Butte-aux-Cailles & Bercy

1979

1979, between Châtelet and the Louvre, succeeds in being many things to many cool people. Part café, bar, restaurant and club, there’s something tangibly hip about the place. It helps that the hip décor and slick black, white and bright green colour scheme were designed by a big cheese at Saatchi and Saatchi Paris. At noon, it’s a top spot for a relatively quiet well-priced French/fusion brunch...

Aarapana

Known for its fun and frolics all year round, Paris’s Latin Quarter is the perfect locale for Aarpana’s highly knowledgeable, alluring way with Indian cuisine. Set away on the Rue du Petit Pont, the smallest street in Paris, and amidst historical landmarks like the Notre Dame and Musee de Cluny, this extremely welcoming and well positioned Indian restaurant prides itself on its fresh breads and...

Aasman

One of several restaurants lining Rue Daguerre on the edge of Montparnasse in Paris 14th, Aasman remains as safe and solid as the day it opened over 20 years ago. Traditional homemade Indian dishes, familiar yet fresh, offered with a choice of colourful, unctuous sauces, including the much-loved shai korma. Don’t eat a thing without tearing into one of four house nan first. Both the food and...

Batofar

• Rated as: 4/5
• Critics choice

In recent years the Batofar has gone through a rapid succession of management teams, with varying levels of success. The current managers have helped revive the venue's tradition of playing cutting-edge music, including electro, dub step, techno and dancehall nights featuring international acts. It's also a destination for early-morning clubbers determined to shun their beds.

La Dame de Canton

• Critics choice

In a previous life, the Dame du Canton sailed the seven seas. Nowadays she’s a party boat docked below the BnF (Paris’ national library) offering live music concerts in exotic wooden surroundings.  Its upper deck provides fab Seine views, while down below, narrow corridors and staircases make you feel you’re exploring a floating labyrinth. Music wise expect intimate, avant-garde acts – anything...

Le Merle Moqueur

• Rated as: 3/5

Amid semi-faded pseudo-tropical decor and '80s music, the Teasing Blackbird - a Butte-aux-Cailles institution - tantalises students and nostalgists with its splendid selection of rums (over 20) and a long list of cocktails. The atmosphere gets raucous after 10pm - get in early to grab one of the three tables.

Sputnik

• Rated as: 4/5

A hip young crowd gathers in this rock-oriented bar, which doubles as a sports bar during important football and rugby fixtures, and trebles as an internet café at other times. Ever-changing art exhibitions add interest to the walls, and live music once a month draws an indie crowd. Fancy falling in love? Try the €8 love potion cocktail Philtre d'Amour, which is made from gin, Malibu, pineapple...

La Folie en Tête

• Critics choice

There’s a definite music theme in La Folie en Tête: instruments from around the world line the walls and the background sound flits between jazz, world music and rock, plus the occasional live performance. Early evening regulars come by for a tipple and a quick board game; but from happy hour onwards (6pm-8pm), the volume pumps up and folks pile in for the flavoured rums and house punch (laced...

Le Djoon

• Critics choice

Don your glad rags and get ready to party NYC style: with its loft-style lounge, large bay windows and a vast curved bar, Le Djoon wouldn’t look amiss in Manhattan. Trendy thirty-somethings pile in for House, Deep House, Soul and Motown nights, spliced by a string of international DJs fresh off the plane from Détroit, Chicago, Berlin, New York and London (think Louie Vega, Theo Parrish, Deetron,...

Le Quartier Bercy Square

You'd never think that lime green and brown stripes would match bold silver and white replica 19th-century wallpaper, but it does at this boutique hotel (another of Franck Altruie's addresses) in the trendy 12th arrondissement. Rooms are small but inviting, often using coloured light to create atmosphere.

Hôtel la Demeure

This comfortable, modern hotel on the edge of the Latin Quarter is run by a friendly father and son. It has 43 air-conditioned rooms with internet access, plus suites with sliding doors to separate sleeping and living space. The wrap-around balconies of the corner rooms offer lovely views of the city, and bathrooms feature either luxurious tubs or shower heads with elaborate massage possibilities.

Hôtel St-Charles

On the southern edge of the Butte-aux-Cailles, quaint and clean Hôtel St-Charles has had a serious revamp and is now resolutely design-orientated. Rooms are small, but cosy in steely tones of grey and mauve. The all-white bathrooms are spotless, and there’s a wee patio for evening aperitifs. This is a top spot for escapism from the crowds and easy bistro access. In fact, you’re so close to the...

Les Abeilles

• Rated as: 1/5

Honey, beeswax, royal jelly and anything else that has been squeezed out of a bee’s behind takes pride of place in Les Abeilles (literally ‘the bees’). This tiny boutique, in the heart of Butte-aux-Cailles sells everything from candles to honey vinegar, honey mustard and its specialty ‘Miel de Paris’, gathered by owner Jean-Jacques from his hives in nearby Parc Kellerman. There’s also a wonderful...

La Cure Gourmande

Had Willy Wonka decided to launch a biscuit chain it may well have looked like La Cure Gourmande. There is something irresistibly over-the-top about the shop’s turn-of-the-century-style tins, boxes and baskets, brimming with cookies, bonbons and chocolates. From the moment the vanilla scent hits you, you’re hooked; then the seller suggests you try the biscuit of the day. Before you know you’ve...

Album

Album, in Bercy Village, is a temple to the art of BD (bande desinée – meaning graphic novels, comic books and nowadays Manga), with folks flocking here seven days a week to rifle through the Tin-Tins, Sci-Fi strips and surrealist works by Moebius and Fred. There’s plenty of memorabilia too – everything from Simpson key rings and Spiderman mugs to limited edition figurines and giant film posters....