Nightlife in le Marais
At first glance, nightlife in le Marais is mostly a gay scene…if you just have a quick look around rue des Archives and the corner of rue du Temple, it is indeed very masculine and very cruisy. But this is not the only way you can have fun in le Marais, a true cosmopolitan area where everyone can enjoy the pleasures of the night. There is a place for every type and every style….
Dining out, even as late as 5 in the morning, having a cocktail at anytime of night, dancing, meeting new friends or having devilish sex parties…whatever you desire, you can find it in le Marais. Here is a selection of the best addresses where you can be as glamorous or as kinky as you wish!
WHERE TO DINE OUT VERY LATE
The Quiet Man
5 rue des Haudriettes 75003 Paris
Tel: 01 48 04 02 77
Open until 2 a.m., this is one of the few “pub style” bars where you can enjoy a large selection of Irish and British beer.
L’Apparemment Café
18 rue des Coutures Saint Gervais 75003 Paris
Tel: 01 48 87 12 22
A tea-house in the afternoon and a cocktail bar at night until 2 a.m. Located just next to the Picasso Museum, this fabulous place often presents art exhibitions, as well.
Yono (Formerly "Chez Richard")
37 rue Vieille du Temple 75004 Paris
Tel: 01 42 74 31 65
Dare to push open the doors (6 p.m. to 2 a.m.) and you’ll discover Ali Baba cellars on three levels. You’ll have fun in a typical Marais cellar, probably built in the 16th century, plus cheap drinks and cocktails, and a menu under 20 euros – good enough to be noticed.
Café du Trésor
7 rue du Trésor 75004 Paris
Tel: 01 42 71 10 72
On a pedestrian street in one of the smartest places to see and be seen…have drinks and enjoy live DJ’s, a fashionable ambiance and a very good-looking crowd. Open noon until 2 a.m.
The Auld Alliance
80 rue Francois Miron 75004 Paris
Tel: 01 48 04 30 40
This is one of the few pubs to have a licence until 4 a.m. on weekends (most bars in France cannot stay open later than 2 a.m.). A good selection of Scottish, Irish and British beer, and a very friendly Anglophone crowd, of course. Happy hour from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The Frog and Rosbeef
116 rue St Denis, corner rue Tiquetonne 75002 Paris
Tel: 01 42 36 34 73
British pub with a wide selection of beer and classic British food at reasonable prices. Great ambiance and very popular in summer
with its open-air terrace.
WHERE TO SHOP LATE
Epicerie
on 17 boulevard du Temple 75003 Paris
Close to République métro
Open until midnight every day.
Monoprix
160 rue du Temple 75003 Paris
Open until 9:30 p.m., which is quite late for an upscale, Parisian supermarket – most close around 7 p.m.
BHV Bazaar de l’Hôtel de Ville
rue de Rivoli at the corner of rue des Archives 75004 Paris
You can also shop late at BHV for home design and clothing until 9 p.m. every Wednesday evening.
Cocci Market
14 rue Vieille du Temple 75004 Paris,
Open daily 9 am to midnight for basic food shopping – except Wednesdays ( closed at 8 p.m)
Daily Monop
6 boulevard de Sebastopol 75004 Paris
Fast but good food, boulangerie and last minute shopping Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to midnight
Chemist
24 boulevard de Sebastopol 75004 Paris
Open until 2 a.m. weekdays
With or without a prescription, they’re open to help you, and are, the place to buy the basics like aspirin, vitamins or condoms…
WHERE TO DANCE
Spyce
23 rue Sainte Croix de Bretonnerie 75004 Paris
From 6 pm to late at night
This brand new gay and hetero-friendly dance bar is a fun place to start your evening, complete with live DJ’s and the latest music to get you warmed up – Great music and sometimes gogo dancers shows.
Le Cabaret
2 Place du Palais Royal 75001 Paris
Just a few blocks away from le Marais in the direction of the Louvre, you’ll find what is probably this year’s chicest club. With a space ship design by Ora Ito and great house and hip hop music, it is difficult to get in if you don’t look very “branché” – wearing chic, smart fashion but informal and unconventional. George Clooney and Mick Jagger go there, and so do many sexy young models. Say “Cab” or you’re totally a “has been.” Features a gay tea dance on Sundays from 5 p.m. Open every night from 11 p.m. Entrance fee around 20 euros.
Le Tango
13 rue au Maire 75003 Paris
10:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Located in one of le Marais’ small chinatowns, this club is out of time, open to all, but mostly gay and lesbian. You’ll hear everything but techno – good old disco, tango and every kind of music, especially good old French hits from the seventies. Fun if not chic! Entrance fee is 7 euro. Don’t look too smart or too straight or they won’t let you in!
WHERE TO BE NAUGHTY
Le Château des Lys
If you want something a little more seductive and don’t mind traveling to Montmartre, there is a hot, new place, perfect for a wonderful, intimate dinner. Let your imagination run wild in one of the many rooms and love corners, including a dungeon that makes you feel like you are back in medieval times.
This place is naturally for adults only and is an experience you could not even imagine in the U.S. Most of the famous French porn stars visit often, not to mention many cute boys from the French army and the sexiest girls in town.
Book your table at +33 6 08 58 75 36
103 Rue Marcadet, 75018 Paris
http://www.chateauclub.fr
Le 41
41 rue Quincampoix 75004 Paris Tel: 01 40 27 07 90
Very friendly club set in medieval cellars where everything we could not describe could happen. Best value in this category with no entrance fee and Champagne Glass at 22€. Action start late, and can be outrageous. Policemen and Firemen go there often. Sexy young men mix up with single women and very open minded couples. Denise and her Team are very welcoming and will show you what is sexy Paris!
Le Pluriel Club
13 rue Francois Miron 75004 Paris
Dinner buffet and a place for meetings between couples who wish to have exchanges or group action! Set in medieval house cellars, the décor matches the desires. Open at 8 p.m., doors close at 2 a.m. – but the action continues as long as you’re there. Don’t worry – they’ll let you out if you ask nicely.
Le Club 13
13 rue Dussoubs 75002 Paris
Another exchange club for kinky couples who wish to reignite their libidos. Free entrance for single women. Small rooms and a cozy décor. Open 11 p.m. until late….
Les Chandelles
1 rue Therese 75001 Paris
One of the most selective sexy clubs. A Baroque labyrinth in which couples enjoy meeting and playing. Dinner…and then after, anything you want. From 60 euros.
Le Depot
10 rue aux Ours 75003 Paris
10 p.m. to 8 a.m.
We just mention it for you to avoid it... As it’ s no longer mixed as it used to be on wednesdays, but only gay and getting rather scarry. Watch your pockets at all times as this is not the kind of place you can leave your Vuitton without keeping an eye on it!
WHERE TO HAVE YOUR EARLY BREAKFAST
Most Parisian cafés open as early as 7 a.m. or 8 a.m., as there is always someone who would like “un petit café” with a freshly baked croissant. One that is open from 6 a.m. is Les Chimeres, (“the dreams”) 133 rue Saint Antoine, 75004, Paris, just next to Métro Saint Paul. Café, croissant and orange juice for as little as 2 euros.
Now it’s time to sleep, don’t you think? Be sure you choose your hotel or flat from our excellent selection – we have chosen them specially for having the best insulation, so you can sleep all day without any street noise to wake you up!
A REVOLUTION IN PARIS PUBLIC TRANSPORT.
It took me a while to get used to my teenage daughter and her friends leaving at about midnight to go "clubbing" knowing I wouldn't see her return until after 5:30 a.m. when the Métro started up again. American friends scolded me for being too permissive a parent, but they didn't understand.
Here in Paris, the Métro shuts down between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m., and a very sparse bus system known as "Les Noctambus" offers service but very limited and all the buses meet at the center, Châtelet, then fan out. If they didn't have taxi fare, they didn't go out, or they stayed in the clubs all night long, nursing one drink (too expensive to drink more!) and dancing. I learned to live with it and because she was always with friends, I wasn't too worried and nothing bad every happened.
The early cut-off of the Métro puts a damper on my own partying, too. Dinner parties tend to end abruptly as friends rush out the door to make the last train. Living in central Paris is a plus, so that a walk home can be an alternative to public transportation or expensive taxi rides -- the minimum fare is 5.20 euros no matter how far you travel, and often, the driver is adverse to taking you too short a distance for his taste. But, what if you're not in central Paris and don't own a car?
After years of lobbying in favor of Paris by Night, after having obtained the promise that 500 supplemental taxis will be on the streets of Paris over the next five years, the wait to extend the shutting-down of the Métro one hour from 1 a.m. to 2 p.m. is finally a reality! The city has obtained permission from the Syndicat des Transports d'Ile de France (STIF) to put this into practice in 2006 and to improve the nighttime bus service as of September 20, 2005.
Finally, Parisians will have public transportation all night long! The system now known as "Les Noctambus" will become "Les Noctiliens" like its counterpart, "Transiliens." The buses will function every night from 12:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. every 10 minutes during the weekend (instead of every 20 minutes) and the number of lines will be augmented from the current number of 15 to 35 serving all of Paris and the surrounding areas.
The biggest news of all is that passengers will no longer be obligated to reach the center of the city at station Châtelet to catch a nighttime bus, but will have a "ring road" connecting the major train stations as major points (Gare de l'Est, Lyon, Montparnasse, St-Lazare) and 2000 stops to choose from.
The equipment is all new -- comfortable sheltered stops with electronic waiting times indicated and lit for easy viewing and believe it or not, personnel on the stop to assist! The hip nighttime neighborhoods will be served best: Bastille, Bercy, Oberkampf, Canal Saint-Martin and La Villette -- for nightclubbers and night workers. Another change is that no special RATP ticket is necessary -- all forms of transportation tickets and cards (Imaginaire and Navigo) will be accepted.
It is a revolution in Paris public transport and it is predicted that this one change will permit an enormous economic growth in nighttime industries. Before long, Paris may be welcoming stores and businesses open 24/7!
For more information, visit http://www.stif-idf.fr, http://www.ratp.fr, http://www.paris.fr
or call 08 92 68 77 14 (0,34 euros/minute).
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