A Paris’s Café Where You Write to Your Future Self
Café Pli is Europe’s first “letter café.” The idea is simple but unusual: you sit down with a drink, pick up pen and paper, and write a letter that will be sent to your future self (or to someone you care about) after 1, 5, or even 20 years. The café seals and stores it safely until the date you choose.
The project was launched by Geneviève Landsmann, inspired by a similar space she discovered in South Korea. Her goal was to bring to Paris a place that slows people down in a city where everything moves fast.
Café Pli now has two locations in Paris. The original is at 38 rue du Faubourg du Temple (11è), close to République. The second, newer one is at 141 avenue Parmentier (10è, métro Goncourt).
Both have a similar warm, minimalist atmosphere designed to help visitors focus and disconnect. When you walk in, you’re given everything you need: fine paper, envelopes, sealing wax, pens, and even little decorations.
You choose a delivery date, write your letter, seal it, and hand it over. The café files it away with thousands of others waiting for their future day of arrival.
There’s no rush or noise here. People sit quietly, lost in thought, sometimes taking a photo in the small booth next to the writing tables.
There are boxes to lock your phone if you want to write without distractions. The idea is to create an island of calm in the middle of Paris, a small ritual that feels personal.
The café’s decor features wooden furniture, warm lighting, and vintage stationery. The soft hum of espresso machines blends with the sound of pen on paper.
Shelves are lined with envelopes sorted by future years, some marked as far ahead as 2045. It feels like both a workshop and a time capsule.
Many visitors describe it as meditative. Locals come to pause and reflect; travelers often write letters about their trip or messages to themselves to read years later.
Final Words
The café is open daily. Drinks and letter-writing sessions are priced from around €15 for a one-year letter to about €45 for one delivered in twenty years.
For travelers, Café Pli is a way to do something personal in Paris beyond sightseeing. It’s a souvenir that will come back to you, literally. Instead of a postcard or a trinket, you leave behind your own words and receive them when you least expect it.