Hemingway in Paris History Tour

Follow Hemingway's footsteps through Paris, taking in the city's literary sites with an expert
From US$476 privately
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Tour Details
Duration
3 hours
Product Type
Tour
Venues
  • Gertrude Stein's apartment building
  • Luxembourg Gardens
  • Rue Mouffetard
  • Montparnasse
  • Panthéon
Photos & Highlights
  • Paris literary tour exploring many of Hemingway's haunts
  • Led by a literature scholar
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Tour Description
During the roaring twenties, Paris was considered the cultural capital of the Western world. Artists and writers flocked to the city from far and wide, including celebrated American writer Ernest Hemingway. During this 3-hour Hemingway-focused Paris literary tour with a literature expert, we'll explore St. Germain, a neighborhood in the city's Left Bank that was once the epicenter of Paris' avant-garde. We'll learn about a wide range of artists, writers, and thinkers in Hemingway's circle including Fitzgerald, Picasso, Pound, Matisse, and the inimitable Gertrude Stein, whose modernist salon provided the gravitational pull for the entire movement.

Paris Literary Tour

Hemingway loved to walk. His strolls provided him with moments of reflection but also connected him with his community, which we will experience together as we trace Hemingway’s path across the Left Bank. We’ll begin our walk not far from where the young writer and his new wife, Hadley, first established a home on rue Cardinal Lemoine. Here, we will set the tone, immersing ourselves in the life of the expat writers of the era. In the early 20th century, this was a working-class area of the Left Bank's Latin Quarter, close to the bustling rue Mouffetard, and tucked in behind the Panthéon and the Church of St. Etienne du Mont (upon the steps of which Woody Allen’s hero waits for the midnight bell to toll).


Note, we also offer an introductory Left Bank Paris Tour.

Hemingway's Paris

Following Hemingway's path, we will continue our walk downhill, past the academic center of the city around the Sorbonne and towards the site of Sylvia Beach’s original Shakespeare & Company bookshop. A hub of Parisian literary life between the two World Wars, Beach's shop famously published James Joyce’s Ulysses for the first time in 1922. We may discuss Hemingway's friendship with Joyce, one of the many literary expats whom Hemingway knew and admired. In the area, we will also pass by some of the residences and other favorite haunts of the Fitzgeralds, Ezra Pound, or Ford Madox Ford.


"[Our guide had] a deep knowledge of Paris during the period that the Lost Generation was creating their mark on the world. We had a delightful tour and thoroughly enjoyed our morning learning about Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Stein, and their lives on the Left Bank."

For more on Paris during the War check out our Paris WWII Tour.

Take Aways

Crossing the Luxembourg Gardens, as Hemingway did on so many occasions, and time-permitting, we may make our way towards the infamous quartier Montparnasse. He would later establish his second home close to Montparnasse. The neighborhood was another hub of artistic life in the 1920s, with its many famous literary cafés all patronized by “Hem." Entering the café-lined streets, we will discuss the role of café life during the twenties, stopping to experience it for ourselves. Our walk may come to a close with a well-earned coffee at perhaps one of the most emblematic cafés of them all, the Closerie des Lilas. Here, we will take a moment to reflect upon the insights we have gained on our journey through literary Paris with Hemingway as our guide. We will emerge from the experience with a better understanding of Paris as a unique place at a particular time in history—home of the “lost generation.”


Note, those interested in the Modernist movement in Paris may want to couple this tour with our Pompidou Center Tour. The center is one of Paris' best collections of modern art.

FAQ

Will I need to have read any of Hemingway's work to enjoy this tour? While we encourage you to read the work of Hemingway and the other lost generation writers, this is not a pre-requisite for taking and enjoying this tour. Even if you are not familiar with his writings, join us to be inspired and foster a newfound appreciation!


Is this tour walking intensive, and/or wheelchair accessible? We do cover extensive territory on this tour. Please contact us with any questions; we will be happy to advise if this tour will be appropriate for you.
Experts
Anthony Anthony
Art Historian
Christina Christina
Local Guide
Gil Gil
Local Guide
Laura Laura
Historian
Samuél Samuél
Writer
Evrard Evrard
Historian
Emmanuelle Emmanuelle
Local Guide
Asli Asli
Researcher/Lecturer
Jean-Philippe Jean-Philippe
Historian
Tina Tina
Local Guide
Sean Sean
Tour guide/Historian
Beverley Beverley
Local Guide
Where You'll Start
(4.69) 110 Reviews

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Asli was wonderful and we learned so much about Hemingway's time in Paris, his connections to fellow writers and artists, and his passion for Paris during an extraordinary time. She was eager for our many questions and shared stories and her deep expertise. Asli also gave us rich insight into Parisian architecture and Haussman, along with his leadership in redesigning Paris in the mid-1800s, which stuck with us during the rest of our amazing trip. We've already passed Asli's name along to several friends visiting Paris soon. Amy + Rick October 2024
Beverley was enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and a pleasure to follow around Paris.
A great way to see the parts of Paris as they looked when Hemingway and his literary buddies lived here.