Cafés, bars and bistros, especially those at the Vavin crossroads since renamed Place Pablo-Picasso, were meeting places where ideas were proposed and debated.

The cafes Le Dôme, La Closerie des Lilas, La Rotonde, Le Select, and La Coupole — which are still in business — accepted that hungry artists could occupy a table for the whole evening for a ridiculous price. If they fell asleep, the waiters were instructed not to disturb them. Arguments were common, some fueled by intellectual debates, others by alcohol and when the confrontation was physical the police were not called. If they could not pay their bill, the owner of La Rotonde Victor Libion ​​often accepted a sketch. As such the walls of the cafes were plastered with a collection of works of art, which nowadays would make the curators of the greatest museums quiver with envy.

Source : Wikipedia