Cappiello, 1901

Book cover

The Hotel Royal Fromentin has revived the myth of absinthe in a book written by Marie-Claude Delahaye, author of numerous works about absinthe and founder of the Musée de l'Absinthe in Auvers-sur-Oise. Let your imagination wander as you sip a glass of absinthe in the mythical bar of the former Don Juan Cabaret. Discover the authentic absinthe ritual in the very heart of this “quartier” of Paris, just as Van Gogh, Toulouse Lautrec, Baudelaire and so many other did before you.

Here are some excepts from this book now available at the hotel. Discover our « quartier » the way it was during the exciting “Belle Epoque” at the end of the 19th century.

In the heart of Paris , in a neighbourhood steeped in history, the Hotel Royal Fromentin is the ideal spot to step back in time and discover absinthe. It was indeed a tradition in this area of Paris where the Belle Epoque poets and artists gathered, leaving a rich artistic legacy. At the junction of the famous “quartiers” of New Athens, Saint Georges and Montmartre , the rue Fromentin witnessed artists, poets, writers and performers on their way to the numerous cafés and cabarets in the area. And absinthe, the fashionable drink at the time, was served everywhere.

Van Gogh. L'Absinthe, 1887

Often called the “Green Fairy” or “ the Muse”, the inspiration of many an artist, absinthe vapours floated in the air, their heady anise perfume escaping out on to the “Grands Boulevards” where cafés flourished and the atmosphere was carefree. From one café to the next, noisy groups of revellers made their way, sustained by numerous libations. The lobby of the hotel, formerly the Don Juan cabaret, has preserved all the charm of its origins with its wooden beams and painted wood panelling, its two great chimneys and its caryatids. Settle comfortably into one of the armchairs, in the heart of this “quartier” where so many famous artists once lived. Let your imagination wander down its streets where the fragrance of absinthe seems to magically linger yet.