"So many things in Paris are so much older than their counterparts in America—we are such a young country!—but Le Procope is ancient even by French standards. The plaque outside reads 1686, and that is true, sort of—it closed in 1872, and reopened in the 1920s. The original café was a haunt of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Napoleon (no women allowed back then…). One patron described the atmosphere in 1772 thusly, "There is an ebb and flow of all conditions of men, nobles and cooks, wits and sots, pell mell, all chattering in full chorus to their heart's content.” Now everyone is welcome, and it is fine to raise your voice."