Clubs
12 min read

Clubs + DJ Sets

By Paris Defined Magazine
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Clubs + DJ Sets

If your main goal is to drink, meet a mysterious someone, dance all night with them, and never see them again, go clubbing. Magic is made within the walls of Parisian clubs when the music settles into your veins and the sea of people becomes one.

L’Arc

This is where the true cool kids hang out. From renewed DJ open nights to the Fash­ion Week cel­e­bra­tions, L’Arc has host­ed it all. They also have theme nights, so don’t for­get to check out their page to know what to expect (except, obvi­ous­ly, classy and bougie, because that’s a giv­en). The line tends to get long, but with their absolute bonkers good loca­tion with the Arc du Tri­om­phe view, you will like­ly spend that time admir­ing the view any­way. When it comes to music, they do not strain from fresh breeze of Hip-Hop and R&B, so make sure you know your way around heels before going in.

ADDRESS: 12 Rue de Pres­bourg (16th arr.)

MÉTRO: Saint-Philippe-du-Roule (line 9)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Arc de Tri­om­phe / Champs Elysées / Concorde

PRICE: €€€€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER:+33 6 09 86 00 15

DEETS: open Thu-Sat, full-on bougie, Arc du Tri­om­phe view, worth the hype

INSTAGRAM: @larcparis

 

YOYO

This place is not sim­ply your friend­ly neigh­bor­hood club (well, first of all, it’s in the chic 16th arrondisse­ment, which means if it’s « in the ‘hood » for you, you’re play­ing this live ver­sion of Sims quite well). Yoyo is locat­ed in the old cin­e­ma (art déco style, baby), nice­ly hid­den in the base­ment of one of the biggest art muse­ums of Paris, Palais de Tokyo. Most of the time it hosts big events like fash­ion shows or pri­vate par­ties with cham­pagne foun­tains (okay, we don’t know about the foun­tains, but it seems like a place that would have them), yet few times a month it also opens to pub­lic, host­ing con­certs and club­bing nights. 

ADDRESS: Palais de Tokyo, 13 Avenue du Prési­dent Wil­son (16th arr.)

MÉTRO: Iéna (line 9)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Chail­lot / Trocadéro

PRICE: €€€€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER:+33 1 42 60 64 45

DEETS: open on agen­da, big-ass names, chic af, worth the hype

INSTAGRAM: @yoyopalaisdetokyo

Glazart

Glazart is for those of us who like it (=the music) hard. For­mer bus sta­tion turned into a club/concert hall, pro­vides all lovers of rock, met­al, ston­er (yes, we googled that one) with nights to remem­ber (or not). Sit­u­at­ed in the 19th arrondisse­ment, known for its music scene and open­ness to alter­na­tive, it’s a great place to check out some­thing new. It’s also an ulti­mate after-par­ty choice, as the morn­ing cof­fee ser­vice starts at 6:30am and lasts all the way up to 4pm. Also known as « La Plage » because of the sea­son­al beach they open out­side, that you should total­ly check out if you’re vis­it­ing dur­ing sum­mer months.

ADDRESS: 7–15 Avenue de la Porte de la Vil­lette (19th arr.)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Canal de l’Ourcq / La Villette

METRO: Porte de la Vil­lete (line 7)

HOW TO BOOK: online

DEETS: met­al con­certs, great vibe, on the down low, low-key OG hard rock café

INSTAGRAM: @glazartparis

Cabaret Sauvage

Red vel­vet, col­ored stained glass win­dows, carved pil­lars and a wood­en dance floor… I know we’re not here to talk archi­tec­ture, but this place mix­es old and new Parisian Bohemia in a way that is just *sigh* as beau­ti­ful as their decor. The agen­da is full of con­certs (both classy- and trashy-lean­ing), DJ sets and so-called intel­lec­tu­al fight-clubs, what­ev­er that is (they say it involves chess. Hmmm). Either way, it’s worth check­ing out, even if you’re just on your way to one of the oth­er venues in the area.

ADDRESS: 59 Boule­vard Mac­don­ald (19th arr.)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Canal de l’Ourcq / La Villette

METRO: Porte de Pan­tin (line 5)

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 42 09 03 09

DEETS: great decor, out­door space, club­bing expe­ri­ence, cool neighbourhood

INSTAGRAM: @cabaret_sauvage_paris

Mikado Dancing

Placed in the base­ment of a beau­ti­ful vin­tage hotel, Mika­do will give you that « Mid­night in Paris » adven­ture we’ve all been crav­ing for since the day one. Here the booty is booty-ing, the boogy is boogy-ing and all the twen­ties are roar­ing. When it comes to music, they don’t lim­it them­selves to only one genre, but mix it between live per­for­mances and Dj nights. They say that their dance floor was cre­at­ed to cel­e­brate love and life. Not gonna lie, they add hell of a class to it as well. 

ADDRESS: 55 Boule­vard Mar­guerite de Roche­chouart (9th arr.)

MÉTRO: Anvers (line 2) or Pigalle (line 2 and 12)

NEIGHBORHOOD: 

PRICE: €€€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 42 81 91 00

DEETS: luxe hotel, roar­ing twen­ties, they have rooftop bar as well for some pre-gam­ing party

INSTAGRAM: @hotelrochechouart

La Machine du Moulin Rouge

La Machine is the night­club below the Moulin Rouge which reg­u­lar­ly hosts DJ’s and themed par­ty nights. Called a « shape-shift­ing place », the club is spread under, above and around the famous wind­mill on 4 dif­fer­ent lev­els (with at least one bar at each of them). They agen­da is  full of var­i­ous emerg­ing and well-estab­lished artists. It’s their love for the free­dom of cre­ation and rein­ven­tion that will def­i­nite­ly unleash your inner par­ty ani­mal, so don’t resist to join that dark side for a night or two.

ADDRESS: 82 Boule­vard de Clichy in the 18th arrondisse­ment but at the edge of the 9th arrondisse­ment as well

NEIGHBORHOOD: Pigalle

METRO: Blanche or Pigalle (line 2)

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 53 09 82 82

DEETS: quirky his­to­ry, dress code, Paris insti­tu­tion, so worth it

INSTAGRAM: @lamachineparis

La Station — Gare des Mines

La sta­tion is most­ly a live music venue with var­i­ous con­certs and DJ sets. It’s also one of the places that only locals know, so don’t be afraid to trav­el all the way *up there*, because you will be reward­ed with true Parisian vibe, great music scene and even some cool expos and/or work­shops if you’re lucky. 

ADDRESS: 29 Avenue de la Porte d’Aubervil­liers (18th arr.)

MÉTRO: Porte d’Aubervil­liers (tram line 3b)

NEIGHBORHOOD: La Chapelle

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 9 73 26 11 47

DEETS: live music venue, DJ sets, open only accord­ing to the agenda

INSTAGRAM: @stationgaredesmines

Carbone Club

Car­bone likes to keep it on the down low and we respect the secre­cy. What we can give away is that it has a great DJ sets and great techno/grunge vibe. Rest you have to fig­ure out your­selves (you’ll thank us later).

ADDRESS: 14 Rue Philippe de Girard (10th arr.)

MÉTRO: Louis Blanc (lines 7 & 7b) or Stal­in­grad (lines 2, 5, 7)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Gare du Nord / Gare de l’Est

PRICE: €

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 7 56 81 51 56

DEETS: tech­no, down low, alter­na­tive scene

INSTAGRAM: @clubcarbone

Deflower

Deflower prides itself in hav­ing a « con­cept inspired by the US » and fair enough, they got the beat just fine. But it’s not only for those of us who miss Uncle Sam, but also for fans of some pret­ty great cock­tails, the neon light & Mar­shall speak­ers lovers as well as elect­ing sound enthusiasts.

ADDRESS: 23 Rue de Pon­thieu (8th arr.)

MÉTRO: Saint-Philippe-du-Roule (line 9)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Arc de Tri­om­phe / Champs Elysées / Concorde

PRICE: €€€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 6 26 53 45 72

DEETS: neon lights, leather couch­es, luxe vibe, pri­vate booths

INSTAGRAM: @deflower_paris

 

Rex Club

 Rex Club is the younger sis­ter of the Grand Rex cin­e­ma (which prides itself in not only being the biggest cin­e­ma in Europe, but also in being more vis­it­ed that the Lou­vre at cer­tain point in time). Open since the 1970s, orig­i­nal­ly in the base­ment of the cin­e­ma, is an icon­ic place for all alter­na­tive and inde­pen­dent music fans. 

ADDRESS: 5 Boule­vard Pois­son­nière (2nd arr.)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Opéra Gar­nier / Grands Boulevards

METRO: Grands Boule­vards (lines 8, 9)

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 42 36 10 96

DEETS: punk, alter­na­tive, city cen­ter, tech­no sound

INSTAGRAM: @rex­club

La Poudrière

Want some classy danc­ing night with­out going across the city? This artictic/chic cock­tail bar dur­ing the day, at night turns into a hang out spot for lovers of good danc­ing (and cabarets from time to time). Let the music and the mixol­o­gy genius­es (a.k.a. the bar­tenders) guide you for a tru­ly mag­i­cal experience.

ADDRESS: 41 Rue Ser­van (11th arr.)

MÉTRO: Père Lachaise (lines 2, 3), Voltaire or Saint-Ambroise (line 9)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Oberkampf / Folie-Méricourt

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 9 74 73 56 32

DEETS: cock­tail bar, DJs, cabaret

 

Nouveau Casino

This venue may seem small (but it’s more about how they use it, right?), but if you think it is not worth your time, let me tell you that, every­thing that actu­al­ly mat­ters (includ­ing the sound sys­tem and the names they book) is humon­gous. They like to mix clas­sic and mod­ern, so what­ev­er you’re into, there’s def­i­nite­ly some space for you (metaphor­i­cal, at least).

ADDRESS: 109 Rue Oberkampf (11th arr.)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Oberkampf / Folie-Méricourt

METRO: Par­men­tier (line 3)

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 43 57 57 40

DEETS: cozy, punk, alter­na­tive, hid­den gem

INSTAGRAM: @nouveaucasino

Cirque Electrique

In the begin­ning, Cirque Elec­trique was sort of a trav­el­ling cir­cus, until it moved into a no-man’s land on the out­skirts of Paris, where it stands today. This place (lit­er­al­ly and fig­u­ra­tive­ly) serves as a link between inner-city and sub­ur­ban artists through a space ded­i­cat­ed to the cre­ation, dis­sem­i­na­tion and trans­mis­sion of cir­cus arts. It’s kind of like city with­in the city — there’s a con­cert hall, a theatre/circus venue, a restau­rant and a bar here, a book­store, record store, a cir­cus school and soon prob­a­bly even more cre­ative spaces (all advan­tages of hav­ing 25 hectares of space — that’s a lot of foot­ball fields, yk). 

As for what to wear, it’s like Antifa meets Cirque du Soleil. So come as you are and skip the heels unless they are Doc Maarten plat­forms or some crazy punk shit. 

ADDRESS: Place du Maquis du Ver­cors in the 20th arrondisse­ment 

NEIGHBORHOOD: Belleville

METRO: Porte des Lilas (line 11)

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 9 54 54 47 24

DEETS: punk, alter­na­tive, cir­cus, the­atre, out­door space, freak and chic, punk

INSTAGRAM: @__cirque_electrique__

La Bellevilloise

There’s a lit­tle bit of every­thing at La Bellevil­loise, from Le Club for danc­ing to La Halle for café-con­certs and jazz brunch­es. They have a ter­race for out­door drink­ing and mul­ti­ple indoor spaces for con­certs, salons, and meet­ings. It’s tru­ly a mul­ti-dimen­sion­al space.

ADDRESS: 19–21 Rue Boy­er (20th arr.)

MÉTRO: Ménil­montant (line 2)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Belleville

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 46 36 07 07

DEETS: jazz brunch, café-restau­rant, ter­race, club, con­certs, cock­tail bar, urban garden

INSTAGRAM: @labellevilloise

 

Le Carmen

This clas­sic club/coctail bar with their baroque archi­tec­ture, chan­de­liers, crown mold­ing, and the hum­ble mar­ble stat­ue just screams old mon­ey par­ty goers. How­ev­er, it’s any­thing but demure. It’s high-soci­ety meets inner rebel, a place for the IT youth. They pro­duce their own gin and aren’t afraid to play into their gild­ed Paris aesthetic.

ADDRESS: 34 Rue Duper­ré (9th arr.)

MÉTRO: Blanche (line 2)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Pigalle

PRICE: €€€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 45 26 50 00

DEETS: cock­tail bar, IT girl vibes, par­ty, pri­vate club

INSTAGRAM: @lecarmen_paris

 

Petit Bain

Petit Bain is a float­ing can­teen, club, con­cert hall, and rooftop bar all wrapped into one. With dark wood shiplap and perky yel­low accents, the upper deck ter­race over­looks the riv­er and the banks of the 13th arrondisse­ment. Open year round, they offer sim­ple, fresh cui­sine and live music sets.

ADDRESS: 7 Port de la Gare (13th arr.)

MÉTRO: Quai de la Gare (line 6)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Gob­elins

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: 01 43 49 68 92 7

DEETS: con­cert hall, on the water, barge, live music, can­teen, club

INSTAGRAM: @petitbain

 

Manko Le Club

Every Fri­day and Sat­ur­day night at mid­night, Manko turns into a club of writhing bod­ies and live music. It’s a place where ele­gance meets sex. You’ll show up for the live DJ set and leave with more than a few mem­o­ries and stolen kisses.

ADDRESS: 15 Avenue Mon­taigne (8th arr.)

MÉTRO: Alma-Marceau (line 9)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Champs- Élysée

PRICE: €€€

HOW TO BOOK: call

NUMBER: +33 (0) 6 66 31 96 97

PRIVATIZATION: +33 6 60 42 89 89

DEETS: club, Peru­vian restau­rant, live music

INSTAGRAM: @mankoparis

Raspoutine Paris

Locat­ed down the block from Champs-Élysées, Raspou­tine is a trendy and moody night club. Once fash­ioned as a Russ­ian cabaret, it is clas­si­fied as a his­tor­i­cal mon­u­ment and now brings the city of Paris live music and danc­ing. The night club is most­ly red with gold­en accents, boast­ing red vel­vet fur­ni­ture, cozy alcoves and pas­sage­ways, and low gold­en lighting.

ADDRESS: 58 Rue de Bas­sano (8th arr.)

MÉTRO: Alma-Marceau (line 9)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Champs-Élysée

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: call

NUMBER: +33 (0) 1 47 20 02 90

DEETS: night club, open Thursday-Saturday

INSTAGRAM: @raspoutine.paris

Le Labo

Even though Le Labo is sit­u­at­ed  at the edge of Paris’ posh + chic 1st arrondisse­ment between the Lou­vre, Le Marais, and Les Halles (aka ‘nightlife cen­tral’), it ain’t snob­by n’ pre­ten­tious. They host a gottdamn BUFFET of ener­getic rev­el­ry from day to night. Here the aim is to get drunk and kiss strangers in what­ev­er style tick­les your fan­cy; live music, an all-out glitzy drag show, Karaoké. (Say it French­ly, mes chéries…) Fri­day nights mean a gay-friend­ly after work par­ty (slash speed dat­ing, if you will) where you can meet peo­ple from all (Parisian) walks of life.

ADDRESS: 37 Rue des Lom­bards (1st arrondisse­ment)

MÉTRO: Châtelet (lines 1, 4, 7, 11, 14)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Lou­vre / Les Halles / almost le Marais

PRICE:  €

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions but they have a web­site to take a peek

NUMBER: +33 1 40 28 02 52

DEETS: club, events, live music, drag shows, gay bar

Wanderlust

Wan­der­lust is an out­door event space locat­ed in the 13th arrondisse­ment that hosts a vari­ety of street food, piz­zas, and cock­tails, as well as a selec­tion of live music. They have inti­mate cov­ered wood­en cubi­cles as well as pic­nic tables and bench­es for din­ing and drinking.

ADDRESS: 32 Quai d’Auster­litz (13th arr.)

MÉTRO: Paris Auster­litz (lines 5, 10)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Berges de Seine

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: tbd

DEETS: club, out­door, event space

INSTAGRAM: @wanderlustparis

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