30 editor picks across France.
30 late-night dives worth the night across France, editor-ranked. All France guides.
La Capsule on Rue des Trois Mollettes in Lille sells no mainstream lager, running 28 taps of lambics, sours and small-brewery beer instead.
TipThe operator counts more than 300 different beers across a year, so the taps change constantly.
Au Petit Nice on Place Jean Jaurès in Marseille's 1er La Plaine is the institution-of-the-square dive run by former European boxing champion Richard.
TipPastis €2.50, pints €4.50; the terrace is the move from 18:00 onwards. Cash preferred for small rounds.
Le Carmen in Paris's 9e Pigalle is the salons-and-alcoves cocktail bar in the 19th-century Bizet residence on Rue Duperré, with caryatid columns.
TipClosed Sun-Mon; the first salon to the left is the calmer one. Cocktails €14-18.
Chez Tonton on Place Saint-Pierre is the legendary student bar with a noisy crowd, pastis pours, tapas plates and canonical Saint-Pierre crawl stop after m.
TipLines pile up Friday from 19:30; the pastis tonton plus anchovy tapas is the canonical late-night order.
The Blue Dog is a beer and sports bar on Place Émile Zola in Dijon, with a draught list that changes regularly and big matches on screen until 02:00.
TipThe draft list rotates often; ask which keg is newest before defaulting to a familiar style.
Wallace Bar in Lyon's 5e Vieux Lyon is the Scottish-leaning pub that opened in 2005 as the city's first proper pub-restaurant, with a wall of whisky from Scotland and beyond, 16 draft beers and a weekend brunch.
TipOver 30 gins and a long whisky list; the small upstairs is calmer than the front counter after 22:00.
Bar de la Marine on the Quai de Rive Neuve in Marseille's 7e is the 1929 Vieux Port institution that doubled as Marcel Pagnol's Marius bar, with a 1930s.
TipOrder a mauresque on the terrace at sunset; the back room with the Pagnol fresco is the rainy-night option.
Aux Folies in Paris's 20e Belleville is the Rue de Belleville corner dive on the famed Rue Dénoyez street-art alley, open until 05:00 daily.
TipHappy hour 16:00-24:00; the terrace fills first, the back room past midnight. Cash and card accepted.
Le Cercle Rhumerie Jamaïque has been a rum bar on Place de la République in Dijon since 1985, with cocktail workshops and music nights until 05:00.
TipIt stays open latest from Thursday to Saturday; the room holds about fifty, so book a table for a group.
The Smoking Dog in Lyon's 5e Vieux Lyon is the family-run English pub on Rue Lainerie open since 1995, with 11 draft taps including English, Belgian and French beers, weekly pub quiz and a regular live music slot.
TipTuesday pub quiz at 20:30 is the room at its busiest; Guinness pours are reliably the best in the city.
Look Bar in Lyon's 5e Vieux Lyon is the dim Rue du Palais de Justice room with vinyl racks behind the counter and a roaring-twenties fit-out, with the house Nuage Noir cocktail (a riff on the black russian) at €9.
TipOpen until 04:00 every night; cocktails 8-€10, the back booth is the easier seat after the front counter packs.
La Maison Café fills six rooms of a mock 1970s flat on Rue Lebrun in Nantes, with darts and table football between the concerts and the DJ sets.
TipHappy hour runs 17:00 to 20:00 Monday to Friday; the attic is the room worth climbing for.
Ma Nolan's on Rue Saint Francois de Paule runs Vieux Nice's Irish dive pub with live bands every night to 02:00, the late stage for the Cours Saleya crowd after the restaurants close their kitchens.
TipLive bands every night from 22:00; the kitchen runs late until midnight on weekends if you need food.
Aux Trois Mailletz in Paris's 5e Latin Quarter is the 13th-century medieval-cellar dive on Rue Galande, with a piano bar upstairs and a cabaret.
TipCellar cabaret has a €20-25 cover plus drinks minimum; the upstairs piano bar is free entry from 19:00.
Les Innocents on Place des Lices in Rennes pours homemade cocktails in a warm room that opens early and runs to 01:00 from Tuesday to Saturday.
TipIt opens at 06:00 on Saturday for the Marché des Lices crowd, which is a very different room from the one at midnight.
Les Aviateurs on Rue des Soeurs has run late since 1984, an aviation-themed cocktail haunt that anchors Strasbourg's busiest drinking street into the small hours.
Jeannette et les Cycleux on Rue des Tonneliers is a loud late bar of cocktails and milkshakes, open to 02:30 at weekends near the cathedral.
Auberge Espagnole in Bordeaux's Saint-Pierre is the Rue Buhan late-night Spanish bar near Porte Cailhau, with paella, pintxos and Spanish wines.
TipLast orders at 23:30; the paella for two takes 25 minutes so order early.
Ayers Rock in Lyon's 1er Presquile is the Australian-themed party bar on Rue Desiree open since 1997, with a resident DJ booth, the Terreaux late-night queue and a 06:00 close that anchors the weekend after-Sucre crowd.
TipHappy hour 20:00-22:00, cocktails from €5; the upstairs floor is the easier walk-in after midnight.
Bar des 13 Coins in Marseille's 2e Le Panier is the old quarter dive on Rue Sainte-Françoise with a pavement terrace under the pastel facades.
TipPastis €3, plat-du-jour at lunch under €15; the pavement tables are the move on warm nights, cash preferred.
Les BerThoM runs a long Belgian tap list on Rue Boussairolles seven nights a week to 01:00, a beer hall rather than anything trying to be clever.
TipIt is the only bar on this street that stays open every single night of the week.
La Calle is the Latin bar of the Hangar à Bananes quays in Nantes, with live concerts and DJ sets over punch and sangria at happy hour prices.
TipHappy hour runs 17:00 to 22:00 every day, with beer at €3 and cocktails at €5.
Wayne's on Rue de la Prefecture in Vieux Nice runs Nice's loudest party pub to 02:00, dancing on tables after 22:00 and the city's most reliable late dive bar across every night of the week.
TipLoud, packed, dancing on tables from 22:30; the kind of room you stop at as part of a longer crawl.
Movida on Quai des Etats Unis runs the Nice seafront late dive bar with sangria pours and tapas late, Latin sets through to 02:00 along the Vieux Nice promenade between Cours Saleya and the sea.
TipOpen 02:00 every day; the terrace runs as the dancing room on warm summer nights along the Quai.
L'Intrépide in Paris's 9e Pigalle is the Demory-owned craft beer dive on Rue Pierre Fontaine near the Moulin Rouge, with 12 taps, a Pyrenean charcuterie.
Tip12 taps, happy hour 18:00 to 21:00, and a basement room of about 60 where groups can plug in their own playlist.
The Market Brewhouse is an English pub on Rue de Mars in Reims, open until 01:30 on Fridays and Saturdays, with live sport, craft beer and weekly bingo.
TipHappy Tuesday runs all evening; the big screens carry live sport on DAZN and Sky Sports.
Monsieur le Zinc is the self-pour beer wall of rue Saint-Michel in Rennes, two floors of taps you serve yourself by card until 01:00.
TipThursday is the big student night on this street; take the card, pour a half of everything and settle up at the door.
Le P'tit Vélo on Place Saint-Michel is the late-running Rennes student institution, two rooms with separate soundtracks open to 03:00 on Thursdays.
TipIt runs latest Thursday to Saturday and shuts at 22:30 on Sunday, which makes it the last stop rather than the first.
Le Combi Bar near the Rennes station puts electronic music behind the counter and mixes its own list, a quieter alternative to the Sainte-Anne strip.
TipIt sits on the station side rather than in the old town, so it stays workable on nights when rue Saint-Michel is shoulder to shoulder.
Pub Saint-Pierre on Place Saint-Pierre is long-running pub for 25 years, established for its vibrant atmosphere and happy-hour pints from €2. Reservations recommended in season.
TipHappy hour pints from €2.80 from 18:00-21:00; the terrace runs full from sunset onward.
2 hours
Discover the charms of Paris by night on a tour in a classic convertible Citroen 2CV. Drive down the famous Champs Elysees, and see the Eiffel Tower’s glittering light...
2.5 hours
Bake colorful French macarons in a chic Paris atelier, cocktail in hand. Take home your macarons, a Polaroid photo & a tote bag, the only official Emily in Paris macar...
Guided tour · 1.5 - 2 hours
Explore Paris at night and marvel at city landmarks on this 2-hour bus tour. On board, enjoy a 5-course seasonal meal and admire the starry sky above you through the g...