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Dive Bars in Paris Are A Thing

By Paris Defined Magazine
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Dive Bars in Paris Are A Thing

Leave your fancy tourist ideals behind. Parisian dive bars are where conversations with your bartender are meant to be yelled over loud, thumping music, and if a mysterious liquid doesn’t drip down your back, you might be doing it wrong. These are the places where you’ll want to dive into the middle of the dance floor and shake le booty until last call.

Bonjour Madame

Good morn­ing, Ma’am… Wel­come to the fem­i­nist part of town. This bar is a com­plete­ly safe space for ladies of all shape and sizes to have a drink, grab some­thing to eat or play a board game or two. They also host fre­quent (and very queer friend­ly) events, like meet­ings with authors, expos, drag/burlesque con­certs or cloth­ing swap. Whether you’re look­ing for a qui­et night out, a smart casu­al meet­ing or a place to wear that glit­ter stilet­tos, Bon­jour Madame is your gal.

ADDRESS: 40 Rue de Mon­treuil (11th arr.)

MÉTRO: Faid­herbe — Chaligny (line 8) or Rue des Boulets (line 9)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Faid­herbe / Charonne / Aligre

PRICE: €

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 9 83 51 61 33

DEETS: dive bar, queer-friend­ly, expos, drag nights, fem­i­nist, safe space

Le Gourbi Palace

Le Gour­bi is a place for home­made, mod­ern French cui­sine dish­es, inex­pen­sive drinks, and hot straight men (you’re wel­come). It’s the place where all the oth­er dive bar own­ers tend to gath­er. The bright green exte­ri­or is invit­ing, and there’s space for out­door or indoor dining.

ADDRESS: 48 Rue Albert Thomas (10th arr.)

MÉTRO: Jacques Bon­ser­gent (line 5)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Canal Saint-Mar­tin

PRICE: €

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 42 08 45 20

DEETS: Brunch, Bistronomique, French, Mod­ern French Cui­sine, cock­tail bar, dive bar

Café Chérie

Also nick­named le Booty Shak­er, this is the place to get your groove on. It’s a great bar to either start or end your night of fun and on the week­ends, you can dance your heart out to a live DJ. Dur­ing the warmer months, it’s a place to sip a beer out­side, chat with com­rades, and watch the peo­ple go by.

ADDRESS: 44 boule­vard de la Vil­lette (19th arr.)

MÉTRO: Goncourt (line 11) or Belleville (lines 2, 11)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Canal de l’Ourcq / La Villette

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 42 02 02 05

DEETS: dive bar, danc­ing, live DJ, pub, terrace

Le Carillon

Known for its cheap drinks and relaxed vibe, this east­ern Parisian café-bar is a local favorite. It’s unpre­ten­tious and invit­ing with quirky fur­ni­ture options, such as old sofas, mak­ing it per­fect for a friend­ly evening gath­er­ing for drinks or mid-day coffee.

ADDRESS: 8 Rue Alib­ert (10th arr.)

MÉTRO: Colonel Fabi­en (line 2) or Goncourt (line 11)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Canal Saint-Mar­tin

PRICE: €

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: tbd

DEETS: dive bar, cafe-bar, local favorite

Au Dernier Métro

Two words: rus­tic and cozy. In this Parisian bistro high­light­ing authen­tic south­west­ern cui­sine of the Basque coun­try, they take tra­di­tion­al recipes and curate dish­es to uti­lize local prod­ucts. It’s the per­fect place for a friend­ly ren­dez-vous with its warm atmos­phere and eclec­tic decor.

ADDRESS: 70 boule­vard de Grenelle (15th arr.)

MÉTRO: Grenelle (lines 6, 8, 10) or Dupleix (line 6)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Com­merce

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 (0) 6 66 31 96 97

PRIVATIZATION: +33 1 45 75 01 23

DEETS: dive bar, late-night food, old-fash­ion bistro

Le 9b

Le 9b is rec­og­nized in the scene of elec­tron­ic music and par­ty­ing in Paris. On the ground floor it’s a bistro by day, but in the sound­proof base­ment (aka la cave), it is a place to dance and let loose with your friends. They host many events includ­ing musi­cal brunch­es, DJs, and performances.

ADDRESS: 68 Boule­vard de la Vil­lette (19th arr.)

MÉTRO: Colonel Fabi­en (line 2) or Belleville (lines 2, 11)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Canal de l’Ourcq / La Villette

PRICE:  €€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 06 14 11 96 02

DEETS: dive bar, danc­ing, bistro

INSTAGRAM: @le9b_paris

Le Dude

Inspired by the Coen broth­ers movie, The Big Lebows­ki, this dive bar is dec­o­rat­ed with bowl­ing pins hang­ing from the ceil­ing, exposed white brick walls, and the impos­si­ble to miss face of Le Dude. Hap­py hour here is a delight with prices as low as 1.5€ for a glass of wine and 4€ cock­tails. Hap­py drink­ing most def­i­nite­ly hap­pens here.

ADDRESS: 214 Rue Saint-Maur (10th arr.)

MÉTRO: Goncourt (line 11)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Canal Saint Martin

PRICE: €

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: tbd

DEETS: dive bar, hap­py hour, closed Sun­days, out­door seat­ing, themed bar

Bar Le 17

Set­tled in the 11th arrondisse­ment, Bar Le 17 is a for­mer tabac turned more-gay-than-straight bar. It is packed, live­ly, and a place to dance until your clothes fall off (lit­er­al­ly). The bar­tenders tend to get down just as often as the patrons, so you may have to wait a hot sec­ond for that refill (but it’s 100% worth it to boo­gie with your mixologist).

ADDRESS: 17 Rue de la Folie Méri­court (11th arr.)

MÉTRO: Saint-Ambroise (line 9)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Oberkampf/­Folie-Méri­court

PRICE: €

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 09 53 07 59 01

DEETS: dive bar, queer-friend­ly, tapac, danc­ing, cock­tail bar

Pili Pili

From glam 80’s met­al to west­ern saloon, this quirky dive bar hosts themed soirées to escape real­i­ty for even just a night. It’s what one would con­sid­er a micro-bar but good things come in small pack­ages, espe­cial­ly when the drinks are cheap. That means that it’s time to get over your claus­tro­pho­bia and embrace slight­ly sweaty cow­boys stand­ing an inch away from you.

ADDRESS: 70 Rue Jean-Pierre Tim­baud (11th arr.)

MÉTRO: Goncourt (line 11) or Par­men­tier (line 3)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Oberkampf/­Folie-Méri­court

PRICE: €

HOW TO BOOK: for birth­days or large par­ties, online

NUMBER: +33 1 47 00 49 36

DEETS: dive bar, theme nights, live music

Au Petit Garage

Locat­ed in the 11th arrondisse­ment, Au Petit Garage is a place for every­thing rock n’ roll. From Garage Punk to Blues to Soul, this dive bar is full of ener­gy, danc­ing, and cheap beer.

ADDRESS: 63 Rue Jean Pierre Tim­baud (11th arr.)

MÉTRO: Par­men­tier (line 3)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Oberkampf/­Folie-Méri­court

PRICE: €

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 6 08 89 25 42

DEETS: dive bar, rock n’ roll

La Sardine

Locat­ed in the 10th arrondisse­ment, La Sar­dine offers indoor and out­door seat­ing as well as a wide vari­ety of hand-select­ed wines and cheeses to ful­fill any char­cu­terie board dream. Every day they offer a fresh small “dish of the day” because vari­ety is the spice of life.

ADDRESS: 32 Rue Sainte-Marthe (10th arr.)

MÉTRO: Belleville (lines 2, 11)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Place Sainte-Marthe / Combat

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 42 49 19 46

DEETS: dive bar, ter­race, wines, charcuterie

Ave Maria

After 20 years of ser­vice, Ave Maria knows how to please every­one. They bring the world togeth­er with food influ­enced by every cul­ture and they top it all off by offer­ing cock­tails by the litre (it’s up to you whether to share that or not). With a bright blue exte­ri­or draped in swim wear and float­ies, it’s hard to miss this place in the 11th arrondissement.

ADDRESS: 1 Rue Jacquard (11th arr.)

MÉTRO: Oberkampf (lines 5, 9)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Oberkampf/­Folie-Méri­court

PRICE: €€

FOOD: 17–20€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 47 00 61 73

DEETS: dive bar, cock­tail pitchers

Chez Prune

With a cute red exte­ri­or, Chez Prune is locat­ed in the 10th arrondisse­ment with plen­ty of out­door ter­race seat­ing. It’s near the water and makes a great stop for lunch or start the evening with mod­est­ly priced baguettes, meat and cheese plat­ters, and of course, drinks.

ADDRESS: 36 Rue Beau­re­paire (10th arr.)

MÉTRO: Jacques Bon­ser­gent (line 5)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Canal Saint Martin

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 42 41 30 47

DEETS: dive bar, near the water

Aux Folies

Aux Folies is a mec­ca for the Parisian youth due to its cheap drinks. With a large (and some­what crowd­ed) ter­race, gath­er­ers can sit out­doors day or night, warm or cold, as it is heat­ed. It’s only open until mid­night, so either get the drinks in before the night con­tin­ues onto the streets or before it ends with bed.

ADDRESS: 8 Rue de Belleville (20th arr.)

MÉTRO: Belleville (lines 2, 11)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Belleville

PRICE: €

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 6 28 55 89 40

DEETS: dive bar, out­door seat­ing, café

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