The History of the Parisian Bistro and Paris Bistro Life Today

The Paris bistro is at its heart an unpretentious neighborhood gathering place serving traditional cuisine, having an active bar counter, and open beyond meal hours, with an ever-watchful owner on the premises. Yet use of the term has also evolved over the past 150 years. In this illustrated 1-hour lecture, Gary Lee Kraut examines the development and evolution of bistros in Paris since the late 19th century and tells of the place of old-fashion restaurant-bar bistros in the French capital today. Gary will also talk about various organizations devoted to defending and promoting traditional bistros, cafés and brasseries as essential vectors of sociability and art-de-vivre à la française.

Originally from Trenton, New Jersey, Gary Lee Kraut is an American and French dual citizen who has been inspiring and informing travelers for 35 years through travel writing, consulting, lecturing, and guiding. He is the author of five travel guides and of hundreds of articles about France. He is also the author and voice behind four audio tours created for the VoiceMap app. Since 2009 he has operated the award-winning travel e-magazine France Revisited, francerevisited.com. He lives in Paris.

At home in both French and American journalism circles, Gary served as Secretary General of the Association des Journalistes du Patrimoine, France’s Heritage Journalists Association, from 2016 to 2020.

As a lecturer, Gary has presented extensively in the United States. Speaking at libraries, universities, and to Alliance Française groups, among others, he has made presentations as diverse as Understanding Patrimoine (Cultural Heritage) in France; American War Memories in France (WWI and WWII); the History of the Wines of Burgundy and Champagne; the Jewish History of Paris; Exploring Historic Gardens in Paris; Culinary Explorations in Paris; 3 Villas on the Riviera, and most recently Paris Bistro Life. He is available for any of these presentations via Zoom or, under certain circumstances, in person.