Best Bars in Paris: Where to Drink Like a Local
When people talk about the best bars in Paris, the places where locals unwind after work, celebrate small wins, or meet friends over a glass of natural wine. Also known as Parisian drinking spots, these aren’t the flashy cocktail lounges you see in travel magazines—they’re the basement joints, tucked-away wine cellars, and late-night music dens that keep the city alive after midnight.
The Paris wine bars, quiet, unassuming rooms where sommeliers pour small-batch wines from small farms. Also known as natural wine bars, they’re where you’ll find people chatting about soil types instead of Instagram filters. Then there’s the karaoke bars Paris, loud, messy, and totally joyful spaces where strangers become friends by singing off-key to Edith Piaf or Drake. Also known as singing pubs, they don’t care if you can’t hit the high notes—just that you’re having fun.
And if you’re after something wilder, the Paris club scene, a patchwork of underground venues where techno, jazz, and experimental sound collide. Also known as underground nightlife, it’s not about who you know—it’s about what you feel. Places like Garage Paris or T7 Paris don’t have velvet ropes or dress codes. They have sound systems that shake your ribs and crowds that stay until the sun comes up.
You won’t find these spots on Google Maps unless you know exactly what to search for. The best bars in Paris aren’t marketed. They’re whispered about. A friend texts you a street name. You walk in, see no sign, and realize you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. That’s the rule here: if it’s easy to find, it’s not worth going to.
Some of these places are tied to the city’s deeper rhythms—the 6th arrondissement’s intellectual charm, the 11th’s raw music energy, the 12th’s quiet luxury. You might end up at a wine bar in Saint-Germain-des-Prés after a long day of walking, then find yourself in a karaoke basement in Belleville by midnight, and end up dancing in a warehouse club near the Canal Saint-Martin before dawn. It’s not a tour. It’s a flow.
This collection doesn’t list the most expensive cocktails or the Instagrammable backdrops. It shows you where the real nights happen—where the drinks are good, the music is loud, and the company? Even better. You’ll find guides to the hidden wine spots, the no-frills karaoke dens, the clubs that only open on weekends, and the bars that feel like your living room if your living room had a jazz band and a bartender who remembers your name.
