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Paris Cafe Review: Cafe Charbon (11th Arrond.)

// August 24th, 2009 // Cafes

Cafe Charbon is known to be in one of the hipper areas of town, the 11th Arrondissement (on Rue Oberkampf), so I was expecting to see more action/activity than I did. From what I hear, the area is pretty laid-back and calm during the day and turns into a happening place at night. Chances are that visiting during a Monday afternoon, as I did, is probably not the best time to get a real “feel” for this area or the cafe.

That being said, I still enjoyed my experience. The interior of the cafe is decorated nicely and I have no doubt that this would be a great place to grab a happy hour drink or spend an entire night here (according to iGuide, Cafe Charbon stays “rocking until dawn both in the bar downstairs and the medium-size dance hall upstairs, making it a favorite among young Parisians, especially after the other places in the neighborhood have closed”) . As for the people watching, it was sub-par during this particular Monday afternoon. I did get to witness the shooting of some kind of TV program at the cafe, during my stay, however. As for the coffee itself, my cafe creme was the best I’ve had in Paris, thus far, and came at a pretty standard price from what I’ve seen: 3.00 €.

While I wouldn’t put Cafe Charbon at the top of my list of regular cafes to visit any day of the week, I think this place would definitely be worth visiting during an evening or any time during the weekend when people are out and about.

Day & Time of Visit: Monday @ 3:00PM

Want to see photos from my visit?: Cafe Review Photos

Want to see this location on a map? Map of My Visits