Page 345 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Paris

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Nightclubs

Paris’s nightlife is undergoing a revival, with a number of Up until midnight it’s members
collectives breathing new life into the scene and bringing only, but after that, the doors
a more varied diet of music – not just techno, but hip hop, open to the general public,
rock, pop, reggae and electro-lounge – into the proceedings. though you still have to look
the part to get in.
These collectives aren’t necessarily attached to one particular Also very selective is Chez
club, but they take over a venue for one-off events; the Raspoutine, just off the
venues can be anything from traditional clubs, the best Champs-Elysées, much
of which we’ve listed below, to warehouses in the suburbs. favoured by visiting foreign
Many of the places listed here are not just clubs – they’re celebrities. The club used to
be a Russian cabaret, and it
bars, restaurants, live music venues and clubs all rolled has preserved its decadent
into one; live concerts usually take place from 7pm until red velvet decor, banquettes
midnight, then a DJ takes over until 2am or dawn. A number and intimate corners.
of bars also turn into clubs later in the evening at weekends;
we’ve listed a few of the best below. Trendy Clubs
Clubs with cool riverside
Mainstream Clubs exclusive, it has now become locations blossom in the
A great mainstay of the more mainstream, though you capital, especially in the
techno clubbing scene, the should still dress up to get in. 13th arrondissement. One of
unpretentious Rex Club is Under the same the hottest spots is Concrete,
popular with people of all ages. management, but on the on a boat on the Seine near
It has one of the best sound other side of the bridge and the Gare de Lyon. It puts on
systems in the capital and with the Eiffel Tower as the all-day and all-night electro
attracts big-name French backdrop to its terrace, is parties, with some of the
and international DJs. Faust, a stylish restaurant, bar best DJs around and a state-
Another stalwart is La and club that is especially of-the-art sound system. On
Java, housed in a fabulous popular for its club nights the opposite side of the river
Art Deco building that has of electro and house run is the enduring Batofar, the
changed little since the by big-name DJs. scarlet lighthouse ship moored
1930s, when the likes of Edith on the Seine in front of the
Piaf and Django Reinhardt Bibliothèque Nationale. The
performed here. Its music Exclusive Clubs music at this hybrid locale
policy has become more If you aren’t rich, beautiful (restaurant, bar, live music
adventurous of late, featuring or, at least, super-hip (if not venue and club) varies from
garage rock, as well as electro. actually an A-list celebrity), underground techno to reggae,
Electronica dominates at gaining entry to Paris’s more depending on the night of the
Zigzag Club, in a glamorous exclusive clubs will be difficult. week, but the crowds are
location off the Champs- It’s worth noting, however, always friendly and relaxed. In
Elysées; it attracts big crowds that bouncers often treat the summer, try not to miss
with its large dance floor, top foreign would-be entrants their wonderfully chilled-out
DJs and state-of-the-art preferentially, so be sure afternoon sessions on the
Funktion One sound system. to stand proud, ditch any quayside, when they set out
The vast La Machine du attempts at French and deckchairs and a barbecue
Moulin Rouge has a more speak English when you for the Batofar Plage.
eclectic music policy – here, get near the door. Nearby Nüba, on the top
you’ll dance to anything from The hardest club to get floor of the waterside Cité is
electro to hip hop. There’s also into is probably Le Montana, also particularly appealing in
a concert space/downstairs in St-Germain-des-Prés. This the summer months, when
dance floor, La Chaufferie chic, intimate space is packed you can enjoy a drink looking
(so named because it used with celebrities and models out at the Seine and listening
to be the boiler room for the quaffing champagne and to techno.
Moulin Rouge next door), expensive cocktails. A firm fixture on the scene
and a bar upstairs. Equally exclusive is Silencio, is Le Social Club, in bobo-chic
Showcase is a hot venue on opened by US film director Montorgueil, popular with a
Paris’s night scene. Boasting David Lynch and inspired by lively, unpretentious crowd
more than 3,000 sq metres the club that appears in his who come to listen to an
(32,000 sq ft) of space below film Mulholland Drive. Lynch excellent line-up of live
the Pont Alexandre III, it designed everything in this bands, followed by DJ sets,
triples as a bar, nightclub club – from the 1950s-style while knocking back the club’s
and concert hall. Once rather furniture to the gold-leaf walls. signature drink, mint vodka.

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