Current Time
Currency
Weather
Advertisement
nightlife
Paris nightlife
The French do love to faire la fête, but unlike their other Northern European confrères, they are rarely rowdy when drunk. It's worthwhile to consider that vices here are taken in appreciative doses—great wines and digestifs are meant to be sipped, not swilled. (Since a ban on smoking in cafés, restaurants, and bars went into effect on January 2, 2008, smokers must indulge outside.) And since the French take their passions seriously, the live music scene is small but rewarding.
For a taste of Paris after dark, start with cocktail at the Ritz's Hemingway Bar or a glass of wine on La Palette's terrace, then catch a live rock or pop act at Nouveau Casino. For a bigger night out, brave the velvet ropes of Le Baron or Neo. To hang with young locals, head for un-touristy Chez Jeannette or La Perle.
During the day, Au Pied de Cochon looks like a tourist trap—a typical Belle Époque brasserie with a multilingual menu of standard fare. Late at...more
Not long ago, this corner bar and café on gentrifying Rue Faubourg St. Denis felt like an outtake from a Jean-Paul Belmondo film, with dingy red...more
Queen is still the mother ship of gay nightlife in Paris, a giant dance palace on the Champs Elysées that feels like you've walked straight into a disco...more
The library-paneled and pouffy-chaired Hemingway is tucked away at the back of the Ritz and widely considered the best place to get a cocktail in Paris. Its top...more
Tucked on a quiet street close to Pigalle, just off the bobo-chic Rue des Martyrs, this hotel bar (and the hotel itself) takes the red-light district as its...more
Les guinguettes, dance hall-restaurants along the Marne, have been in existence since the 18th century, immortalized by Renoir in his paintings of frothy...more
La Palette, located down a main artery of galleries in Saint Germain, is living proof that cafés are still at the heart of la vie parisienne. The walls...more
When Patrick Jouin (protégé of design diva Phillipe Starck) introduced a bar carved in glass to look like ice in the cleverly renovated Plaza...more
RSS Feeds