49 Best Bars in Paris, France

Literature lovers, cocktail connoisseurs, and other drink-swilling devotees flock to these two iconic bars within the Ritz Hotel. The wood-paneled, tiny Bar Hemingway offers a surprisingly chill vibe and serves up cocktails that are nothing short of 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 is 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. Ephemeral cocktails from 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 Cherry made with wild cherry eau de vie, Morello cherry juice, black and sweet cherry, cherry vinegar, and maraschino liqueur.

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.

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.

At this gracious bar and tea salon in the Hôtel Castille (Coco Chanel's old stomping grounds), enjoy a selection of French and Italian wines or a glass of champagne alongside an all-day menu of Italian-accented nibbles.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 until 2 am on Tuesday through Saturday.

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.

This Les Halles mainstay open from 11 am until dawn draws a trendy crowd and offers a fully renovated piano bar in the cellar, where dancing on tables is the norm. Regular drag shows and go-go dancing keep patrons coming back.

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.

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.

The look here is something between a chic contemporary Paris apartment and a low-key lounge. Enjoy a cocktail over a good book from the bar library, or relax with a smooth drink in front of the outdoor fireplace.

Waiters wearing red overalls and revolutionary gavroche hats serve drinks every day of the week at this local institution (they demonstrate particular zeal around happy hour). With bottles of wine at about €25, it draws a quintessential Rive Gauche mix of expats, fashion-house interns, and even some professional rugby players. Sit outside on the terrace and enjoy the prime corner location.

For well-priced Brazilian-inspired cocktails (try the delicious caipirinha, pisco sour, or spicy rosé margarita), check out Bar Principal. Here you can also enjoy the menu of delicious South American–inspired nibbles in the streamlined interior or outdoors on a pretty leafy square.

This romantic spot in the ultrachic Maison Champs Élysées offers a wood fire in winter and a quiet terrace in warmer months. Its impressive range of champagnes and impeccable cocktails is well worth the stellar prices. The separate all-black cigar bar is one of the few remaining in Paris.

While it may be past its prime with Parisians, visitors can't get enough of the high-camp towering gold Buddha that presides over this bar's giant palm fronds, red satin walls, and colorful chinoiserie. A themed dining room serves pan-Asian fare. There's also an upscale speakeasy, Le Secret 8, which you access by answering a daily riddle on the bar's Facebook page and getting a password (only 25 are given out per day).

“Le Cox" is a prime gay pickup joint that's known for its live DJ sets. Its extended Sunday happy hour—from 6 pm to 2 am—is a rollicking good time.

One of Montmartre's trendiest addresses, Café la Fourmi has a funky, spacious bar-café where cool locals party. It's open until 2 am every night but Friday and Saturday, when it's open until 4 am.

Behind a nondescript facade, you'll find a 1930s-style bar-club-restaurant arranged like a private home, with a series of rooms on three floors and lots of corners where the casually stylish cool cats of Paris get cozy until the wee hours. The bar notably hosts live music events every Wednesday.

Chez Georges has been serving red wine, pastis, and beer for the past 70 years in pretty much the same caveau that still packs in devotees today. Older students and locals fill sofas and crowd around tiny, candle-topped tables in the cellar bar before grinding to pulsing world music every night until 2 am.

Epitomizing the effortless cool of this arty neighborhood, Chez Prune is a well-loved spot. It offers the designers, architects, and journalists who gather here a prime terrace for gazing out at the arched footbridges and funkier locales of Canal St-Martin.

An almost-too-cool crew can be found in Clandestino's red-emberlike interior, drinking cocktails and eating the sultry bite-size pintxos of Basque country. There's a distinct party atmosphere here, which can spill into the street, especially in summer.

A favorite not only for its prestigious location between Opéra and Place Vendôme but also for its worn-leather chairs and English-private-club feel, the Westminster Hotel's bar offers drinks like the James Bond and Duke's Martini. At times, you get the feeling that Monsieur Hercule Poirot is lurking just behind that wing chair.

Young tortured-artist types flock to this low-key club—one of the oldest gay bars in the city—to enjoy the frequent art exhibitions, alternative music, and mood-inspiring ambient lighting. It's open from 8 pm to 2 am, except on Friday and Saturday when it's open till 4 am.