10 Best Nightlife in The French Riviera, France

If you're all dressed up and have just won big, invest in a drink in the intimate walnut-and-velour Bar Le Relais in the iconic Hôtel Negresco. It's worth the price (€17 for a glass of local red wine, or €6 for Perrier) just to get a peek at the washrooms. There is live music every evening, and in the summer an outdoor bar hosts a nightly DJ.

Take a trip back to the days of Hemingway, and taste some absinthe to find out what that talk of hallucinating is all about; you might just get a hat to commemorate the occasion. This underground establishment is open Tuesday to Sunday and has a piano bar on Friday and Saturday nights.

The biggest player on the Cannes nightlife scene, Le Bâoli attracts the likes of the Kardashians, Channing Tatum, Jude Law, and oh, some 3,000 other revelers who pass the door-selection process. It's usually packed until dawn even outside of festival time. If staying up past 10 doesn't interest you, head to Cloud Nine, the 360-degree-panorama rooftop bar that's open June–September for sunset cocktails.

Frequented by both French locals and foreigners (and their kids and dogs), this pub is a great place to collect your thoughts over a drink or to hear some live music. The Blue Lady has daytime appeal, too. Beginning at 7:30 am, you can grab a latte, a smoothie, or even an English breakfast (there are newspapers on hand, too). The kitchen is open till 3 pm, so you can stick around for a lunch of burgers, potpies, or fresh salads.

The city's most colorful LGBTQ+ club has DJs who compel you to dance to the best mixes around. It welcomes all clubbers in the know, with only one requirement: be you. It's open from 11 pm to 4 am Friday to Sunday, with a happy hour (11 pm–midnight) that includes two free drinks with the €12 entry.

Philippe Shangti, a model-turned-contemporary-photographer, is the artistic manager of this club in the port. The service is friendly; the cocktails and appetizers are creative; and the cabaret-style performances are live, lively, and sometimes provocative.

Incredibly expensive yet always packed, this kitschy disco in the Byblos Hotel is the place to see and be seen. When you hear the theme from Star Wars, take comfort while you sip your nearly €30 glass of water that someone other than yourself has just spent €25,000 on a Methuselah of Champagne. There's a horrific door policy during high season—don't worry, it's really not you. It's open every night in July and August and weekends only the rest of the year.

Don't forget your camera when heading up to this panoramic bar on the seventh floor of the Aston La Scala Hotel. The views of old Nice and the Promenade du Paillon across to the airport are spectacular, and drink prices are more than reasonable. There's live music Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, and, in the summer, the action moves to the rooftop Moon Bar, where there's a pool (for guests) and a 360-degree view. Note that there are 23 steps from the hotel lobby to the bar’s elevator.

The VIP Room is notorious for drawing flashy, gilded youths with deep pockets. It opens nightly from mid-June to mid-September.

Open seven days a week until 1 am, Zoa is a sushi eatery that also happens to be the place to drink chic cocktails. Be sure to book a table in advance.