Paris nightlife by neighbourhood: which area suits which night, from Pigalle and Oberkampf bars to Canal Saint-Martin and Seine clubs, and how to get home.
Paris nightlife is spread across a handful of neighbourhoods, and each one does a different night. Pigalle and Oberkampf are for bars that run late, the Marais for cocktails, Bastille for dance halls and rock, and the serious clubs sit on the Grands Boulevards, around Canal Saint-Martin and on the Seine in the 13th. Picking the right area matters more here than in most cities, because the métro stops at 01:15, or 02:15 on Friday and Saturday, and crossing town after that means a night bus or a taxi. This guide takes the seven areas in turn: what each one is like, where to go, how to get there and home, and who it suits.
Pigalle is the old cabaret district at the foot of Montmartre, and it still runs on neon and late licences. Boulevard de Clichy is the main strip, with the Moulin Rouge at Place Blanche, and the streets just south of it, known as SoPi, are full of small cocktail bars.
The anchor is La Machine du Moulin Rouge, next door to the cabaret, with an 800-capacity main room, a basement club in the former boiler room and a hidden bar with a terrace; club nights run on Friday and Saturday until 06:00. A few minutes away, Chez Moune has been on Rue Jean-Baptiste Pigalle since the fifties and opens its small dancefloor from midnight at weekends. When the bars shut, Harmony on Rue Rodier opens at midnight and pours cocktails until 06:00, Wednesday to Sunday.
Getting there: métro Pigalle (lines 2 and 12), Blanche (line 2) or Anvers (line 2). Getting home: line 2 runs along the boulevard until the last train; after that, Saint-Lazare is the nearest Noctilien hub. Pigalle suits groups who want a bar crawl and a club in the same few streets. Not for you if you dislike tourist crowds on the main boulevard.
Rue Oberkampf climbs from the edge of the Marais towards Ménilmontant and is lined with bars that fill on weeknights as much as at weekends. It is the most local-feeling of the central bar streets, and the crowd starts late.
Nouveau Casino at number 109 is the club of the street, with rock and electro gigs from around 19:30 and club nights until about 05:00 from Wednesday to Saturday. Café Charbon, on the same stretch, serves until 04:00. For a drink with a view first, Le Perchoir Ménilmontant sits on the roof of an industrial building on Rue Crespin du Gast and opens Monday to Saturday from 18:00 to 02:00.
Getting there: métro Parmentier (line 3), Oberkampf (lines 5 and 9) or Ménilmontant (line 2). Getting home: after the last métro, head towards Châtelet or Gare de l'Est for the Noctilien. Oberkampf suits people who want a long bar night without a door queue. Not for you if you want a big club: there is only one here.
Bastille is where the east of Paris goes dancing. Rue de Lappe still has its 1930s dance hall, and the streets around Rue de la Roquette hold a club, a rock venue and a speakeasy within a few minutes of each other.
Badaboum on Rue des Taillandiers combines a club, a concert hall and a cocktail bar, with club nights at €10 to €15 that run until 07:00 at weekends. Le Balajo on Rue de Lappe has been open since the 1930s and runs salsa and rock classes before the floor opens to everyone. Supersonic, just south of the square on Rue Biscornet, puts on three free concerts a night and rock DJ sets until 06:00 on Friday and Saturday. Start at Moonshiner, reached through the cold-room door of a pizzeria on Rue Sedaine.
Getting there: métro Bastille (lines 1, 5 and 8) or Ledru-Rollin (line 8). Getting home: Gare de Lyon, one of the five Noctilien hubs, is a short walk from Supersonic. Bastille suits mixed groups who cannot agree on music, because every genre is within walking distance. Not for you if you want a quiet drink on a Saturday: Rue de Lappe is loud.
The Marais is the cocktail district. Its narrow streets have little room for clubs, but the northern half, around Rue Charlot and Rue de Saintonge, holds some of the best-known bars in the world within a few minutes of each other. It is also the historic centre of LGBT+ nightlife in Paris, with long-running bars across the district.
Little Red Door on Rue Charlot is regularly ranked among the world's best bars and opens daily from 18:00 to 02:00; expect a queue at weekends. Around the corner, Candelaria hides a stone-walled bar behind a taquería on Rue de Saintonge, and Le Mary Celeste on Rue Commines serves €1 oysters from 18:00 to 19:00 between September and April.
Getting there: métro Filles du Calvaire (line 8) or Oberkampf (lines 5 and 9). Getting home: Châtelet, the central Noctilien hub, is within walking distance. The Marais suits couples and small groups who want good drinks and conversation. Not for you if you want to dance after 02:00: move on to Oberkampf or the Grands Boulevards.
The Grands Boulevards run across the 2nd, 9th and 10th arrondissements, and the stretch around Bonne Nouvelle, together with the Sentier streets just south of it, is where Paris techno and Paris cocktails meet.
The Rex Club sits under the Grand Rex cinema on Boulevard Poissonnière and has been the reference point for techno in the city for more than forty years; it opens Wednesday to Saturday until 07:00. For a drink first, the Experimental Cocktail Club on Rue Saint-Sauveur opened in 2007 and stays open until 04:00 at weekends. Le Syndicat on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis is built around French spirits, and Silencio on Rue Montmartre, designed by David Lynch, opens to non-members after midnight.
Getting there: métro Bonne Nouvelle (lines 8 and 9), Grands Boulevards (lines 8 and 9) or Sentier (line 3). Getting home: Châtelet and Gare de l'Est, both Noctilien hubs, are within walking distance. This area suits people who want one serious club night with a good bar beforehand. Not for you if you hate queues: the Rex fills on big bookings.
The canal runs north from République towards Stalingrad, lined with bars on Quai de Valmy and Quai de Jemmapes, and the streets around it in the 10th now hold some of the most interesting clubs in the city.
Essaim, near Louis Blanc, is the room to know: 400 people, an L-Acoustics system, a €20 door and techno until 06:30 on Friday and Saturday. Up the hill towards Belleville, La Java has been a dance hall since the 1920s and runs club nights from Thursday to Saturday until dawn. At the République end, La Fav, the former Favela Chic, clears its restaurant tables for mainstream, house and disco until 05:00. On the canal itself, Point Éphémère at 200 Quai de Valmy mixes concerts, a bar and a rooftop.
Getting there: métro Louis Blanc (line 7), Jaurès (lines 2, 5 and 7bis), Goncourt (line 11) or République. Getting home: Gare de l'Est, a Noctilien hub, is close to the northern half of the canal. It suits people who want a techno night that still feels local. Not for you if you want everything on one street: the venues are spread out.
The riverside in the 13th, between Gare d'Austerlitz and Bibliothèque François Mitterrand, is where Paris dances on and beside the Seine. It is not a bar district and there is little to do between venues, but three strong clubs sit within a short ride of each other.
Fvtvr fills the space under the Cité de la Mode et du Design with about 700 people and techno until 07:00 at weekends. Petit Bain is a 45-metre floating venue at Port de la Gare, with a 450-capacity hall and a planted terrace over the river. Djoon on Boulevard Vincent Auriol has been the home of soulful house since 2003, with doors from free to €15.
Getting there: métro Quai de la Gare (line 6), Gare d'Austerlitz (lines 5 and 10, RER C) or Bibliothèque François Mitterrand (line 14, RER C). Getting home: line 14 runs to Gare de Lyon and Châtelet, both Noctilien hubs, until the last train. This area suits people who plan the night around one booking. Not for you if you want to hop between bars.
For a nightlife trip, stay east of the centre. Bastille, Oberkampf and République put the Marais bars, the canal clubs and Rue Oberkampf within walking distance, and Gare de Lyon is one of the five Noctilien hubs. Pigalle is the other good base if you want bars and a club on your doorstep, with line 2 along the boulevard. Hostel dorm beds start at around €20 to €35 a night. Compare hotels and hostels by area on our Paris places to stay page, and choose somewhere within walking distance of the area where you plan to end the night.
For opening hours, prices and door policy across the whole city, read the full Paris nightlife guide. For the clubs themselves, ranked with entry prices and closing times, see the 10 best clubs in Paris.
It depends on the night. For bars, Oberkampf, Pigalle and the Marais; for clubs, the Grands Boulevards, Canal Saint-Martin and the 13th arrondissement along the Seine. Bastille mixes both within a few streets.
Canal Saint-Martin for Essaim, the Grands Boulevards for the Rex Club and the 13th for Fvtvr. All three run until at least 06:30 at weekends.
Bastille, Oberkampf or République, which put most bar streets and several clubs within walking distance. Pigalle is the alternative if you want to be near the cabarets and late bars.
By métro until 01:15, or 02:15 on Friday and Saturday. After that, Noctilien buses run from 00:30 to 05:30 through Châtelet, Gare de Lyon, Gare de l'Est, Montparnasse and Saint-Lazare, on a €2.05 bus-tram ticket.
