Standing in the middle of the Place Saint-Germain-des-Prés today, surrounded by tourists from around the globe thronging the terrasse of Les Deux Magots and the luxury store of Louis Vuitton, it takes some imagination to step back 80 years and see it as an 18-year-old Juliette Gréco did in 1945. Having been beaten and imprisoned by the Gestapo after helping her mother and sister in their Resistance activities, she found herself alone, penniless and homeless on the streets of Paris. She knew only one person, a friend of her mother’s called Hélène Duc who lived in the 6th arrondissement. To her credit, Hélène took her in, fed and housed her in her own home. The only clothes available to her in this grim aftermath of the war were those of Hélène’s sons, so Juliette went around in an oversized coat and trousers held up with a belt. Thus the bohemian look of Saint-Germain-des-Prés was born. Juliette Gréco in 1966. Photo: Ron Kroon for Anefo/ Wikimedia commons Juliette wasted no time in acquainting herself with the young intellectuals of the quartier. In particular she struck up friendships with the writer and musician Boris Vian and Anne-Marie Cazalis and the three of them formed a nucleus of young people who patronized Le Bar Vert in Rue Jacob. Trouble was, once the bar closed at around 1am there was nowhere else to go. They became used to having chamber pots poured over their heads by irate neighbors as they hung around the doors talking and smoking until dawn. They moved to another café on the corner of Rue Dauphine and Rue Christine also frequented by writers and intellectuals, Le Tabou. In early 1947 four of its regulars persuaded the owners, a Toulousain couple called the Guyonnets, to convert the cellar into a nightclub. And after a minimal makeover, the nightclub Le Tabou was born, setting the template not just for cellar clubs everywhere, but for the frenetic, if short-lived, flourishing of Saint Germain’s nightlife. It opened its doors in the spring of 1947. The house band was fronted by talented trumpet-player Boris Vian, who brought with him his young friends who, in turn, made the club the hippest night spot in Paris. Boris Vian in 1948. Photo: Studio Harcourt/ Public domain