Dance clubs, live music, rooftop bars, speakeasies, LGBTQ+ venues, listening bars and late-night dives in Paris.
Dance clubs, live music, rooftop bars, speakeasies, LGBTQ+ nightlife, listening bars and late-night dives across Paris, with where to go and what is worth the late night.
Rex Club in Paris's 2e is the techno temple under the Grand Rex cinema since 1988, with a ceiling-mounted multidiffusion sound system and four nights a week.
Tip: Door from 23:30 Wed-Sat; tickets €12-20 on Shotgun. Arrive before 01:00 for the floor before it packs.
La Machine du Moulin Rouge in Paris's 18e is the three-room club and concert hall next door to the cabaret, with the Bar à Bulles cocktail terrace.
Tip: Club nights are Fri-Sat midnight to 06:00; Bar à Bulles upstairs from 18:00 most nights for a slower start.
Wanderlust in Paris's 13e is the Cité de la Mode et du Design club and 1,600m² Seine terrace, with house and techno after dark and yoga, screenings and DJ.
Tip: The terrace is free in daylight; club tickets from €15. Best entry is the riverside ramp, not the museum lobby.
T7 Paris in the 15e is the rooftop electronic club on top of the Parc des Expositions Pavilion 7, opened December 2017, with a wraparound terrace.
Tip: Bookings on Shotgun or Xceed; tickets €20-40. Last Métro shuts at 01:00 so plan a taxi or Vélib home.
Glazart in Paris's 19e is the converted Porte de la Villette bus station hosting the city's most consistent after-hours, with weekend daytime sets from 06:30.
Tip: Sunday daytime 06:30-16:00 is the famed after; arrive by Métro 7 Porte de la Villette and bring layers for the outdoor sand pit.
Petit Bain in Paris's 13e is the 45-metre floating concert barge moored beside the Josephine Baker pool, with a 450-capacity room, a 60-cover restaurant.
Tip: Summer terrace is the draw; concerts mostly €15-25 on the lower deck. Door opens 18:00, shows usually start 20:30.
New Morning in Paris's 10e is the Rue des Petites Écuries jazz room open since 1981, with a black-box stage that has hosted Chet Baker, Stan Getz and Prince.
Tip: Tickets €25-45 via the venue site; arrive 19:30 for unreserved seating closer to the stage.
Sunset Sunside on Rue des Lombards in Paris's 1er is the twin jazz club where the upstairs Sunside books acoustic sets and the basement Sunset runs electric.
Tip: Tickets €25-35 per set; the first set at 20:00 is calmer than the 22:00 turnaround.
Caveau de la Huchette in Paris's 5e is the medieval cellar jazz club opened 1946 that is the oldest still running in the city, with a sprung dance floor.
Tip: Cover €15-18 weeknights, €18-21 weekends, cash or card at the door. The dance floor opens after the first orchestra set around 22:30.
Le Duc des Lombards on the Lombards jazz strip in Paris's 1er is the TSF Jazz partner club booking established names and rising French talent.
Tip: Book a table for the 21:30 set in advance; the early 19:30 set is the easier walk-in window.
La Bellevilloise in Paris's 20e Ménilmontant is the four-floor Maison du Peuple built 1908 and reopened in 2006 as a 2,000m² venue with the Halle aux.
Tip: The Sunday jazz brunch in the Halle aux Oliviers runs 11:00-15:00, €38 with live trio; book a fortnight ahead.
La Maroquinerie in Paris's 20e Ménilmontant is the 500-capacity former leather workshop next to La Bellevilloise, with a sweat-soaked basement room.
Tip: The courtyard restaurant opens 19:00 for a pre-show plate; doors usually 19:30, headliner at 21:00.
Café de la Danse in Paris's 11e is the 500-capacity Passage Louis-Philippe room off Rue de Lappe, with seated and standing configurations and a chanson.
Tip: Find the entrance on Rue de Lappe through the covered passage; the upper balcony is the easier seated tier.
Le Bataclan in Paris's 11e is the 1,500-capacity Boulevard Voltaire concert hall with the painted pagoda facade, rebuilt and reopened in November 2016.
Tip: Allow extra time for bag check at door; balcony seated tier is the easier sightline if you arrive after 20:00.
Le Trabendo in Paris's 19e Parc de la Villette is the 700-capacity red-clad Bernard Tschumi folie booking emerging rap, alt-rock and electronic acts.
Tip: Closest entry is Métro 5 Porte de Pantin; the terrace opens 19:00 for a pre-set drink.
Le Perchoir Ménilmontant in Paris's 11e is the original 7th-floor rooftop above an industrial building, with 360-degree views to the Sacré-Coeur.
Tip: Roof has no reservations; arrive 18:00 for a sofa or 21:00 once the early crowd thins. Lift goes only as far as 6e.
Skybar Paris in the 14e is the 32nd-floor private rooftop on top of the Pullman Montparnasse, 115 metres above the city, with floor-to-ceiling glass and DJ.
Tip: Strict door, email-only bookings opening 30 days out; cocktails €18-24 and the Eiffel-side window booths book up first.
The Ranch on the 7th-floor roof of the Terrass Hotel in Paris's 18e Montmartre is the western-styled cocktail lounge with desert plants and a view that takes.
Tip: No reservations on the roof; Sunday afternoons are calmer than Friday evenings. Tapas and cocktails from €14.
Café Lapérouse Concorde in Paris's 8e Hôtel de la Marine is the Cordelia de Castellane brasserie with two arcaded terraces, one over Place de la Concorde.
Tip: Skip the indoor room and book the Concorde-facing terrace for sunset; cocktails €18-22, oysters by the half-dozen.
Le Tout-Paris on the 7th floor of Cheval Blanc Paris in the 1er is the Arnaud Donckele brasserie with a Seine-facing terrace looking straight at the Pont.
Tip: Bar at the corner of the terrace takes walk-ins after 22:30 once dinner clears; reserve a table for the sunset 19:30 service.
Moonshiner in Paris's 11e Bastille is the Art Deco speakeasy hidden behind the cold-room door of the Da Vito pizzeria on Rue Sedaine, with 83 whiskies.
Tip: Ask staff at Da Vito for the bar; cocktails €13-16. Quietest before 21:00, jammed after 23:00 Thu-Sat.
Andy Wahloo in Paris's 3e Marais is the Mourad Mazouz cocktail lounge stacked with Moroccan tea-canister stools and a North African disco soundtrack.
Tip: Sunday-Monday closed; Friday-Saturday DJ nights book up fast. Smaller back room is the quieter table.
Le Mary Celeste in Paris's 3e Marais is the corner cocktail and oyster bar opened 2012 by the Experimental Cocktail Club team, with a long zinc counter.
Tip: Oysters Tue-Sat from €3 each; the early evening at 18:00 is when the high-tops free up.
Cravan Saint-Germain in Paris's 6e is the Franck Audoux five-floor cocktail house in a 17th-century townhouse on Boulevard Saint-Germain, with a rooftop.
Tip: Book the rooftop kiosk for two hours; main bar walk-ins go to the salon on the second floor. Cocktails €18-22.
Lone Palm in Paris's 11e Bastille is the Ben Benayoun tiki-tinged Californian cocktail bar on Rue Keller, with a 1950s palm-and-rattan room and house frozen.
Tip: Frozen daiquiris are the order; arrive before 21:00 for a banquette or after 00:30 for the late lull.
Le Tango in Paris's 3e Marais is the cooperative-run queer dance hall on Rue au Maire, with themed Friday-Saturday nights and a 70s-tinged room that welcomes.
Tip: €12 at the door; come for the salsa-and-pop early hours, stay for the late DJ shift after 01:00.
Raidd Bar in Paris's 4e Marais is the Rue du Temple landmark gay bar opened 2003, famous for the nightly midnight shower show where dancers perform inside.
Tip: Shower show is on at midnight every night; arrive 23:30 for a spot near the tank, the back room thins after 02:00.
Freedj in Paris's 4e Marais is the two-floor Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie gay bar with a ground-floor bar, foosball table and a basement dance floor.
Tip: Happy hour 18:00-22:00; basement opens 22:00 and gets going by midnight. Glassed smoking room upstairs.
Bears' Den in Paris's 4e Marais is the three-level Rue des Lombards bear bar, with a street-level seating room, a basement karaoke level and a stone-walled.
Tip: Karaoke is on the first basement most nights from 21:00; the back cave gets going after midnight on Saturday.
Le Quetzal in Paris's 4e Marais is the corner-of-Verrerie cruise-friendly gay bar with a long daily happy hour and weekend DJs that pulls the after-work.
Tip: Happy hour 17:00-22:00; weekend DJs start 23:00. The back room is busier after midnight.
Le Duplex in Paris's 3e Marais is one of the oldest gay bars on Rue Michel le Comte, now into its 38th year, with a mixed crowd that comes for new wave.
Tip: Quieter than the Rue des Archives strip; arrive before 22:00 for a stool. The smoking terrace is the meeting spot.
Le Lipstick in Paris's 9e Pigalle is the former hostess bar on Rue Frochot reborn as a cocktail venue with a lesbian-and-queer crowd, vintage furniture.
Tip: Thursday is the easier walk-in; Friday-Saturday tables are tight from 22:00. Cocktails €13-15.
Listener in Paris's 2e is the Thomas de Coninck and Jérôme Thomas listening room on Rue Vivienne, with a high-fidelity main room, individual music-nap booths.
Tip: Book a listening booth 24 hours ahead; the main room is walk-in. Coffee by day shifts to natural-wine pours after 18:00.
Bambino in Paris's 11e is the Fabien Lombardi jazz-kissa listening bar and charcoal-grill tapas room on Rue Saint-Sébastien, with an audiophile system.
Tip: Dinner seating 19:30-22:30 books out; after 23:00 the tables fold and the room becomes a 60-cap club.
Fréquence in Paris's 11e Bastille is the Matthieu Biron and Guillaume Quenza vinyl-only cocktail bar on Rue Keller, with 1980s funk-and-disco crates.
Tip: Cocktails €13-15; Friday-Saturday DJ sets run to 04:00. The four bar stools at the back are the listening spot.
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.
Tip: Closed Sun-Mon; the first salon to the left is the calmer one. Cocktails €14-18.
Le P'tit Garage in Paris's 11e Folie-Méricourt is the petrol-station-themed rock dive on Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, with vintage moto memorabilia.
Tip: Happy hour 18:00-21:00, pints €3; live bands most Thursday-Saturday nights from 21:00.
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.
Tip: Cellar cabaret has a €20-25 cover plus drinks minimum; the upstairs piano bar is free entry from 19:00.
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.
Tip: 12 taps with six Demory pours; basement gigs and DJ nights run Thursday-Saturday. Pints from €6.
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.
Tip: Happy hour 16:00-24:00; the terrace fills first, the back room past midnight. Cash and card accepted.