Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [210]
To learn how to sort the wheat from the chaff, embark on a wine-tasting course at the highly esteemed Centre de Dégustation Jacques Vivet (Map; 01 43 25 96 30, 06 07 28 61 85; 48 rue de Vaugirard, 6e; Luxembourg), opposite Jardin de Luxembourg. As well as one-day tasting courses (€194) and introductory wine courses (in English and French), it runs advanced cours d’oeonologie (in French only) focusing on several wines from one appellation or grape variety.
* * *
LE DÉPANNEUR Map Bar
01 44 53 03 78; 27 rue Pierre Fontaine, 9e; 10am-2am Mon-Thu, 24hr Fri-Sun; Blanche
‘The Repairman’, an American diner-cum-bar with postmodern frills and almost 24-hour service, has plenty of tequila and fancy cocktails (€7.50). There are DJs after 11pm from Thursday to Saturday. After 3am or 4am at the weekend most clients have just come out of the clubs. Be on guard.
LE SANCERRE Map Bar
01 42 58 08 20; 35 rue des Abbesses, 18e; 7am-2am; Abbesses
Le Sancerre is a popular, rather brash bistro-cum-bar that’s often crowded to capacity in the evening, especially on Saturdays. Scruffy yet attractive with its classic bistro décor and hip local mood, it has a prized terrace that gets the late morning sun. It serves bistro food and breakfasts from 11.30am to 11.30pm. Happy hour is 5.30pm to 8pm.
OLYMPIC CAFÉ Map Bar
01 42 52 29 93; 20 rue Léon, 18e; 7pm-2am Tue-Sat; Château Rouge
This community bar in the Goutte d’Or neighbourhood is full of surprises. From plays and film screenings to concerts of Guinean griot, Balkan folk, Cameroon hip-hop and so on in the basement (tickets €5 to €7), this is a breeding ground for creative young people bursting with original ideas. The monthly program available at the bar also includes events (tickets adult/concession €15/10) at the Lavoir Moderne Parisien (Map; 01 42 52 09 14; 35 rue Léon, 18e), another springboard for young talent down the road.
CHÀO BÀ CAFÉ Map Café
01 46 06 72 90; 22 blvd de Clichy, 18e; 8.30am-2am Sun-Wed, to 4am Thu, to 5am Fri & Sat; Pigalle
This comfortable café-restaurant on two levels is decorated in colonial Oriental style with huge plants, ceiling fans and bamboo chairs. It serves great cocktails (from €9.50) in goldfish-bowl-sized glasses, and somewhat bland Franco-Vietnamese fusion food. And BTW: chào bà means bonjour madame in Vietnamese.
LE PROGRÈS Map Café
01 42 64 07 37; 7 rue des Trois Frères, 18e; 9am-2am; Abbesses
A real live café du quartier perched in the heart of Abbesses, ‘The Progress’ occupies a corner site with huge windows and simple seating and attracts a relaxed mix of local artists, shop staff, writers and hangers-on. It’s great for convivial evenings, with DJs and bands some nights, but, it’s also a good place to come for inexpensive meals and daytime coffees.
ICE KUBE Map Cocktail Bar
01 42 05 20 00; 1-5 passage Ruelle, 18e; 7pm-1.30am Wed-Sat, 2-11pm Sun; La Chapelle
Every city worth its, err, salt, has got to have an ice bar nowadays, and this temple de glace (ice temple) on the first floor of the très boutique Kube Hôtel is the French capital’s first. The temperature is still set at -20°C, there are down jackets on loan and the bar is a shimmering block of carved ice. But the rules have changed. It’s no longer all the vodka you can dispatch in 30 minutes for €38, but a far less cool four vodka cocktails for the same.
CORCORAN’S CLICHY Map Pub
01 42 23 00 30; 110 blvd de Clichy, 18e; 11.30am-5am; Blanche
OK, so it’s just another Irish pub… But with the entrance to the Cimetière de Montmartre just paces away, Corcoran’s is a great place to stop off on your way to/from paying obeisance to Zola or Stendhal. And it’s at the start of a quiet cul-de-sac.
Return to beginning of chapter
NIGHTLIFE & THE ARTS
* * *