Paris City Guide - Nightlife

The temptation to make a beeline for the Champs-Elysées and Trocadéro should be avoided unless visitors want to end up crammed alongside fellow tourists in overpriced bars with large egos but little atmosphere. The livelier action moved on long ago to the likes of bustling Bastille, which may have been deserted by the real local cognoscenti, but still boasts plenty of colourful small bars, popular clubs and unique little drinking dens. These days, though, even the Bastille can be a bit too mainstream for some and a bit wildly drunken at weekends.

Anyone wanting to really mix it with the style crowd and have an 'authentic' Parisian night out should break east to raffish Ménilmontant, which boasts a sophisticated and eclectic nightlife scene that was kicked off by the legendary Café Charbon on rue de Oberkampf, a street now overflowing with bars. The smart money is on Belleville being the next new 'in' place, though the scene in this rough-around-the-edges part of town is far less obvious and it is just that bit further from the centre.

Back in the heart of the city, the Marais has managed an impressive renaissance of late and now offers plenty of bars, chic cafes and a perhaps surprisingly active gay and lesbian scene. Pigalle is the seedy sex centre of Paris but home to some good music venues and the Moulin Rouge cabaret, 82 boulevard Clichy, 18th, where the cancan is still performed.

The minimum legal age for drinking alcohol (beer and wine) is 16 years of age, rising to 18 years for stronger drinks and spirits. Bars are usually licensed until 0100 but this does vary according to the individual venue and area. Bouncers frequently turn potential punters away and many of the smarter clubs are (or claim to be) private. There is no sure way of gaining admission, although being foreign, dressed identically to everyone inside, accompanied by a regular or simply beautiful helps. Clubs open at around 2300 and tend not to close until dawn; it is coolest to arrive around 0300, or at least after midnight.

Pariscope (website: www.pariscope.com) is one of the best sources of information for nightlife listings.

Bars: The lines between cafes and bars in Paris are very blurred, with cafes where you can settle in with a beer and a croissant for breakfast and bars when you can enjoy a late night sandwich along with your cocktail. The craze for Irish and British pubs has to some extent run its course with the new focus on more funky and interesting bars that have more in common with East Berlin than the East End of London. With the exception of Anglo/Irish bars, beers on tap (bière à la pression) are normally served as a demi (25cl).

The once trendy Buddha Bar, 8 bis rue Boissy d'Anglas, 8th, has lost much of its shine, with the bars in Ménilmontant now the place to see and be seen. Café Charbon, 109 rue Oberkampf, 11th, the bar that kicked the rejuvenation of the area is still going strong and has stayed at the head of the game by adding a club venue, while Le Mecano Bar, 99 rue Oberkampf, 11th, so called because of its toolbox décor, is one of most popular bars in the area with a grungy feel. Nearby Lou Pascalou, 14 rue des Panoyaux, 20th, is a relaxed place to hang out with some of the most unusual toilets in the city. The scene in Ménilmontant is constantly evolving so visitors are advised to just wander around rue de Oberkampf and explore some its side streets for the latest 'in' bar as the cool crowd increasingly move away from the bright lights and tourists on the main drag. For those wanting something more central, the people behind Café Charbon have recently opened a funky new bar/restaurant, De la Ville Café, 34 boulevard Bonne Nouvelle, which is a current favourite of the Parisian smart set and savvy visitors.

The Marais (3rd and 4th) is packed with a happy mélange of gay and straight bars. Vibrant gay bars include the Coffe Shop, 3 rue Ste-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie, and Amnesia, 42 rue Vieille-du-Temple, 4th. Le Central, 33 rue Vieille-du-Temple, 4th, is one of the city's oldest gay bars, with a more sedate clientele. Paris' sole gay-only hotel is situated above the cafe. There are also a number of quirky little straight bars in and around rue Vieille-du-Temple, including La Chaise au Plafond, 10 rue du Trésor, 4th, with its ceiling decorated with Frisian cows and a lovely terrace, Au Petit Fer à Cheval, 30 rue Vieille-du-Temple, 4th, named after its huge horseshoe-shaped bar, and L'Etoile Manquante, 30 rue Vieille-du-Temple, 4th.

For genuine Scottish beer, whisky and televised sports in a relaxed Marais setting the Auld Alliance, 80 rue Francois Miron, 2nd, is the place to head. Anglophone expats will also find safety in numbers at the Café Oz, 184 rue St-Jacques, 5th, which serves a good range of draught and bottled beers, or the Frog & Rosbif, 116 rue St-Denis, 2nd, a traditional British pub. A new branch of the Frog & Rosbif, 25 cour St-Emillion, has opened in up-and-coming Bercy.

Clubs: Techno, house, garage and Latino are the popular sounds of Paris and, to a lesser extent, hip hop and drum and bass. Top DJs play house tunes at Le Queen, 102 avenue des Champs-Elysées, 8th, a gay club that is still considered one of the best clubs in Paris despite the influx of tourists. Thursday and Saturday is gay only, with drag queens in profusion. Le Divan du Monde, located in the Pigalle district, at 75 rue des Martyrs, 18th (website: www.divandumonde.com), once hosted Toulouse-Lautrec but now draws a crowd that changes radically according to the evening's programme - Brazilian, tango, indie, rock, house and hip hop nights alternate with top French and international DJs. Le Saint, 7 rue St-Séverin, 5th, which plays disco, house and salsa, is inexpensive and relaxed. Les Bains Douches, 7 rue du Bourg-l'Abbé, 3rd (website: www.lesbainsdouches.net), a former Turkish bathhouse transformed into the most pretentious of clubs, is enjoying renewed popularity under new ownership. Batofar, 11 quai Francois-Mauriac, 13th, is a fun little club housed in a boat on the Seine that boasts a wide range of musical styles.

Live Music: Le Divan du Monde (see Clubs above) hosts intimate pop concerts, providing a chance to see the stars close up. Live jazz is played by local and international high-calibre musicians at Le Bilboquet, 13 rue St-Benoît, 6th, nightly (from around 2200 onwards). A young, unsophisticated crowd is drawn to La Flèche d'Or, 102 bis rue de Bagnolet, 20th (website: www.flechedor.fr), a converted station turned live-music venue, with a sticky, beer-stained floor on the edge of trendy Ménilmontant. Concerts run from Thursday to Sunday evenings and the music ranges from rock to blues or reggae and satirical French chansons. Chesterfield Café, 124 rue La Boétie, 8th, situated just off avenue des Champs-Elysées, is popular with expats and hosts US rock and blues bands. To guarantee a seat, it is wise to book a table. Major rock concerts take place at the Palais des Congrès, 2 place de la Porte-Maillot, 17th (website: www.palaisdescongres-paris.com). The Opus Jazz and Blues Restaurant, 167 quai Valmy, 10th, in the upcoming Canal de Saint Martin area, offers good food and an eclectic selection of music, from aspiring Parisian youths through to more established acts.