Paris | France 

The name of the Parisian restaurant on the Avenue St. Germaine may be as mysterious as the men who once frequented the place. 

While we were told that “Les Deux Magots” means “The Two Chinamen,” the word “magot” doesn’t appear in most, if any, French dictionaries. That veil of secrecy seems appropriate, as the establishment reportedly served as a meeting place for international spies during World War II. The café was also haunted by the likes of writers Ernest Hemingway and Victor Hugo. 

The day we visited; the cold was blamed for keeping most human activity indoors. We, however, preferred imagining that a waiter stood outside in isolation not for want of clientele but in keeping with intrigue, perhaps ready to politely but firmly request the day’s password.