Hi All,
I'm a 20-something New Yorker going to Paris solo for 4 days in September. Just wanted to get some recommendations about places to go out at night. I've been to Paris a few times and am pretty comfortable with the city but this will be my first trip alone so I'm a bit nervous about having a good time at night. I'm a social person and typically like to hang out at bars or go dancing at small/interesting venues (I'm not nightclub girl). Can I expect to go out and socialize and make friends with guys/girls (locals or otherwise) and where are the best places for this?
Thanks for your help!

One for your short list: Rue Oberkampf.

An interesting place to check out during the day:

Chez Prune
71 quai de Valmy, 10th (01.42.41.30.47). Metro: République.

Hopefully others can add to the list here.

I am not at all in your age group, and I pretty much go to sleep after dark, but I have found that the TimeOut guides to various cities, including the TimeOut Guide to Paris, offer significantly more night life information than any other guide book that I'm aware of. They rate and review a good number of bars and clubs, give information on the music played and what type of crowd attends. I highly recommend that you pick up the TimeOut Guide to Paris. This could really help you navigate the nighttime scene.

Citygirl, it is probably not the sort of accommodation you have in mind but if I was a 20 something on my own in Paris I would consider staying in a good hostel so I could meet other young travellers. The MIJE hostels in the Marais have single rooms for 45 Euros plus 2.50 Euro membership

http://www.mije.com/index_individuels_uk.html

thanks so much everyone! this is very helpful

Citygirl, you say you've been to Paris a few times and like to go out at night, hang out in bars, dance, etc. So I was wondering, where exactly did you go before in Paris to do all that when you were with somebody? And why would you think those places wouldn't be appropriate if you were alone? I just wondered what kind of places you have been and don't want to go to alone , as I'm not sure what you are really looking for. I'm not as comfortable as you are, apparently, with the idea of women going out alone at night to any places like that. I mean, not the kind of bars it sounds like you are looking for.

Hi Citygirl,

I was in Paris recently and found night time a challenge - I remembered this thread though and it had some good suggestions:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34625546

"I'm not as comfortable as you are, apparently, with the idea of women going out alone at night to any places like that"

Places like that? I don't think she's looking for anything weird and unusul -just for ideas of good nightlife for a solo traveler. I certainly understand the desire to not head off to bed at 9:00pm just because your alone

Good Travels,

Murphy

Christina, we would pretty much pick a neighborhood and walk around until we stumbled across a random bar that looked nice. but those were the kind of places where you'd go with a couple friends, order a bottle of wine and talk until 2am-- a great time, but not at all conducive to meeting people. since i don't have the luxury of doing that this time, i wanted to get recommendations of places that are more single friendly-- in the strictly platonic sense.
This is my first time traveling alone and im not terribly comfortable with the idea of going out at night on my own, but there's no way im going to sit in my hotel room watching TV every night either. So I was hoping people who have traveled to Paris before could recommend places where a person traveling alone can go out, have a drink and meet/chat with people for the evening-- without it being dangerous or awkward.

thank you Murphy!
and that thread is great!

You might want to take a Fat Tire Bike Tour the first night. It's fun, often filled with tourists your age (but not locals if thats what you prefer), and it will keep you from going to sleep too early on day one.

My friends did one of those Fat Tire Bike Tours and loved it. Great suggestion!

You need to do the Dinner with ____ (but can't think of the guy's name). Help me out here, Fodorites. He hosts a large group in his apartment once a week and its a fun way to mingle and meet other travelers.

Jim Haynes!
I just topped one of the many threads discussing his get-togethers, but here's the thread -

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34835767