The Paris Writers' Café - Classical Pursuits

The Paris Writers’ Café

The Paris Writers Café Tour Overview

What makes Paris café culture so inspiring? Come discover–or rediscover–your writing spirit with a week in Paris. Writer Lisa Pasold will lead a generative workshop focusing on the Paris café. The trip will look at literary café history, the writer community of the café, and the creative energy that comes from working in such inspiring places.

This tour is designed for both experienced writers and those new to the craft. We’ll work in several historic cafés, exploring different moods and styles of writing. We’ll meet bookstore owners and local writers, visit two museums linked to literary history, and go to an English-language reading.

Step into history while living and writing very much in the present Paris café.

Real connections with real writers

This tour takes advantage of Lisa’s extensive network in Paris. It includes an evening at a long-running spoken word night at a popular café, and a visit to The American Library in Paris, an important cultural centre for English speakers in France and a gathering place for writers and thinkers.

Guides who know their stuff

Your tour leader Lisa Pasold and tour manager Melanie Blake love to share Paris experiences that showcase the city as a home to working artists. Lisa is a poet, novelist and storyteller who was the host and co-writer of Discovery World’s TV travel show “Paris Next Stop.” Melanie is the director of Classical Pursuits and has led six previous Paris tours.

Small groups, always

You may have seen tours of 35 or 40 people advertised as “small group.” Or even been on one of these big-bus experiences. This tour + writing retreat is capped at 12. This means lots of face time with your guides and the chance to visit sites and restaurants that are off-limits to larger groups.

Accommodation

Classical Pursuits’ longtime home in Paris is the Hôtel Le Littré. The hotel is in Paris’ 6th arrondissement, on a quiet street between the rue de Rennes and the rue de Vaugirard. Guest rooms are a generous size by Paris standards and are equipped with air conditioning, TV, safe, minibar, hair dryer, and free WiFi. A varied buffet breakfast is served in the elegant restaurant

Sample Itinerary at a Glance

Day 1: Arrive to Paris / welcome dinner in Montparnasse
Day 2: Guided walk on Left Bank café history / writing workshop and bookshop reading
Day 3: Writing workshop and museum visit
Day 4: Walking tour on the history of the literary café / cooking class
Day 5: Musée Carnavalet writing session / Bookshop visit / optional jazz or theatre
Day 6: Writing workshop / American Library visit / farewell dinner at Lisa’s
Day 7: Departure

To get a detailed itinerary once it’s ready, email Abbie at abbie@worldwidequest.com or call toll-free 1-800-387-1483.

Readings

This tour differs from our others in that it’s a writing-focused trip. There will be a recommended reading list for background information before the trip. We will discuss different Paris writers during our time together, but the main focus of these meetings will be creative ideas for our own writing.

More Resources

Listen to Lisa’s Improbable Walks podcast episode about Emile Zola
All tour registrants get our extensive further recommended reading list of fiction, nonfiction, talks, and more

Image credits: Tour page image of Les Deux Magots by Roger Salz on Flicker/Creative Commons

Lisa has encyclopedic knowledge of Paris, is a good storyteller, brought specific quotes to enhance the topics and was patient with stragglers.

Binnie P., Washington

Melanie did a ton of valuable research ahead of the trip (mapping out bus routes, etc.), juggled so many tasks cheerfully, always very attentive to people's disparate needs, and always patient and kind.

A 2023 traveller

Both Melanie and Lisa worked very hard to give us great information in a relaxed and stimulating atmosphere.

Anna A., Virginia

Leaders

Lisa Pasold

Lisa Pasold will lead the writing workshops and our custom walks. A writer originally from Montreal, she is the host and co-writer of Discovery World’s TV travel show “Paris Next Stop.” Lisa is the creator of “Improbable Walks”, story-telling walks focusing on legends and place memory. She has created these art walks to critical acclaim for festivals and gallery residencies in cities such as New Orleans, Toronto and Paris.

Melanie Blake

Melanie Blake is the director of Classical Pursuits, and will be your tour manager. She led her first tour in France in 2002 and never tires of all l'Hexagone has to offer, in all its complexity. She studied English and French at Fordham University and the Université de Montpellier, and linguistics at the University of Nottingham. She has led Classical Pursuits tours to Paris, Belgium, Italy, Colombia, Japan, Morocco, Malta and more.

FAQs

Do I need a visa to visit France?

Canadian and US passport holders do not need visas for tourist stays of 90 days or fewer. The European Union is changing requirements for visa-exempt travel, and will require travelers to obtain in advance ETAs (electronic authorizations) in summer 2025. These changes are not currently in effect. To see the current status of these changes, visit https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias_en

How active is this tour?

Our Paris tours are among our most active tours because they are built around custom guided walks. This tour includes two guided walks of about two hours each, plus travel to the walk starting point. You should be able to stand and walk at a moderate pace for up to three hours at a time. Count on walking at least 5 kilometres a day, including stairs and uneven terrain.

We get around Paris on foot, and by public transit (Métro and bus). The ability to navigate stairs independently is essential, as few Métro stations have elevators, and most don’t have escalators.

We strive to use the most efficient, user-friendly routes possible. But some Métro stations are deep and may require going up or down multiple flights of stairs. We try to avoid changing trains in larger, crowded stations like Les Halles or Opéra/Auber, but this is sometimes unavoidable.

We use the bus whenever it makes sense for our itinerary, as it is more accessible than the Métro and sometimes more direct. But we cannot guarantee that most trips will be by bus.

If you have concerns about being able to participate in this trip, please contact travel@worldwidequest.com for further information and advice.

I'm nervous about using the Métro or bus.

They can seem intimidating, but spending a little time getting familiar with the Paris transit system goes a long way. We recommend downloading the Ile-de-France Mobilités app (Apple link and Google Play link). The RATP Bonjour app is also available on the Apple app store and on Google Play.

Are flights included in this tour?

The tour price does not include flights. Our tour partner Worldwide Quest can help with flight bookings. If you would like this help, please let us know or email travel@worldwidequest.com.

Do I need to speak French?

No, you don’t need to speak French. Lisa is bilingual and Melanie is fluent in French.

That being said, mastering basic courtesies in French goes a long way.

I have food allergies or sensitivities. Can you accommodate me?

We can accommodate most allergies and restrictions. We regularly work with travelers who have shellfish, dairy, or nut allergies, gluten allergies or sensitivity, and vegetarian diets. You can help us out by providing complete and accurate information about allergies and restrictions.

You're a Canadian company, why are most of your tours priced in US dollars?

Like other tour operators, our travel partner Worldwide Quest plans tours 18 to 24 months in advance, with payments to vendors and suppliers due well ahead of the tour. Suppliers in the countries Worldwide Quest works with expect payment in US dollars. When these suppliers must convert to CAD so many months in advance, they have to speculate the value of the Canadian dollar at the time of booking.

Over the past several years, the final pricing has worked in the favour of our travellers, paying a better rate than would have been if originally priced in Canadian dollars.

Where can I learn more about what it's like to go on one of your tours?

Our About Our Tours page has more FAQs that cover topics related to all our tours. We also welcome your questions at info@classicalpursuits.com.

What’s Included

Bilingual guide and workshop facilitator
Bilingual tour manager
Accommodation in double occupancy
Breakfast + other meals as specified in the detailed itinerary
Writing workshops
Ground transportation
Walking tours
Museum and site visits as specified in the detailed itinerary
Taxes and gratuities

Online Learning: Presentations

The Early Days of the Paris Café

September 4 at 2 p.m. Eastern

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Toronto, Canada. Classical Pursuits organizes literary and cultural trips and seminars in Toronto, Canada, and around the world with our travel partner Worldwide Quest (TICO Reg: #2667946). Design by Ctrl Alt Create.