Other night clubs & bars in Paris

I make no claims to these being the ‘best’ places in town, but here’s a brain dump of various places I know, which I guess I should add to the Google map if I get a chance…

None of these places require you to dress like a supermodel to get in! Although I notice somebody has added the ‘Georges’ restaurant at the Pompidou centre to the shared Google map – don’t forget your Gucci shoes if you don’t want to be seated by the toilets!

Although the 14th, where Drupalcon is located, is not the area of Paris with the greatest reputation for partying, there are still a few places not too far away where you can get a drink.

Starting closest to Drupalcon, the Buttes aux Cailles, in the 13th, has a good mix of cheap and cheerful bars – like the Merle Moqueur and it’s range of flavoured rums – and good restaurants. ‘Chez Paul’ is a good traditional French restaurant, or, not far away, ‘L’avant Gout’ is a smart place for modern French cuisine.

Just next to Denfert Rochereau RER station there are several bars. Actually in the station building is the Apollo, with pricy food, but a huge terrace out the back for a cocktail. Otherwise you can start working your way down rue Daguerre – the Café Daguerre at the start of the road has free Wifi. La Chope, a bit further along, is a more traditional French bar. There are also plenty of reasonably priced restaurants along this street.

Continuing on, there are several cafés on the boulevard Montparnasse near metro Vavin for a happy-hour cocktail, or you could try a hot chocolate at La Rotonde, and see if there are any celebs hanging out there.

If you like fish, there’s a well-known restaurant ‘Le Dome’ just opposite La Rotonde, but it’s cosier and cheaper smaller brother, le Bistrot du Dome, is tucked away just behind it in rue Delambre. Alternatively, if you fancy a treat, you could head over to ‘La Cagouille’ which, hidden away on a little square behind metro Gaité, has a huge menu of good fresh seafood and a large terrace.

Just at the foot of Montparnasse station is the Mix club, with one of the larger dance floors in Paris. This place seems to change name and owner every six months or so, but it tries to offer Ibiza-style clubbing with well known DJs.

Heading north towards the river, the streets around Saint Sulpice are full of places to eat. Chez Fernand, in rue Guisarde, offers traditional French food and great desserts. It’s small, packed and noisy, and so it’s easy to strike up a conversation with the people at the next table. If you’re on a tighter budget, rue Monsieur le Prince, not far away, is full of Japanese restaurants, usually packed with students.

From metro Odeon, you can head down rue Mazarine towards the Seine. You can either stop at L’Alcazar, for an over-priced drink in a Terence Conran restaurant, or instead stop off at Bistro Mazarin, on the corner of Rue Jacques Callot, if they can squeeze you in.

If you’ve made it down to the river, you can cross over the Passerelle des Arts – a popular spot of picnics if the weather is good – and head over to the Louvre, or you could walk along towards metro Assemblée Nationale, past the Musée d’Orsay to the Concorde Atlantique – another club on a boat which, during the summer, hosts Terrassa. Starting in the afternoon and finishing in the early hours, you can either dance away to DJs like Carl Craig or Miss Kittin below deck, or sip a drink up on the terrace.

While you’re on the river, the Batofar – moored down by the Bibliotheque Nationale – is an old lighthouse boat converted to a club. It’s smaller than the Concorde Atlantique, but makes up for it with a great choice of less mainstream electro. In the summer there’s a bar and restaurant up on deck, while the dancefloor itself is down below, and don’t worry, it’s not that last beer you had, the floors really do slope in all directions!

If you’re in the mood for some good quality electro in a relaxed atmosphere, the Rex club is one of the nicer clubs in town, with a decent-sized dance floor. People generally come here because of the music, rather than to pose. Entry is usually free on a Thursday night, when you can mingle with Parisians who don’t have to worry about getting up in the morning.

Not far away, in rue Montmartre, is a relative new-comer – the Social Club. The black, white and neon décor is a bit spartan, but they have a good selection of DJs and a relaxed door policy (not raising an eyebrow when I got caught in a storm just before arriving and turned up looking a little bedraggled!). While you’re in rue Montmartre, Café Noir is a good choice for a pre-clubbing drink.

Heading over to the 11th, rue Oberkampf is where the cool kids hang out (at least according to the guidebooks – the real cool kids have moved on). Hop out at metro Parmentier and walk up rue Oberkampf and fall into any one of the dozens of bars and restaurants. One of the best known is the Café Charbon, where a quick mojito should get you in the mood for clubbing at the Nouveau Casino just next door. Music varies from electro to pop/rock, but the place is usually packed.

If you want something a little more chilled-out, walk all the way up the road to metro Menilmontant and find a seat for a cheap beer on the terrace of Le Soleil. Away from the touristy areas of town, sitting here watching the world go by for a while should give you an idea of what real Paris is like!

If you have the energy, you can climb further up rue Menilmontant to see what’s going on in rue Boyer. La Bellevilloise is a huge place combining a bar & restaurant, exhibition spaces, a club and a music venue. The club generally offers crowd-pleasing funk and groove, or you could just chill out in the restaurant and listen to some live music. On a weekend, the place is usually packed with groups of boys and girls checking eachother out. La Maroquinerie, just up the road, is an underground concrete bunker (don’t forget your earplugs!) of a music venue where you can see groups before they get too famous. There’s also a good restaurant and bar upstairs with a small outdoor terrace.

It’s time to bouger! Round in the 19th (hop on metro line 2 and get out at Jaures) you can lounge on a café terrace by the canal St Martin. Right on the quayside at Stalingrad is 25 Est, where you can eat and drink at reasonable prices until late, and watch the lights of the MK2 cinemas reflecting on the water. From here, if you fancy a bit of music to accompany your drink, wander up the Quai de Loire (east side) to Bar Ourcq for a DJ apéro. Alternatively, follow the canal south to the Pointe Ephemere, where you can either have a drink outside, or catch some big-bass electro/dub-step in another concrete bunker where you’ll wonder whether you’ll ever be able to hear properly again!

If you keep walking down the canal, you can stop for a beer and sit outside (ask for a plastic ‘gobelet’) L’atmosphere at the end of rue des Récollets, or have a glass of wine with the trendy Parisians at Hotel du Nord. Further down in rue Marie et Louise, you can either queue for a spot at the Cambodian restaurant on the corner, or hope there’s a table at la Madonina, a great little Italian place along the road.

If you keep walking down to République, you could head into the Gibus for some hip hop and rnb clubbing with the young kids, if you can make your way past the dealers to get in!

On a slightly less seedy note, over at Pigalle, the heady mix of music stores, sex shops and tourist attractions can make for an interesting excursion! Pop into la Fourmi, at the bottom of rue des Martyrs, for a drink and to pick up some flyers and see what’s going on. Almost opposite is the Divan du Monde, a nice venue specialising in world music. Back down on the main boulevard, L’Elysée Montmartre, near metro Anvers, is a big old theatre with live concerts and club nights. Alternatively, La Loco is one of the biggest clubs in Paris but which, despite some interesting club nights, is unable to shake its trashy reputation. While Pigalle has smartened up, the area around metro Blanche is still a good place to hang out in the small hours if you want to have your wallet stolen or get in a fight!

Still, if you’re feeling adventurous, the area around Chateau Rouge has a lively reputation as well! However in rue Léon, the Café Olympic is a cool place to hang out for a drink, a cheap meal, and possibly a concert downstairs.

Most nightclubs charge for entrance, but this often includes at least one drink, or ‘conso’, although the choice may be limited to beer/soft drinks rather than anything fancier, like ‘hards’ or cocktails.

To find out what’s going on in Paris there are several sources:
Pariscope is a 40cent listings magazine with all the theatres, cinemas and exhibitions on, but only a short section on music.
Lylo is a free listings magazine you can pick up in some bars around town, and lists almost everything.
Another good source is A Nous Paris, the free paper distributed in the metro on Monday mornings (and usually all gone by the afternoon!) with a page on nightlife, which has a well-picked selection of club nights.