Where's the best place to hang about and have a few drinks in Paris?

Answer 1

depends on the type of drinks you want to have. If you're into the Lounge mood i'd recommend:

-Mezzanine de l'Alcazar (rue mazarine on the 6th), which is a sharp place with live djs, brilliant deep house/lounge, pretty people hanging out.

-Libresens (rue marbeuf on the 8th) is basically the same concept

-Pub St.-Germain (rue de l'ancienne comédie on the 6th) same thing, but a bit of an oriental touch, open 24hrs

-Man Ray (rue marbeuf in front of libresens), is also a nightclub, the upper floor is a brilliant balcony

-Wax (rue laval near bastille on the 11th) is a retro 60's-ish lounge/bar/club (no cover) with great music from house to funk, brilliant deco and ambience.

***If you're into the parisian-style (but still with that sharp lounge-y style):

-Cafe mabillon (intersection of st.-Germain and rue de buci, on the 6th) has both ambiences and a nice downstairs relaxed area.

***If you're into the pub sort of thing:

-Frog and Princess (rue princesse on the 6th) is an english brewpub ("the paris real ale") with great student nights tuesdays, more hip-hop/rock music. it's a pub, plain and simple. beers are fantastic, and the ambience is young.

-O'neil's (rue des canettes on the 6th, 1min from the Frog) is also a brewpub but with a more relaxed environment.

-Indiana club (NOT the indiana cafe. this is metro stop Gaité line 13, 14th arrondisement), has the front area a sort of sharp club environment with dim lights, but the far area has some 20 pool/snooker/billiards tables).

-The Highlander (through rue de neslé, right turn towards the river) is a scottish pub. that's it.

-O'sullivan's (bd. de clichy next to La Loco the nightclub) is also a pub with a great dancefloor in the back.

***If you fancy some latino places:

-Barrio latino (rue fbg st-antoine on the 12th) is a huge place that looks like a druglord's home. great music, great cocktails, and you can dance cos it's a nightclub as well.

-Favela chic (rue fbg. du temple on the 10th) is a "brazilian" place that looks a bit rustic but is pretty fun and crowded.

-La Peña (right off bd.-st-germain on the passage de la petite boucherie, 6th arrd.) is a colombian cava-gone-salsa place with nice little food and ambience.

**If you fancy trying off-the-track sort of places:

-Zéro de conduite (rue jacob on the 6th) is a cartoon-based bar where you get your cocktails in baby bottles (zero de conduite=zero in discipline). they do crazy contests as well (i won one which was quite dumb).

-Le violon dingue (rue montaigne st-geneviève on the 5th) is a great wine cellar gone bar with nice people. it's like a pub that doesn't quite qualify.

**Finally, if you're into beer (Aside from the Frog and O'neil's)

-Taverne St.-Germain boosts like 240 beers on st.-germain-des-pres (6th arrd.). it also has a wine cellar with karaoke on the lower floor.

-Le sous-bock (rue st.-honoré on the 1st) has the widest selection of beers in paris. the mood isn't all to exciting, tho.

Answer 2

Try the Latin Quarter (Quartier Latin) - that's full of fun places to go - but always stray off the tourist beaten track, you get more atmosphere even one or two streets away from the main areas. I found an interesting few places to eat and drink near the Tour de Montparnasse too. As long as you avoid the crazy drunken tourists giving their coutries a bad name you should find some little gems!

Answer 3

Aux Trois Mailletz at 56 rue Galand in the 5th arr.

My favorite bar in Paris.

Answer 4

Non - go to Barcelona or London instead! You avoid the French this way!

Answer 5

La Taverne (9th district)

Answer 6

oooh... now, there's a street somewhere where Rimbaud used to live... that's quite a cool area... can't remember what it's called though... look up Rimbaud in a guide book....

Answer 7

Any hotel bar, there's less French people there.

Answer 8

Anywhere, they are all good!