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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.
Tucked among the cafés on the Rue Cler, this all-purpose bistro-cum–cocktail bar's all-day and night hours (it's open until 2 am), welcoming atmosphere, and tasty cocktail concoctions make it an ideal option in a neighborhood decidedly short on late-night watering spots.
Swanky decor and luscious drinks are drawing the cocktail cognoscenti to this intimate lounge hidden away in the legendary Le Fouquet's Hotel. If you prefer daylight, the hotel offers two other superchic bars: Le Joy and L'Escadrille.
In true Prohibition-era fashion, this 1920s-style speakeasy is reached through a freezer door in the depths of a pizzeria, so don't be alarmed at first glance (it's quite obvious when you're there). House cocktails are imaginative and delicious, but the friendly bartenders are equally adept at the classics—and the pizza's good, too.
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