Fanspot
Café des Colonnes
“He pushed open the door of the Café des Colonnes and just the sound and smell alone would have told him it was Saturday.”
Excerpt from the novel The Hatter’s Ghost by Georges Simenon
Mr. Labbé, hatter of La Rochelle, has a dark secret. The shopkeeper has, in fact, murdered his wife and several of her friends to cover his crime. This does not prevent the assassin from having a good time and going every evening to the Café des Colonnes to play bridge with his companions. They include a police commissioner, a journalist investigating the murders committed by Mr. Labbé and other notables.
This café is the murderer’s favorite, but it was also Georges Simenon’s. Discovering La Rochelle in 1927 after his break-up with Josephine Baker, the Belgian author sat under the columns of the building to enjoy a hot drink. This small stop will multiply and will make the Café de la Paix, its real name, the headquarters of the creator of Maigret.
Georges Simenon made La Rochelle appear in 34 of his novels.
Café de la Paix
Opened in 1793 in a former hospital, the military café, which became the Café de la Paix in 1900, is a part of the history of La Rochelle.
From 1712 until the beginning of the 19th century, the Saint-Etienne hospital, founded by Anne Forestier to relieve the city’s hospitals, took up residence in this brand new building. Despite the death of its founder in 1740, the premises continued to house a health care establishment until the early 19th century.
It was during this period that one part of the building became a theater and the other a military café. In 1852, the neighboring houses were bought and allowed the future Café de la paix to expand. In the first half of the 20th century, the theater became a movie theater still in operation today.
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By Damien Duarte
Passionné par la culture pop depuis son enfance, ses références vont de Donald Duck à Batman en passant par Marty McFly. Fantripper dans l'âme, voyager sur les traces de Ghostbusters, James Bond ou des héros de romans comme Cotton Malone fait partie d'un séjour idéal et réussi !