“The only thing that could spoil a day was people,” Ernest Hemingway once wrote of Paris in “A Moveable Feast.” If this sentiment rings too true for you, spend an evening burying your nose in Voltaire, Hugo and Baudelaire at this neighborhood library that doubles as a bar.

With a mammoth selection of literary classics as well as books spanning art to philosophy, you can curl up with a glass of wine and turn pages into the wee hours. Locals perch at the zinc-covered bar, swapping bon mots about life, letters and “Les Misérables” in between sips. La Belle Hortense also hosts reading and events (in French only), but if you need to stretch your legs, there’s always the decidedly more people-friendly activity of tile hopscotch in the lounge.