Entertainment in Paris
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Le Bistrot du Peintre
This lovely belle époque bistro and wine bar could just as easily count as a restaurant rather than a drinking place; after all, the food is great. But it’s the 1902 art nouveau bar, elegant terrace and spot-on service that has put it on the apéritif A-list of local artists, bobos and local celebs.
reviewed
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B
La Chapelle des Lombards
This perennially popular Bastille dance club has happening Latino DJs and reggae, funk and Afro jazz concerts – in a word, a bit of everything. Concerts usually take place at 8.30pm on Friday and Saturday.
reviewed
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C
Café La Fusée
A short walk from the Pompidou, the Rocket is a lively, laid-back hang-out with red-and-white striped awning strung with fairy lights outside, and paint-peeling, tobacco-coloured walls evoking 101 great nights out inside. Its wine selection by the glass (€2.70 to €5.50) is notably good.
reviewed
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D
Les Marronniers
Strictly speaking not gay, but in this part of town how do you tell? What this place has got cubed is location, and its enormous pavement terrace is the place in the Marais for hunters and the hunted.
reviewed
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E
Salle Pleyel
This highly regarded hall dating from the 1920s hosts many of Paris’ finest classical-music recitals and concerts, including those by the celebrated Orchestre de Paris.
reviewed
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F
La Scène Bastille
The ‘Bastille Scene’ puts on a mixed bag of concerts but focuses on electro, funk and hip hop.
reviewed
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G
Le Batofar
This incongruous, much-loved, red-metal tugboat has a rooftop bar that’s terrific in summer, and a respected restaurant, while the club underneath provides memorable underwater acoustics between its metal walls and portholes. Le Batofar is known for its edgy, experimental music policy and live performances, mostly electro-oriented but also incorporating hip-hop, new wave, rock, punk or jazz. Hours can vary.
reviewed
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H
Parc des Princes
The city’s only top-division football team, Paris-St-Germain, wears red and blue and plays its home games at the 48,500-seat Parc des Princes, built in 1970.
reviewed
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Café Oz, Pigalle
Convivial bordering on raucous, Café Oz is popular with Anglos but the French love it too. The smaller and more chilled branch in Pigalle has Happy Hour from 6pm to 9pm.
reviewed
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Wolf Bar
Bear bar a short distance from Forum des Halles attracts a clientèle poilue (hairy crowd) who are very seriously OFB (out for business). Happy hour is every day from opening to 9pm.
reviewed
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Marionnettes du Champ de Mars
The Marionnettes du Champ de Mars stages puppet shows (€3) in a covered and heated salle (hall) in the park at 3.15pm and 4.15pm on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
reviewed
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K
Le Pub St-Hilaire
‘Buzzing’ fails to do justice to the pulsating vibe inside this student-loved pub. Generous happy hours last several hours and the place is kept packed with a trio of pool tables, board games, music on two floors, hearty bar food and various gimmicks to rev up the party crowd (a metre of cocktails, ‘be your own barman’ etc).
reviewed
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L
Patinoire Sonja Henie
DJs turn Friday and Saturday evenings into something of an ice disco at the Patinoire Sonja Henie, an indoor ice-skating rink in the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy.
reviewed
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M
Le Nouveau Casino
This club-concert annexe of Café Charbon has made a name for itself amid the bars of Oberkampf with its live music concerts (usually Tuesday, Thursday and Friday) and lively club nights on weekends. Electro, pop, deep house, rock – the program is eclectic, underground and always up to the minute. Check the website for up-to-date listings.
reviewed
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N
Cabaret Sauvage
This very cool space in the Parc de la Villette (it looks like a gigantic yurt) is host to African, reggae and raï concerts as well as DJ nights that last till dawn. There are also occasional hip-hop and indie acts that pass through.
reviewed
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O
Regine’s
Done up in red seats, funky prints and mirrors, Regine’s attracts top electro and techno DJs (Jeff Mills, Miss Kittin, Marco Resmann) to this revamped space off the Champs Élysées.
reviewed
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P
Curio Parlor Cocktail Club
Run by the same switched-on, chilled-out team as the Experimental Cocktail Club et al, this hybrid bar-club looks to the interwar années folles (crazy years) of 1920s Paris, London and New York for inspiration. Its racing-green façade with a simple brass plaque on the door is the height of discretion.
Go to its Facebook page to find out which party is happening when.
reviewed
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Q
Bistrot Latin
If you want to perfect your salsa moves or dance your last tango in Paris, dance classes are held most evenings from 19:00 at this club; upstairs is the Latino cinema, Le Latina.
reviewed
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R
UGC Ciné Cité la Défense
One of a dozen-odd UGC cinemas in Paris, this modern 16-screen venue inside the Centre Commercial des Quatre Temps shows all the latest box-office hits, many in VO (undubbed).
reviewed
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S
Bar Signature
Under the same roof at the Hôtel Pont Royal as L'Atelier de Joël Robouchon, this bar once the hangout of Aldous Huxley, Henry Miller, Truman Capote and TS Eliot.
reviewed
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Alhambra
The Subways and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are among the artists who have recently played at this 1930s cinema-theatre, which now serves as a music hall for pop, rock and soul concerts.
reviewed
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L’Atmosphère
A nod to the 1938 flick Hôtel du Nord, this timber-and-tile cafe along the canal has an arty, spirited ambience, well-priced drinks and good food.
reviewed
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Théâtre de la Ville-Salle Abbesses
Théâtre de la Ville-Salle Abbesses, sister venue to the Théâtre de la Ville, stages even more avant-garde productions.
reviewed
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Le Petit Journal Montparnasse
Like its sister club Le Petit Journal St-Michel, this jazz and blues club near Gare Montparnasse serves meals (at 8.15pm), followed by a fabulous range of jazz and blues concerts (starting at 10pm).
reviewed
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Café La Palette
In the heart of gallery land, this fin-de-siècle cafe and erstwhile stomping ground of Paul Cézanne and Georges Braque attracts a grown-up set of fashion people and local art dealers. Its summer terrace is beautiful.
reviewed