Maxim's

Maxim's began in eighteen ninety-three as a modest bistro for coachmen, but it soon transformed into the most legendary social hub in Paris. The rapid change in fortune started when a famous courtesan named Irma de Montigny walked through the doors and decided to launch the establishment by bringing in her circle of elite friends and admirers. Her influence turned the small venue into a playground for the fashionable set, attracting writers, artists, and royalty throughout the Belle Epoque. Its reputation for glamour became so enduring that it was famously described as a place where one could take a lady, but never one's own wife.