Clown Bar in Paris's 11e is the 1900s circus-tiled room turned natural-wine bistro by Sven Chartier. The carte is short and ambitious; the cellar is electric.
Food program: Bistro carte
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The tiled walls are listed; sit at the bar for the best view.
Address: 114 Rue Amelot, 75011 Paris
Caves Augé in Paris is the city's oldest wine cave, founded 1850. Saturday tastings 11:00-19:00 pour growers' wines from the cellar across the bar for €5 a glass.
Signature pour: Whatever the Saturday tasting pours
Wine focus: Wide French list, growers' wines
Food: Tasting events
Tip: Saturday afternoon walk-up tastings are open to all; ask for the day's flight of three.
Freddy's in Paris's 6e is Yves Camdeborde's stand-up wine bar across from Le Comptoir du Relais. Twenty stools, an electric natural list, tapas served all evening.
Signature pour: Domaine Marcel Lapierre Morgon
Wine focus: Natural wines, French
Food: Tapas-size small plates
Tip: No reservations. Arrive at 18:50 for stools or after 21:30 once the early crowd has left.
Le Rubis in Paris is the 1er Saint-Honoré standing-room wine bar that has not closed since 1932. The day's Beaujolais cru is chalked on the wall.
Signature pour: Beaujolais cru, by the half-litre
Wine focus: Old-school Beaujolais and Loire
Food: Charcuterie and saucisson
Tip: Cash preferred. Order a glass and a saucisson plate at the bar; tables fill from 12:30.
Frenchie Bar à Vins in Paris is Gregory Marchand's wine-bar annex across from the main bistro on Rue du Nil. Walk-up only, small plates from the Frenchie kitchen.
Signature pour: The cellar's rotating glass list of six
Wine focus: Natural wines, French and international
Food: Small plates from the Frenchie kitchen
Tip: Arrive at 18:30 or after 21:30; the room is small, the small plates are bigger than they sound.
Le Baron Rouge in Paris's 12e is the Marché d'Aligre wine bar that opens on Saturday morning for oyster shucking on the pavement and the day's wine from barrels.
Signature pour: Chenin by the carafe
Wine focus: Loire and Beaujolais
Food: Oysters Saturday, charcuterie daily
Tip: Saturday 10:00-13:00 is the move: oysters on the street, cru Beaujolais from the barrel.
Vivant in Paris's 10e is the wine-bar-bistro Pierre Jancou opened in a 1900s pet shop. The natural list is one of the deepest in town, the carte changes weekly.
Signature pour: Domaine Léon Barral, Faugères
Wine focus: Natural wines
Food: Bistro carte
Tip: Closed weekends. The lunch set at €24 includes a glass; ask which Faugères is pouring that week.
