Recommendations for great cafes for coffee and ambience?

We will be in Paris a few weeks and are curious if anyone has some advice for a nice place to get a cup of coffee and perhaps a snack whilst relaxing and perhaps reading the daily newspaper? Or just if anyone has been to a really killer cafe and wants to share? Merci beaucoup!

For reference, the kind or places i have been to in other cities and really like are: earwax in chicago, esperanto in NYC, Hawelka in Vienna, Joe Bar and victorla in Seattle, which is my hometown so if any needs seattle advise for cafes, feel free to pm me.

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Completely ignorant of any of your examples, I will recommend Bistrot Marguerite on the corner of the place de l%26#39;Hôtel de Ville and the Seine. It is a calm and old fashioned place on an excellent corner for people watching.

It is rarely full and has free wifi.

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A great people-watching location that fits your criteria is %26quot;Café Grizzli%26quot; on rue St-Martin near the Tour St-Jacques.

metacafe.com/watch/…

We like it because the food and coffee is reliably good and it%26#39;s a nice, central, rendez-vous point when we need one. Great people-watching spot too.

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restovisio.com/restaurant/128-Angelina-Rivol…

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Yes, it%26#39;s expensive....but Les Deux Magots has a beautiful terrasse, good coffee and some fabulous people-watching. It%26#39;s on the Blvd. St. Germain right across the %26quot;place%26quot; from the church.

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I second the Grizzli along with these:

Cafe Beaubourg (very close to the Grizzli)

L%26#39;Etoile Manquante - near 30 rue Vielle du Temple

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Kerouac gave you the best place for a drink ; people watching and betting how long the next accident will take.

My favorite people watching place in Paris is the Gobelin Court in the Hotel Plaza Athenee. In that gorgeous place you can watch the phoniest Parisians on the planet for $15 for a pitcher of chocolate ancienne; the best hot chocolate ever.

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We really liked Cafe Charlot, on rue Bretagne, in the 3rd, although it was probably more L.A. than Seattle! Good people-watching and a nice change from the throngs of tourists in other areas of the city.

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Cafe Charlot is definitely nice. I completely forgot about that one..