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Paris Guide

NightLife
Places to have fun!

Nothing more exciting that Paris at night with or without a date...

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With a heritage that includes the cancan, the Folies-Bergère, Mistinguett, and Josephine Baker, Paris is one city where no one has ever had to ask "Is there any place exciting to go tonight?" Today, the city's nightlife and arts scenes are still filled with pleasures: hear a chansonnier belt out Piaf, take in a Victor/Victoria show, catch a Molière play at the Comédie Française, commune with the Phantom's spirit at the Opéra Garnier, or perhaps spot Madonna at the Buddha Bar. And when midnight strikes, remember that Paris is one of the greatest jazz cities in the world.

If you want to paint the town rouge after dutifully pounding the parquet in museums all day, there's a dazzling array of options to discover. The hottest night spots are near Ménilmontant and Parmentier, the Bastille, and the Marais. The Left Bank is definitely a lot less happening. The Champs-Élysées is making a comeback, especially with yuppie singles bars on its side streets, though the clientele on the main drag itself remains mostly foreign. On weeknights, people are usually home after closing hours at 2 AM, but weekends mean late-night partying. Take note: the last métro runs between 12:30 and 1 AM (you can take a cab, though they can be hard to find between midnight and 2 AM on weekends); you may just have to stay out until the métro starts running again at 5:30 AM.

Paris's boîtes de nuit (nightclubs) tend to be both expensive and exclusive---if you know someone who knows the ropes, you'll have an easier time getting through the door. Many clubs are closed on Monday, some on Tuesday. Many venues host a specific soirée on a given night of the week, so the party-hearty crowd is no longer faithful to just one club; on Mondays, they may go to "Disco Night" at the Queen, on Fridays to "Automatik" at the Rex, on Saturdays to "Scream" at the Elysée Montmartre. Many of these, such as "Scream" and "TGV," take place just once or twice a month. (For information about dates, look out for flyers in bars.) The best soirées tend to take place on Thursday and are generally more intimate and elitist than the weekend soirées.

Gay and lesbian bars and clubs are mostly concentrated in the Marais and include some of the hippest addresses in the city. Keep in mind, however, that clubs fall in and out of favor at lightning speed. The best way to find out what's hot is by picking up a copy of the free weekly e.m£le in one of the bars listed below.

Most jazz clubs are in the Latin Quarter or around Les Halles. For nightly schedules, consult the specialty magazines, Jazz Hot, Jazzman, or Jazz Magazine. Note that nothing gets going until 10 or 11 PM and that entry prices vary widely from about [eur]6 to more than [eur]15.

Paris's cabarets range from boîtes once haunted by Picasso and Piaf to those sinful showplaces where tableaux vivants offer acres of bare female flesh. These extravaganzas are often shunned by Parisians but loved by tourists. You can dine at many of them, but come with tempered expectations, since the food is more about mass-catering than gaining gourmet pleasure: prices range from [eur]30.7 (simple admission plus one drink) to more than [eur]115 (dinner plus show). For [eur]61--77, you get a seat plus half a bottle of champagne.

A number of theaters line the Grand Boulevards between the Opéra and République, but there is no Paris equivalent to New York's Broadway or London's West End. Shows are mostly in French, with a few notable exceptions.

Paris is an opera city, so it should come as no surprise that getting tickets to the two main venues, the Opéra de la Bastille and the Opéra Garnier, can be difficult on short notice. It's a good idea to plan ahead. Get a list of performances by reading the Paris Tourist Office's Saison de Paris booklet or by writing to the Opéra de la Bastille (Pl. de la Bastille, 12, 08--36--69--78--68, www.opera-de-paris.fr)well in advance. Make your selections and send back the booking form, giving several choices of nights and performances. A word of caution: buying tickets from a scalper is not a good idea, as counterfeit tickets are common.

Paris has hundreds of cinemas showing contemporary and classic French and American movies, as well as an array of independent, international, and documentary films. A number of theaters, especially in principal tourist areas, run English-language films. The initials "v.o." mean version originale, or not dubbed; films that are dubbed are indicated by the initials "v.f." (version française). Most theaters post two show times: the séance, when the commercials and previews start; and the feature presentation, which usually starts 10--25 minutes later.

Detailed entertainment listings can be found in the weekly magazines Pariscope (which has an English-language section), L'Officiel des Spectacles, Zurban, and Figaroscope (a supplement to Le Figaro newspaper).

The Paris Tourist Office's 24-hour hot line in English (08--36--68--31--12) and its Web site (www.paris-touristoffice.com) are good sources of information about activities in the city.

Here you can find some good places where to go out:

1.		Alcazar
		62 rue Mazarine, 6[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0153101999

2.		Amnésia Café
		42 rue Vieille-du-Temple, 4[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0142721694

3.		Banana Café
		13 rue de la Ferronnerie, 1[sup]er[can], Paris, - 0142333531

4.		Bristol
		112 rue du Faubourg St-Honoré, 8[sup]e[can] Arrondissement (Champs-Élysées), Paris, 75008, - 0153434300

5.		Buddha Bar
		8 rue Boissy d'Anglas, 8[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0153059000

6.		Café Carmen
		22 rue de Douai, 9[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0145262117

7.		Café Charbon
		109 rue Oberkampf, 11[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0143575513

8.		Café Cox
		15 rue des Archives, 4[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0142720800

9.		China Club
		50 rue de Charenton, 12[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0143438202

10.		Crillon
		10 pl. de la Concorde, Paris, 75008, - 0144711500

11.		Harry's New York Bar
		5 rue Daunou, 2[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0142617114

12.		L'Open Café
		17 rue des Archives, 4[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0142722618

13.		La Chaise au Plafond
		10 rue du Trésor, 4[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0142760322

14.		La Fabrique
		53 rue du Faubourg St-Antoine, 11[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0143076707

15.		La Flèche d'Or
		102 bis rue de Bagnolet, 20[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0143720423

16.		La Perla
		26 rue François Miron, 4[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0142775940

17.		La Tartine
		24 rue de Rivoli, 4[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0142727685

18.		Le Comptoir
		5 rue Monsieur-Le-Prince, 6[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0143291205

19.		Le Dépôt
		10 rue aux Ours, 3[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0144549696

20.		Le Dokhan's
		117 rue Lauriston, 16[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0153656699

21.		Le Gast
		5 rue Crespin-du-Gast, 11[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0143555334

22.		Le Meurice
		228 rue de Rivoli, 1[sup]er[can], Paris, - 0144581066

23.		Le Piston Pélican
		15 rue de Bagnolet, 20[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0143703500

24.		Le Web Bar
		32 rue de Picardie, 3[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0142726655

25.		Lutétia
		45 bd. Raspail, 6[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0149544609

26.		Man Ray
		34 rue Marbeuf, 8[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0156883636

27.		Moloko
		26 rue Fontaine, 9[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0148745026

28.		Polo Room
		3 rue Lord Byron, 8[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0140740778

29.		Sanz Sans
		49 rue du Faubourg St-Antoine, 11[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0144757878

30.		Wax
		15 rue Daval, 11[sup]e[can], Paris, - 0140211616