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Young and hip—from the colorful cafés and bars surrounding Place de la Bastille to the newly chic 20e arrondissement, with Oberkampf's artsy cocktail clubs and Canal St-Martin's trendy watering holes in between—there's enough here for a week of stellar nights out.
The three skilled mixologists at this streamlined cocktail bar have earned serious accolades in Paris's cocktail scene for their fresh, original, and artful creations.
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.
When Palestinian chef Ruba Khoury (a veteran of several Michelin-starred kitchens) struck out on her own, she surprised everyone by opening a cocktail bar, "made by women for women." But no one's complaining: along with some of the city's most splendid cocktails and mocktails, highlighting fresh fruit and veggie juices, her accompanying menu of scintillating finger food makes settling in for the evening a pleasure.
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.
This lively cocktail bar is a favorite watering hole among the cocktail cognoscenti and local hipsters. The design is a mix of high-low (think concrete, marble, and velvet), and there's a lovely plant-filled terrace. Visitors come for a taste of the mightily delicious cocktails and silver punch bowls filled with ambrosial concoctions. The menu of shared plates will help keep you on your stool.
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.
Its swank Mad Men–meets–tiki bar atmosphere and dynamic gin-centric cocktails have earned this dusky cocktail den an avid following.
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.
Among the bars and eateries lining Rue Lancry, is the welcoming La Patache. It has a wide selection of wines and a retro-inspired ambience fueled by a jukebox and candlelight that illuminates the vintage photos on the wall.
You'll find this concert hall and club tucked behind the Café Charbon. Pop and rock concerts prevail during the week, and the revelry continues on Friday and Saturday from midnight until dawn. House, minimal, and techno DJs are the standard.
It's not just hotel guests who flock to this hotel's Island Bar, one of the coolest spots around the neighborhood. Local hipsters also appreciate the live music and DJ nights, foosball, and even the adjacent pizza bar. In summer, the fun extends to the bar's rooftop cocktail lounge, especially popular on weekend evenings.
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.
This hotel—which starred in the classic Marcel Carné film of the same name—has been spiffed up but still maintains its cool with a vibrant lounge-bar (and restaurant) scene in the buzz-worthy Canal St-Martin district.
