When darkness falls the City of Light gives credential to its name. The monuments and bridges are illuminated, and the glow of old-fashioned and modern street lamps, the blaze of sidewalk-cafe windows, and the glare of neon signs flood the avenues and boulevards. Parisians start the serious part of their evenings as in other European people stretch, yawn, and announce it’s time for bed. Once the workday is over, most people go to a cafe to meet with friends over a drink and perhaps a meal. Later they may go home or even proceed to a restaurant or the theater; and much later, they may show up at a bar or a dance club.
Parisians shows one the many facets of nightlife; where to go for a quiet drink and a tête à tête, and where to go to party. Whether one wants to watch a play or film, see a concert, or dance until the early Metro. Paris is the place to be in and the best place to spend an evening.
Pigalle is the seedy sex centre of Paris but home to some good music venues and the Moulin Rouge cabaret, where the cancan is still performed. Montmartre is heaving in summer but the views over Paris from Sacre-Coeur are matchless.Bastille is buzzing with bars and clubs but is a bit too hectic for some. The best area for an evening’s café-hopping is the Marais district, closely followed by the increasingly fashionable Oberkampf, which suits a younger crowd.
The hottest Paris nightspots are in the city’s northeastern districts, particularly around Ménilmontant, Oberkampf, and Belleville, while the Bastille clubs and the Marais bars are still going strong. The Grands Boulevards and Pigalle/Montmartre are also bubbly places with plenty of theaters, bars, and concert venues. By contrast, the Rive Gauche is a relatively minor player, dominated by student pubs and jazz bars in the Latin Quarter and a sprinkling of chic hangouts toward St-Germain-des-Prés. The Gucci-and-Vuitton-clad jet set can still be found around the Champs-Élysées and Rue St-Honoré, with prices to match the ritzy atmosphere. In warmer months Parisians flock to the floating clubs and bars, moored along the Seine from Bercy to the Eiffel Tower. Midweek, people are usually home after closing hours.
Nightlife in Paris is alive and kicking. The “City of Lights” has never been shy or early to bed. “Bars” aren’t clearly defined. It could mean an establishment which serves beer, one which serves beer and food, wine, wine and food, a cabaret atmosphere or any other descriptions. Bars have taken the place of the café.
The variety of music halls, jazz clubs, dance halls, rock music, cabarets, satiric theater, and risqué entertainment is incomparable to other places in the world. Paris is still a city not shy of nudity and there are many gay and lesbian clubs and restaurants mostly found in Le Marais. Bars are usually wine bars and pubs are generally serving beer and hard liquor. Clubs usually have food and entertainment. There are still some literary haunts and many hotels have their own clubs. Cabarets are still the first choice of nightlife entertainment because it is in the cabaret one will find the cancan of Paris.
Just about every club and cabaret has a cover charge. Some covers include champagne or a one drink. There is no way one can get bored in Paris. Paris after dark is swinging.