Nantes
Far more than just a bar, Le Nid (or The Nest) is an interactive art installation by Nantais artist Jean Jullien. Designer armchairs, with yolk-yellow…
Must-see nightlife in Atlantic Coast
Bordeaux
A black steel door marked with a small, red doorbell (aka 'le point rouge', or 'the red dot') heralds the entrance to this trendy speakeasy, a theatrical…
Bordeaux
There is something inviting about this clandestine address with a soft green facade across from the river on the fringe of the Chartrons district. This is…
Chez Garcia – Cave de la Guiguette
La Rochelle
For a sweet taste of 1930s La Rochelle, follow the hipster crowd to this rough-cut wine bar where little has changed since it opened in 1933 in a…
Nantes
This enchanting bar à vin with vintage green wood façade is the best spot in town to taste regional wines with a laid-back, hipster crowd. When the…
Arcachon
As seafront cafes go, you can't do better than stylish Café de la Plage. From sunrise to sunset and beyond, this gourmet cafe and bar by the vintage Big…
Bordeaux
The decor – herringbone parquet, grandiose stained glass depicting the godly Bacchus, and sky-high ceiling – matches the reverent air that fills this wine…
Bordeaux
At home in an old church, this much-venerated art address is a local institution – its sunny terrace alone is fabulous. Art-house cinema, mellow cafe, hot…
Bordeaux
Hip hop, rock, indie pop, psyche blues rock, punk and hardcore are among the varied sounds that blast out of this fun nightclub and concert venue, on a…
Bordeaux
There is no finer, more elegant or more romantic rooftop bar in Bordeaux than this achingly hip drinking-and-hobnobbing joint on the 7th floor of the…
Gironde
Also known as Chez Zézette or Les Goélands by party-loving locals, this bar-club hybrid is the spot to drink cocktails and dance away summer nights to a…
Bordeaux
The door handle alone – part of a coffee machine – says it all: this new-generation coffee shop is cool. Lounge on cushioned bench seating in a faintly…
Bordeaux
'Delicate music, drinks and food' is the driver of this chic retro-styled cafe, named after New Yorker DJ David Mancuso who made The Loft private parties…
Bordeaux
Every fashionable city street has to have one – a new-generation coffee shop, that is – and on rue du Palais Gallien it's Le Monologue. Green-floral…
Bordeaux
A more refined, fashionable crowd sips craft cocktails at this stylish cocktail bar, decked out 1920s style with vintage armchairs, tassel-fringed…
Bordeaux
Craft-beer lovers will be in heaven in this cavernous beer bar, an urban-smart place to kick back beneath gold-stone vaults over one of 100 bottled beers…
Bordeaux
No place buzzes with a local Bordelais crowd quite like the Apollo, a fabulous neighbourhood bar with burnt-orange, paint-peeling façade and busy pavement…
Nantes
This former banana-ripening warehouse on Île de Nantes is home today to a line-up of trendy restaurants, bars and clubs, each hipper than the next…
Bordeaux
Only in gourmet Bordeaux can the age-old local food market boast a nouvelle génération coffee shop. Argentinian-born, Bordeaux-raised Gaele Nadur is the…
La Rochelle
Sit inside to appreciate the full frescoed-ceiling-and-gilt-mirrored grandeur of this timeless historic cafe, around since the belle époque, and a…
Bordeaux
For serious coffee lovers, nothing beats the beans that arrive at this coffee shop freshly roasted from Paris' Belleville Brûlerie. In a tiny but…
Bordeaux
Coffee shop, tea room, upmarket grocery and design-cool boutique: overnight this Scandinavian drink-dine-shop hybrid upped the street cred of fashionable…
Bordeaux
What with its fabulous gluten-free cooking, chic interior design and Soundcloud page featuring the fantastic playlists spun here during Sunday brunch,…
Nantes
Sacks of raw beans waiting to be roasted fill one corner of this specialist coffee shop, a five-minute walk from Les Machines de l'Île de Nantes. Patrice…
Bordeaux
Across from the river, by city gate Porte de la Monnaie, serious cocktails are shaken with style by mixologist Ben at this chic cocktail bar. Steel-grey…
Bordeaux
With exposed gold-stone walls and a soothing, slate-blue colour palette, this contemporary coffee shop in Bordeaux's vintage wine-merchant district is a…
Bordeaux
From the miniature bouquets of dried flowers wedged in coffee beans in glass vases on the tables to the peppermint-green walls and wicker lampshades,…
Nantes
Squirreled behind the imposing Théâtre Graslin on a tiny car-free street, the festive pavement terrace of this neighbourhood cafe with orange awning…
Atlantic Coast
Follow knowing locals away from the old town to this superb cave à bières, a thoroughly contemporary beer bar with spartan interior dedicated to the…
La Rochelle
La Calhutte is the pick of drinking addresses on idyllic place de la Fourche, the city’s most enchanting (car-free) square (or rather elongated triangle)…
Bordeaux
A mixed bag of retro tables and chairs furnishes this self-proclaimed 'urban eatery', best known for its excellent choice of artisanal craft beers from…
Bordeaux
Mingle with digital natives at this homey, light-filled co-working cafe with geometric patterned rugs and a Scandinavian palette of soothing cream and…
Bordeaux
Enjoy a refreshing glass of blanche (white), ambréé (amber), blonde or brune (brown) beer brewed in situ at this innovative brasserie in Saint-Michel. A…
Bordeaux
Why does it come as no surprise to learn that France's first officially certified organic pub is in Bordeaux? Run with passion and panache by Quebecois…
Nantes
Mingle with the cool crowd at this art gallery and cafe with vintage, faux fur–covered armchairs and a retro-tiled flooring. Urban street art is its genre…
Nantes
Local Nantaise beers, among dozens of others, are served at this fun bar just around the corner from the city's opera house and theatre. Fire engine-red…
Bordeaux
When respite from the urban crowds beckons, duck into this peaceful coffee shop near the cathedral. Books to tempt and be browsed casually sit on shelves…
La Rochelle
The Big Box is no ordinary cafe. This is where locals head to play, play and play board and other games to their heart's content – the games cafe is…
Bordeaux
With cocktails named after old-time rock stars and bags of traditional pub fun to entertain – pool, darts, big-screen sports, live music, a weekly pub…
Bordeaux
The living is easy at this chic waterfront address, a hybrid cafe-bar serving drinks and tapas-style dishes, grilled fish à la plancha and other light…
