30 editor picks across France.
30 late-night worth the trip across France, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All France guides.
L'Antiquaire in Lyon's 1er on Rue Hippolyte Flandrin is the classic-cocktail bar that anchors the city's late evening, with old-fashioneds and a mahogany bar.
OrderBar snacks with classic cocktails
TipWalk-in only; arrive at 19:00 for a seat before the room fills. Closed Sunday.
Bar Sauvage in Lyon's 7e on Rue Montesquieu is the speakeasy cocktail bar open until 02:00 on weekends, with classic cocktails and cheese boards served.
OrderCheese boards and bar snacks
TipRing the bell to enter; book a booth ahead by Instagram DM for Fri-Sat.
La Baguette Magique in Vieux Lyon is the late-night speakeasy behind a bakery facade where three magicians run cocktails and magic shows past midnight.
OrderSignature cocktails with live magic shows
Soda Bar on Rue de la Martiniere in the 1er stays open until 04:00 six nights a week, with cocktails, vinyl-led DJ sets and bar snacks through to last call.
OrderCocktails and bar snacks
Carry Nation in Marseille's 6e is the hidden speakeasy named for the hatchet-wielding temperance activist, prohibition-era cocktails until 2am from Wednesday.
OrderProhibition-era cocktails and bar snacks
TipCheck the bar website for the entry procedure; closed Monday and Tuesday.
La Cigale serves until 00:30 every night of the week on Place Graslin in Nantes, seafood platters and brasserie plates under Art Nouveau tiles.
OrderSeafood platters and brasserie classics
TipThe Théâtre Graslin sits directly opposite, which makes the late seating the obvious stop after a performance.
Little Atlantique Brewery keeps its Bas-Chantenay bar open to 02:00 from Thursday to Saturday, house beer poured a wall away from the tanks.
OrderBrewery plates with house beer
TipThe restaurant service finishes at 22:00 while the bar carries on, so order food before the kitchen closes.
Le Merciere on Rue Merciere stays open daily through to midnight with the full bouchon carte; one of the few bouchon-style rooms that serves late.
OrderBouchon classics
Aperture is the newer Ecusson room from Julien Escot, world cocktail champion in 2012, mixing to 01:00 from Tuesday through Saturday nights.
OrderCocktails from Julien Escot's team
TipEscot's Papa Doble is the older sibling; Aperture is the quieter, more precise of the pair.
Le Sur Mesure holds its two floors of taps open until 02:00 in the Bouffay quarter of Nantes, cured meat boards carrying a table through the night.
OrderCharcuterie boards with the tap list
TipSunday is the short night, finishing at 00:30; every other evening the bar runs to 02:00.
Clamato in Paris is Septime's seafood little sister, open until 23:30 with oysters and grilled fish. At 80 Rue de Charonne. Booking recommended.
OrderOysters and grilled fish
TipArrive after 21:30 for the second seating; the late oyster set is the best deal of the night.
Le Comptoir de la Bourse in the 2e is the central cocktail bar with tapas open until 02:00 nightly, with a full weekend DJ programme on Friday-Saturday.
OrderCocktails and tapas
Le Florian in Vieux Lyon is the Belle Epoque cocktail bar open until 02:00-03:00 most nights, with a basement room that pulls jazz and DJ sets after midnight.
OrderSeasonal cocktails
La Caravelle in Marseille's 2e runs the most coveted balcony on the Vieux Port until 2am, jazz Wed and Fri October to May, aperitif tapas and small plates.
OrderAperitif tapas and Provencal small plates
TipOpen daily 7am-2am; jazz nights pull a full room from 22:00.
Les Fleurs du Malt keeps 30 taps and its evening charcuterie boards going until 02:00 seven nights a week on Allée Commandant Charcot in Nantes.
OrderCharcuterie and cheese boards
TipThe kitchen proper is a lunchtime affair; after dark it is boards only, so eat elsewhere first if you want a full plate.
Yves Camdeborde's L'Avant-Comptoir in Paris is the stand-up tapas-bar next to Le Comptoir du Relais. Twenty plates on hanging menus, no seats.
OrderStand-up tapas-style plates
TipOpen until 23:30. The grilled pâté en croûte plates run €8; pair with a glass of Beaujolais cru.
L'As du Fallafel in Paris is the Marais falafel window open until 23:30 most nights, with a €9 sandwich and a queue that moves in 15 minutes at 23:00.
OrderFalafel pita
TipClosed Saturdays for Shabbat. The line keeps moving past 22:00; takeaway is faster than table.
Pulp Club Quartier Libre in Bordeaux's Saint-Michel is the cafe-concert bar on Rue des Vignes, running free live jazz, blues and funk sets every evening.
OrderCharcuterie and cheese board with a glass of Bordeaux red
TipConcerts start around 21:00 Tuesday to Saturday with free entry; sit on the tree-filled terrace before the band kicks.
Cave runs its sharing-plate kitchen to 00:00 on Rue Jeannin in Dijon, Tuesday through Friday, the latest Bib Gourmand address for a glass of wine.
OrderCharcuterie and cheese sharing boards
TipThe evening sharing plates run later than most Dijon kitchens, useful after a show at the nearby theatre.
Bierbuik's brewpub on Rue Royale in Lille runs to 01:00 on Thursday and Friday and to 02:00 on Saturday, and the kitchen stops at 23:30 then.
OrderFrites sauce maroilles
TipOn those three nights the bar outlasts the kitchen, so order food before 23:30.
Brasserie Georges on Cours de Verdun in Lyon's 2e is the 1836 brasserie that runs full kitchen until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, with walk-in tables.
OrderChoucroute, steak tartare, onion soup
TipWalk-in after 21:00 for the no-reservation slot; steak tartare is made tableside.
Bar de la Marine in Marseille's 7e on Quai de Rive Neuve has held the spot since 1929, the Pagnol-trilogy room serving pastis and brasserie tapas late.
OrderPastis, brasserie tapas and lunch plates re-served late
TipOpen daily 7am-2am; the terrace fills on weekend nights with the youth crowd.
Chez Yassine in Marseille's 1er Noailles runs the late Tunisian counter Tuesday to Sunday until 21:30, brik with egg, ojja and kefteji at shared tables.
OrderTunisian brik, ojja and kefteji
TipClosed Monday; cash and card both accepted, no reservations.
L'Arbre keeps its rooftop bar on the 17th floor of the Arbre Blanc open to 01:00 from Tuesday to Saturday, long after the dining room downstairs has finished.
OrderRooftop cocktails above a Michelin-listed kitchen
TipThe restaurant seating stops at 21:30; the rooftop carries on for another three hours.
Mashup runs its Île de Nantes brewpub kitchen and bar until 00:30 from Wednesday to Saturday, house beer poured a glass wall from the fermenters.
OrderLocal seasonal plates with house beer
TipTuesday finishes half an hour earlier at 23:30; the room is dark on Sunday and Monday.
Cafe de Turin on Place Garibaldi runs oysters and shellfish to 22:00 every day since 1908, the sidewalk counter on the arcaded Nice square the canonical late.
OrderA dozen Roumegous oysters and a glass of Bellet at the late service.
TipOpen 10:00-22:00 daily; no reservations, arrive at 20:00 to beat the second sitting rush.
Chez Denise (La Tour de Montlhéry) in Paris's 1er is the all-night bistro that fed Les Halles porters until 1969 and now feeds the night-out crowd.
OrderSteak tartare, andouillette
TipClosed weekends. Arrive after midnight for the quieter second-wind crowd; tartare is the order.
La Poule au Pot in Paris's 1er Les Halles cooks classic grand-mère bistro until 02:00. At 9 Rue Vauvilliers. Booking recommended. Reservations advised.
OrderPoule au pot Henri IV
TipAfter midnight the room thins to regulars; the soufflé Grand Marnier is the order for a late dessert.
Officina Gusto on Place Saint-Etienne is Italian trattoria with late dinner service to 23:30, wood-fired pizza and a Sardinian-leaning small wine list on t.
OrderHand-rolled pasta
TipOpen Sunday late which most of the centre is not; the pasta of the day and the tiramisu are the canonical late dinner.
La Brasserie Bordelaise in Bordeaux's Saint-Pierre is the golden-triangle institution on Rue Saint-Remi with non-stop kitchen service from noon to midnight.
OrderBeef cheek a la bordelaise with a glass of Saint-Estephe
TipKitchen runs without a break so a 22:30 plat principal is no problem; book a window table for the after-theatre crowd.
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