Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [215]
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top picks
CLUBS
Point Éphemère (right)
Le Rex Club (below)
Social Club (opposite)
Les Bains Douches (right)
Le Batofar
Le Slow Club (below)
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LE REX CLUB Map
01 42 36 10 96, www.rexclub.com, in French; 5 blvd Poissonnière, 2e; admission free-€15; 11.30pm-6am Wed-Sat; Bonne Nouvelle
The Rex reigns majestic in the house and techno scene, always has and probably always will. The new(ish) sound system is impeccable but getting in is more a question of lining up than looking right. Friday nights are a techno institution in Paris; after all, this is the old stomping ground of pioneer Laurent Garnier.
LE SLOW CLUB Map
01 42 33 84 30; 130 rue de Rivoli, 1er; admission €9-13; 10pm-3am Tue & Thu, to 4am Fri-Sun; Châtelet
Unpretentious dance and jazz club (concerts from 10pm at the weekend) housed in a deep cellar once used to ripen bananas imported from the Caribbean. It attracts a very mixed-age crowd and is as much an institution as a club. The music varies from night to night but includes jazz, boogie, bebop, swing and reggae.
LE WAGG Map
01 55 42 22 00; www.wagg.fr, in French; 62 rue Mazarine, 6e; admission incl 1 drink Fri & Sat €12, Sun €12, before/after midnight Thu free/€10; 11pm-6am Thu-Sat, 3pm-midnight Sun; Odéon
The Wagg is a UK-style Conran club (associated with the popular Fabric in London), beautifully dressed in slick fixtures and contemporary design, but with a somewhat stifled vibe. Last time we looked it had been taken over by the salsa craze – indeed, it opens early on Sunday to host a two-hour salsa class followed by une soirée 100% cubaine. Find event flyers posted on the blog (www.blogalcazar.fr) of the neighbouring Conran restaurant.
LES BAINS DOUCHES Map
01 48 87 01 80; www.lesbainsdouches.net, in French; 7 rue du Bourg l’Abbé, 3e; admission €20; 11pm-5am Wed-Sun; Étienne Marcel
Housed in a refitted old Turkish hammam, this darling of the 1990s has returned with a vengeance and is as elegant a place as you’re going to find in the Marais. Once famous for its glamorous clientele and impassable door complete with blocking limo, it has sought to shake off its inaccessible image with a new mix of theme nights, Sunday morning ‘afters’ and gay soirees.
PENICHE EL ALAMEIN Map
01 45 86 41 60; http://elalamein.free.fr, in French; opp 11 quai François Mauriac, 13e; admission €8; 7pm-2am Sep-Jun; Quai de la Gare or Bibliothèque
The third in the trendy trio afloat opposite the library, this deep-purple boat is strung with terracotta pots of flowers from head to toe, making it a lovely spot on the Seine to sip away summer evenings. Sit amid flowering tulips and enjoy live bands from 9pm; flyers are stuck on the lamppost in front. Its sound – less hectic than its next-door neighbours, hence the older crowd – embraces jazz, world and Piaf-style chansons françaises (French songs) of 1930s Paris.
POINT ÉPHEMÈRE Map
01 40 34 02 48; www.pointephemere.org; 200 quai de Valmy, 10e; admission free-€14; 10am-2pm; Louis Blanc
A relatively new arrival by the Canal St-Martin, with some of the best electronic music nights in town. Once this self-proclaimed ‘centre for dynamic artists’ gets in gear, ‘on y danse, on danse’ (you’ll dance your arse off). Just try to get there before everyone pours out of the surrounding canal-side bars and café-bars at 2am.
QUEEN Map
01 53 89 08 90; www.queen.fr; 102 av des Champs-Élysées, 8e; admission €15-20; 11pm-Sun-Thu, midnight-8am Fri & Sat; George V
Once the king (as it were) of gay discos in Paris, Le Queen now reigns supreme with a very mixed crowd, though it still has a mostly gay Disco Queen on Monday. While right on the Champs-Élysées, it’s not as difficult to get into as it used to be – and not nearly as