Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Café des Deux Garçons, located at 53 bis of the Cours Mirabeau in Aix-en-Provence, occupies the ground floor of the Hotel de Gantès, a private hotel built in 1660. Its decor, dating from the consular period, as well as its facades and its marquise, have been protected as historical monuments since 1984. The place was first an inn, the White Horse Inn, held by a certain Monsieur Gros before the Mirabeau course was drilled in 1650. The Gantès hotel, erected on this plot, will later house spaces dedicated to the nobility and the local bourgeoisie.

In the 18th century, the building was acquired by Mr. Guion, who installed the Grand Circle, a place reserved for the Aix élite. After the Revolution, in 1789, Mr. Guérin received the lease, which transformed him into Café Julien. It was only in 1840 that two coffee boys, Guidoni and Guérini, bought the establishment and gave it its current name, Les Deux Garçons — familiarly nicknamed "les 2 Gs" with reference to the common initials of its owners and historical actors.

In the 20th century, coffee became a high place of artistic and intellectual life, welcoming major figures such as Picasso, Cocteau, Delon, or Poulenc, as well as local artists such as Raimu, Paul Cézanne, Henri Bosco and Darius Milhaud. He is also associated with the opera festival of Aix-en-Provence. Its history took a dramatic turn in 2019: closed administratively on 7 June on prefectural order, it was ravaged by a fire on 30 November, while its reopening was hampered by legal disputes.

The hotel is inseparable from the Gantès hotel, whose facades, roofs and three interior rooms (with their original décor) are protected. His name also evokes the tradition of "coffee boys", these waiters who marked his identity, like those of the 20th century who contributed to his fame. The surveillance camera that broke down before the 2019 fire adds a shadow zone to its recent history.

External links