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LITTLE TEMPLE BAR Map Pub

01 43 26 79 95; www.littletemplebar.fr; 12 rue Princesse, 6e; 5pm-2am Mon-Fri, noon-2am Sat & Sun; Mabillon

Sports fans pile in to this Irish bar, where football and rugby matches are screened live. It can get heated depending on who’s playing/winning, and the place practically vibrates with noise. But that’s all part of the vibe. Happy hour (5pm to 8pm, Monday to Friday) whittles a pint down to €5.

O’NEIL Map Pub

01 46 33 36 66; 20 rue des Canettes, 6e; noon-2am; Mabillon

This micro brasserie brews its own: Taste all four with a palatte en dégustation (€5.90) or pick the colour to suit your – blonde (blond), blanche (white), brune (brown) or ambŕee (amber) – poured straight from the barrel. Weekday ‘Happy Hour’ (6pm to 8pm) spells good-value drinking, as does O’Neil’s mighty 1.8L pitchers of beer (€16/20 before/after 6pm). Beer cocktails (€4 to €9.60) and les chasse-bières (beer chasers; €7.50) are its unusual specialities.

KILÀLI Map Tearoom

01 43 25 65 64; 3-5 rue des Quatre Vents, 6e; noon-10pm Tue-Sat, 1-9pm Sun; Odéon

Style personified, this Japanese tearoom-cum-art gallery is a peaceful oasis amid shops. Finesse, nobility and other elevated adjectives describe the different green teas served in pottery teapots with matching yunomi (goblets). Ask for a refill of water when you’ve drained the pot.

LE COMPTOIR DES CANNETTES Map Wine Bar

01 43 26 79 15; 11 rue des Canettes, 6e; noon-2am Tue-Sat, closed Aug; Mabillon

In the biz since 1952, a faithful local following pours into this cellar, a stuffy, atmospheric tribute to downtrodden romanticism complete with red tablecloths, melting candles and nostalgic photos of musicians. The wine is cheap, the regulars incorrigible and on a good night the whole thing spills up the stairs and onto the street.

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MONTPARNASSE

The scene here is far from rocking, but the pace is not slow thanks to the comings and goings of the train station and a trio of legendary cafés-cum-bars-cum-neighbourhood hang-outs.

LE SELECT Map Café

01 42 22 65 27; 99 blvd du Montparnasse, 6e; 7.30am-2.30am; Vavin

Along with La Coupole and Le Dôme, this café is a Montparnasse institution that has changed little since 1923. Students congregate in the early evening; regulars take over as the night wears on. Tartines made with Poilâne bread (Click here) are a speciality.

CUBANA CAFÉ Map Cocktail Bar

01 40 46 80 81; 47 rue Vavin, 6e; 11am-3am Sun-Wed, to 5am Thu-Sat; Vavin

This is the perfect place for cocktails and tapas, be it a single dish (€3.70 to €7.10) or a mixed platter (€16) shared among friends, before carrying on to nearby La Coupole. A post-work crowd sinks into the comfy leather armchairs and flops beneath oil paintings of daily life in Cuba.

LE ROSEBUD Map Cocktail Bar

01 43 35 38 54; 11bis rue Delambre, 14e; 7pm-2am; Edgar Quinet or Vavin

Like the sleigh of that name in Citizen Kane, Rosebud harkens to the past. In this case it’s to the time of the Montparnos (painters and writers who frequented Montparnasse during the neighbourhood’s golden years of the early 20th century). Enjoy an expertly mixed champagne cocktail or whisky sour amid the quiet elegance of polished wood and aged leather.

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FAUBOURG ST-GERMAIN & INVALIDES

An undisputable day rather than night venue, with government ministries and embassies outweighing drinking venues hands-down, the 7e arrondissement does have a redeeming feature for socialites, in the shape of three very lovely cafés.

CAFÉ DU MUSÉE RODIN Map Café

01 44 18 61 10; 77 rue de Varenne, 7e; 9.30am-6.45pm Tue-Sun Apr-Sep, to 5pm Tue-Sun Oct-Mar; Varenne

A serene beauty pervades the garden of the Musée Rodin, with the great master’s sculptures popping up among the roses and lime trees that line the pathways. If the weather is fine you can have a drink and a snack at one of the tables hidden behind the trees (garden admission €1).

CAFÉ LE BASILE Map Café

01 42 22 59 46;