de Richelieu, 75001 Paris, France

Metro STATION: Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre

Café Marly near the Louvre Museum

Café Marly, a one-of-a-kind and renowned establishment strongly associated with culture and luxury, symbolizes the soul of Beaumarly. It is the ideal confluence of a Parisian brasserie and a literary café in the center of the Tuileries, beneath the arcades of the Louvre, where you can relax on the terrace while admiring the pyramid.

Photo by Chevanon Photography from Pexels

Inside, you can sit and observe the classified woodwork, the view of the museum’s sculpture galleries, and this magnificent position… Café Marly is one of Paris’ most gorgeous secrets, as well as one of the best hidden!

The menu of Café Marly features French meals prepared with high-quality ingredients, the starters highlight seasonal vegetables, while the main courses feature grilled meat and seafood. The sweet and delectable red fruit pavlova, a “Beaumarly Signature” dish and symbolic of Café Marly, continues to turn attention!

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday — 8:30 am to 2 am

ADDRESS: 93 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France

Metro STATION: Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre

Café Ruc near the Louvre Museum

Café Ruc is a must-visit Parisian brasserie in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, opposite the Comédie Française, located at the intersection of the Louvre, the garden of the Palais Royal, the Museum of Decorative Arts, and the Fashion Museum.

Photo by Tyler Nix from Pexels

Café Ruc invites its customers in a cozy and private setting from breakfast to dinner. It’s a restaurant that makes you happy, great for dining with friends or family. Furthermore, it is not uncommon to come into performers and comedians after the performance has concluded.

The menu of Café Ruc features premium brasserie cuisine with local delicacies as well as large, characteristically French meals that will please all palates. Lunch options include sea bass carpaccio and duck parmentier with porcini mushrooms, while dinner options include Scottish smoked salmon as an appetizer and truffle risotto.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday — 8 am to 2 am

ADDRESS: 159 Rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris, France

Metro STATION: Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre

LouLou near the Louvre Museum

The Loulou in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs has a one-of-a-kind and spectacular location in the heart of the Palais du Louvre. The restaurant is located in the bustling surrounds of the Rue de Rivoli, where museums and magnificent hotels rub elbows with luxury and designer boutiques.

Anyone can indulge in lovely daydreams in the middle of Olympian quiet observing the gardens surrounded by the most beautiful of monuments; the Eiffel Tower, the Musée d’Orsay, the Louvre, its gardens, and its Pyramid.

Photo by Mathias Reding from Pexels

Loulou is more than a restaurant, it is a place where life is rich and effervescent. It describes itself as an “enchanted, urban parenthesis,” offering lunch, dinner, and everything in between seven days a week, where a diverse clientele of museum-goers, mindful tourists, and cultured trendsetters can sink into plush banquettes and enjoy a true moment of gourmandise.

Loulou’s cuisine is not the sparse, minimalist meal carefully picked at by ladies who lunch, but rather fabulously seasoned, richly-proportioned, robust, and comfortable Italian classics presented in a very French manner.

Read more about the Louvre Museum Paris here

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Opening Hours: Sunday to Wednesday — 12-2:30 pm to 7-11 pm/Thursday-Saturday -12-2:30 pm, 7-11:30 pm

ADDRESS: 107 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France

Metro STATION: Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre

Coutume Café near the Louvre Museum

Coutume was one of the first premium coffee cafes in Paris, riding the trend of industrial-chic café design. It approaches coffee roasting and brewing almost scientifically.

Photo by EYAD Tariq from Pexels

Come here and you’ll see that coffee is taken seriously. Coutume attracts international visitors roaming the area in quest of something more than push-button espresso due to its proximity to Le Bon Marché.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Opening Hours: Monday to Friday —8:30 am to 5:30 pm/Saturday-Sunday;9 am to 6 pm

ADDRESS: 47 Rue de Babylone, 75007 Paris, France

Metro STATION: Saint-François-Xavier

If you’re feeling full of energy after a delicious nibble and want to explore Paris on foot, you can take a free Paris walking tour and explore the city’s hidden gems with a guide.