89 Best Bars in Paris, France

Background Illustration for Nightlife

You haven't seen the City of Lights until you've seen the city at night. Throngs pour into popular streets, filling the air with the melody of engaged conversation and clinking glasses. This is when locals let down their hair and reveal their true bonhomie, laughing and dancing, flirting and talking. Parisians love to savor life together: they dine out, drink endless espressos, offer innumerable toasts, and are often so reluctant to separate that they party all night.

Parisians go out weekends and weeknights, late and early. They tend to frequent the same places once they've found spots they like: it could be a wine bar, a corner café, a hip music club, or, more and more, a chic cocktail bar in an out-of-the-way neighborhood. A wise way to spend an evening is to pick an area in a neighborhood that interests you, then give yourself time to browse. Parisians also love to bar-hop, and the energy shifts throughout the evening, so be prepared to follow the crowds.

Au Lapin Agile

Grands Boulevards Fodor's choice

An authentic survivor from the 19th century, Au Lapin Agile considers itself the doyen of cabarets. Founded in 1860, it inhabits the same modest house that was a favorite subject of painter Maurice Utrillo. It became the home-away-from-home for Braque, Modigliani, Apollinaire, and Picasso—who once paid for a meal with one of his paintings, then promptly exited and painted another that he named after this place. There are no topless dancers; this is a genuine French cabaret with songs, poetry, and humor (in French) in a publike setting. Entry—with one drink included—is €35, and it's cash only at the door (online prepayment by credit card is available).

Bar Botaniste

Eiffel Tower Fodor's choice

This most opulent of bars offers 15 scintillating cocktails crafted with herbal elixirs, fresh fruits, flower essences, and exotic nectars in honor of Prince Roland Bonaparte, a passionate botanist and the first owner of the mansion that became the Shangri-La Paris Hotel. The cocktail menu changes every two months—all the better to keep ingredients fresh and seasonal.

Bar Hemingway & the Ritz Bar

Louvre Fodor's choice

Literature lovers, cocktail connoisseurs, and other drink-swilling devotees flock to these two iconic bars within the Ritz Hotel. A $400-million renovation happily didn't alter the chill vibe or the wood-paneled, club-chair decor of tiny Bar Hemingway. While mixologist mainstay and twice-named "Best Head Barman in the World" Colin Field departed the storied hotel in 2023, after 30 years behind the bar, he and his cocktails remain legendary. Try the Serendipity, the bar's most popular drink, combining champagne with Calvados and mint. Across the elegant corridor, the more spacious Ritz Bar's 2021 renovation paved the way for an astrologically themed experience. In a style evoking Belle Époque Paris, the space's circular bar is topped by a monumental lantern whose projection of stars and constellations begins each evening at 5:30 exactly. Signature cocktails from new head bartender Romain de Courcy are built around one ingredient, like Corn made with Mexican corn whisky, ancestral corn liqueur, freeze-dried corn, and popcorn, or Grape made with white grape eau de vie, Pisco, grappa, clarified red grape juice, rosé reduction, and Syrah vinegar.

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Bar Josephine

St-Germain-des-Prés Fodor's choice

Inside the magnificent, historic Hôtel Lutetia, Bar Josephine has been restored beyond its former glory. The vast Art Nouveau frescoed ceiling, wrought-iron balcony, and colorful, carefully selected spirits—all lit by abundant natural light coming through the vast window facing Boulevard Raspail—make this beautiful space the place to see and be seen. There is live piano music from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm most evenings.

Café Laurent

St-Germain-des-Prés Fodor's choice

Bookcases on the wall and the glossy central piano recall this jazz bar's earlier incarnation as the Café Tabou, when Paris's postwar artists and intellectuals argued and partied the night away to the strains of New York jazz. Nowadays, the plush seating and low lights still draw a crowd of die-hard jazz lovers. Note that there's no live music on Sunday.

Calbar

Bastille Fodor's choice
This off-the-beaten-path watering hole, where the drinks are so good, the music so cool, and the atmosphere so right, is a big draw for a laid-back but knowing crowd. Relax on the big leather sofa while sipping a well-priced craft cocktail that pairs perfectly with your plate of Iberian ham or cheese and charcuterie.

Candelaria

Marais Quarter Fodor's choice
Steamy Candelaria is a taquería by day and a cocktail lounge by night. The tang of tequila hangs in the air at this hip hideaway, where deftly crafted drinks are poured for a contented crowd.

CopperBay

Canal St-Martin Fodor's choice

This sleek and chic cocktail bar's nautical theme extends to its lustrous wood bar and bright, generous spaces where no one has to fight for elbow room. Imaginative drinks change with the season (with hot choices in cold weather), the atmosphere is friendly, and the service is top-notch.

Crazy Horse

Champs-Élysées Fodor's choice

This world-renowned cabaret has elevated the striptease to an art form. Founded in 1951, it's famous for gorgeous dancers and naughty routines characterized by lots of humor and very little clothing. What garments there are have been dazzlingly designed by the likes of Louboutin and Alaïa and shed by top divas (including Dita Von Teese). Reserved seats for the show start at €115.

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Dirty Dick

Grands Boulevards Fodor's choice

An updated version of the classic tiki lounge, this stylish option in the hip South Pigalle (SoPi) neighborhood comes complete with lurid lighting, life-size totems, and retro rattan furniture. All the exotic drinks you'd expect at a Polynesian beach hut (or '60s motel lounge) are here—including fruity cocktails, a range of rums, and punch bowls with names like Amazombie.

Experimental Cocktail Club

Louvre Fodor's choice

Fashioned as a speakeasy on a tiny brick-paved street, this was one of the first bars to bring the cocktail revolution to Paris. Colorful, innovative, and ever-changing drinks are mixed with aplomb by friendly (and attractive) bartenders. By 11 pm, the bar is always packed with a mix of locals, professionals, and fashionistas.

Gravity Bar

Canal St-Martin Fodor's choice

On a street crammed with hip restaurants and bars, you'll find the area's best craft cocktails here, concocted with unusual house-made ingredients. An excellent dining menu is served around a circular bar or at one of the few tables under an undulating wood ceiling. It's small and popular so it's best to come early or late.

Jacques' Bar

Grands Boulevards Fodor's choice

Tucked away beyond a cobbled courtyard and up a winding back stairway, this cozy (only 24 seats) bar achieves an intimate, parloresque ambience thanks to floral chintz wallpaper, plush armchairs and poufs, and Asian rugs. For a hotel bar, it has well-priced Moroccan-inspired cocktails and small plates, making settling in for the evening a tempting option. Considering the Hoxton Hotel's other bustling spaces, this is a nice little getaway. It gets crowded, so arrive early.

Le Bar Botaniste

Champs-Élysées Fodor's choice

The Shangri-La Hotel's opulent bar, inspired by eccentric botanist Prince Roland Bonaparte (nephew to Napoléon), serves up a dazzling menu of imaginative cocktails spiked with plant and flower essences and fruit nectars.

Le Bar du Bristol

Champs-Élysées Fodor's choice

Apparently not satisfied with its usual rich and powerful clientele, this tony spot is now vying for the impossibly hip, too. Along with enticing cocktails and rarefied spirits, Le Bar promises exceptional wines and tapas. Weekdays from 7 pm to 9:30 pm, it also showcases curated art videos on its behind-the-bar mirror screen. Chic Paris DJs heat up the scene between 9:30 pm and 2 am on Friday and Saturday.

Le Mary Celeste

Marais Quarter Fodor's choice

Half-price oysters at happy hour (6–7 pm) aren't the only reason this refreshingly unpretentious cocktail bar is wildly popular. One of a trilogy of super-hip watering holes (including Candelaria and Glass) opened by a trio of expat restaurateurs, its craft cocktails, microbrews, natural wines, and standout tapas menu deliver the goods and then some. If you're planning to dine, reserve ahead online.

Les Ambassadeurs

Champs-Élysées Fodor's choice
Within the Crillon Hotel is this over-the-top bar that makes use of the soaring room's original 18th-century gilding, sumptuous velvet seating, glorious chandeliers, and a golden bar to create an atmosphere of unparalleled opulence. An eclectic cocktail list and a scintillating selection of Champagnes add to the extravagance.

Les Ambassadeurs

Louvre Fodor's choice

Located within the magnificent Hôtel de Crillon, Les Ambassadeurs is perhaps the closest you'll come to experiencing the royal treatment in a real palace—it was built by order of Louis XV in 1758. Sink into one of the cozy armchairs and enjoy a coupe of Champagne from a list as long as the marble walls are high, or select one of a curated list of signature cocktails. All the right touches are preserved, including a frescoed ceiling adorned with twinkling chandeliers and gilt—lots of it. Live music accompanies your evening Tuesday through Saturday starting at 8 pm.

Lockwood

Grands Boulevards Fodor's choice

An unusual mix of café by day and craft cocktail bar by night, Lockwood is also a wildly popular brunch spot. Complete with a stylish interior, right down to the lively cellar bar, it has a hip, unfailingly friendly atmosphere, excellent food, and top-quality ingredients.

New Morning

Grands Boulevards Fodor's choice

At New Morning—the premier spot for serious fans of avant-garde jazz, folk, and world music—the look is spartan, and the mood reverential.

Paname Brewing Company

Fodor's choice
One of Paris's first and best microbreweries on the city's exploding brewery scene, Paname offers a dozen masterful craft beers, plus limited-time specials, and a fabulous terrace on a plum spot facing the Canal de la Villette.

Saint James Club Paris

Western Paris Fodor's choice

Like a common room out of Harry Potter, the bar at the Saint James Club Paris—complete with 5,000 leather-bound volumes and a cozy fireplace—is studiously inviting. It's very French, and open to nonmembers only after 7 pm and during Sunday brunch. The owners are a venerable old Bordeaux family; accordingly, you'll find a respectable selection of champagnes and wines.

Sherry Butt

Marais Quarter Fodor's choice

On a quiet street close to the Bastille, Sherry Butt's relaxed loftlike atmosphere, imaginative drinks, whiskey flights, and tasty bar menu draw a lively crowd that appreciates meticulously crafted cocktails. A DJ spins on weekends.

The Shell

Grands Boulevards Fodor's choice

Parisian cocktail lovers squeeze into this beautiful, intimate space—the beating heart of the Hôtel des Grands Boulevards—to imbibe some of the city's most ingenious and delicious cocktails concocted by a trailblazing mixologist. But the innovation doesn't end there. The Shell specializes in "mocktails" and lets drinkers watching their intake choose their dosage of alcohol, with commensurate prices, starting at €9. Anyone can get behind The Shell's motto: "No more hangovers." 

Alcazar

St-Germain-des-Prés

Sir Terence Conran's makeover of a 17th-century Parisian jeu de paume court features a stylish mezzanine-level bar under a greenhouse-glass roof. DJs and "sound designers" spin mixes into the wee hours Wednesday through Saturday. Saturday night themes such as "Love Night" include a late-night, three-course meal with cocktails, followed by partying with burlesque dancers.

Apicius

Champs-Élysées

Mere steps from the Champs-Élysées, Apicius offers sublime elegance. Wander through the luxe front garden and château restaurant to the sleekly modern black bar where couture cocktails are concocted to suit any cultured taste.

Arbane

St-Germain-des-Prés

If you're looking for an ultraprivate cocktail bar, it's easy to miss this place. The dark, nearly hidden door leads to a tiny bar/lounge that seats about 30 people. Happy hour is from 6 pm to 8 pm nightly, and the space stays open until 2 am. It can also be rented for private parties. Just note that there aren't any windows, so it might not be the best spot for anyone with claustrophobia.

Auld Alliance

Marais Quarter

You’ll feel like an honorary Highlander at Auld Alliance, where Scottish shields adorn the walls and the bar staff (who don kilts for special events) serve 120-plus types of whiskey. Scottish beer and pub grub, including a haggis burger, are also available. It’s a great place to catch televised soccer or rugby matches, and, on occasion, live music.

Bar 228

Louvre

Hôtel Le Meurice converted its ground-floor Fontainebleau library into the intimate Bar 228, with wood paneling and huge murals depicting the royal hunting forests of Fontainebleau. Its loyal fashion crowd is continually wooed by Philippe Starck's decor updates and lubricated with the bar's famous Bellinis. Try the Meurice Millennium cocktail, made with Champagne, rose liqueur, and Cointreau.

Bar 8

Louvre

The monolithic marble bar at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel offers an extensive Champagne list and a menu of international street food-inspired bar snacks. The outdoor terrace is especially busy during Fashion Weeks.