Rarefied Ambiance
9 min read

Rarefied Ambiance

By Paris Defined Magazine
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Rarefied Ambiance

What’s the polar opposite of a Dive Bar…? These bars have a certain je ne sais quoi that takes sipping wine and poshAF cocktails to an exquisite level. These Paris bars have rarefied ambiance. 

If you have to ask…

Bar 1920

As a part of the lux­u­ri­ous Prince de Galles hotel, Bar 1920 is inti­mate and exclu­sive. Here you can enjoy Cham­pagne and wines as well as unique craft cock­tails along­side a deli­cious selec­tion of savory bites. With an exten­sive menu, it’s open for break­fast, lunch, and din­ner as well as Sun­day brunch You prob­a­bly won’t do cock­tails at break­fast but then again, this is vaca­tion, non?  The Bar 1920 also offers a par­tic­u­lar­ly impres­sive menu of local­ly pro­duced cognac for your sip­ping pleasure.

ADDRESS: 33 avenue George V (8th arr.)

MÉTRO: George V (line 1) or Alma-Marceau (line 9)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Con­corde / Champs-Elysées / Arc de Triomphe

PRICE: €€€€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER:+33 1 53 23 77 77

DEETS: cock­tail, lux­u­ry, hotel bar, culi­nary sou­venir, dress to impress

INSTAGRAM: @19.20.paris

Le Bar Bibliothèque at Hotel St. James

Built in the 19th cen­tu­ry, Hotel St. James in a mag­nif­i­cent neo­clas­si­cal res­i­dence (aka man­sion). In all its splen­dor, the library-bar serves unique cock­tails and clas­sics whipped up just so, while the restau­rant serves up au courant French cui­sine on the ter­race or in the classy din­ing room.

ADDRESS: 5 Place du Chance­li­er Ade­nauer (16th arr.)

MÉTRO: Vic­tor Hugo (line 2)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Passy

PRICE: €€€€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 44 05 81 81

DEETS: hotel bar, library-bar, cock­tail bar, gourmet restau­rant, ter­race, dress to impress

INSTAGRAM: @saintjamesparis

L’herbarium

Locat­ed in the 3rd arrondisse­ment, L’herbarium is a roof-top bar at L’hôtel Nation­al des Arts et Métiers. With superb views of Paris, the ter­race bar is a great place to enjoy an after­noon drink with friends or just take in the scene and relax. If you wish to remain indoors, the cock­tail bar also boasts a lux­u­ri­ous indoor space.

ADDRESS: 243 Rue Saint-Mar­tin (3rd arr.)

MÉTRO: Réau­mur-Sébastopol (lines 3, 4)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Haut Marais

PRICE: €€€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 80 97 22 80

DEETS: cock­tail bar, hotel bar, terrace

Le Carmen

Clas­sic and ornate, Le Car­men boasts chan­de­liers, crown mold­ing, and the hum­ble mar­ble stat­ue. 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: Opéra

PRICE: €€€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 45 26 50 00

DEETS: cock­tail bar, par­ty, pri­vate club, dress to impress

INSTAGRAM: @lecarmen_paris

Grand Pigalle Hôtel Bar

The Frenchie Pigalle cui­sine is inspired by inter­na­tion­al trav­el and sea­son­al prod­ucts and pre­pared mas­ter­ful­ly by one-Miche­lin-starred chef, Gre­go­ry Marc­hand. The restau­rant and bar has a relaxed atmos­phere with its earth tones, nat­ur­al light­ing, and clean, min­i­mal­ist features.

ADDRESS: 29 Rue Vic­tor Massé (9th arr.)

MÉTRO: Pigalle (lines 2, 12)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Opéra

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 40 39 96 19

DEETS: French cui­sine, hotel bar, gourmet, cock­tails, lux­u­ry, cool kids hangout

INSTAGRAM: @grandpigallehotel

Le Très Particulier

With the largest hotel gar­den in the cap­i­tal, Trés Par­ti­c­uli­er slings refresh­ing cock­tails and lux­u­ri­ous bub­bly with panache. For cock­tails, the inside is where it’s at…Along with the hotel’s restau­rant, Le Grand Salon, the sophis­ti­cat­ed space is dressed up in flour­ish­ing flower bou­quets, and a chic — but not snob­by — vibe. The black and white check­ered floor­ing and red vel­vet chairs sit under a canopy of green­ery, trans­port­ing you into anoth­er time. And it’s fun to get past their inter­com-door­man sys­tem. You ring, they ask who you are and what you want. I always say I’m either Barack Oba­ma or Nico­las Sarkozy and they let me in every time as it’s a for­mal­i­ty. Ding dong drink!

ADDRESS: 23 Avenue Junot Pavil­lon D (18th arr.)

MÉTRO:  Lamar­ck — Caulain­court (line 12)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Mont­martre

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 53 41 81 40

DEETS: bistro­nom­ic restau­rant, lux­u­ry, cock­tail bar, hotel bar

INSTAGRAM: @hotelparticuliermontmartre

Bar 228 at Le Meurice

With night­ly live jazz, Bar 228 is a place to set­tle down in its deep leather arm­chairs with a glass of wine in hand. It is a dis­creet, moody bar with an exquis­ite cock­tail menu. Its beau­ti­ful mur­al is framed by dark wood and warm light­ing, and the Car­rera mar­ble bar beck­ons you to run your fin­ger across it in some kind of seduc­tion pan­tomime that every­one should try once. (Except maybe straight men, I can’t see that land­ing right. Every­one else go ahead and we’ll find some­thing for the straight boys.)  As Bar 228 is in one of Paris’ très posh ’ palace’ hotels, dress to impress. Maybe you’ll bump into Bey­once. (Blue Ivy was alleged­ly con­ceived here. That’s either TMI or inter­est­ing triv­ia depend­ing on where you land on the pop cul­ture con­sumer spec­trum but there you have it.) This bar is in the mood for love…

ADDRESS: 228 Rue de Riv­o­li (1st arr.)

MÉTRO: Pyra­mids (lines 7, 14)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Lou­vre

PRICE: €€€€

HOW TO BOOK: no reservations

NUMBER: +33 1 44 58 10 10

DEETS: hotel bar, lux­u­ry, dark and moody

INSTAGRAM: @lemeuriceparis

Bar Hemingway at The Ritz

Named after the famous writer who was a reg­u­lar, Bar Hem­ing­way is a small (only 25 seats!) bar in the Hotel Ritz. It’s inti­mate and cozy with dark wood and warm light­ing. Framed pho­tos of the famous hang on the walls and the tan leather cor­ner booth is par­tic­u­lar­ly tucked away and invit­ing. This bar is old-fash­ioned to the max and inde­scrib­ably special.

ADDRESS: 15 Place Vendôme (1st arr.)

MÉTRO: Madeleine (lines 8, 12, 14)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Louvre

PRICE: €€€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 43 16 33 74

DEETS: hotel bar, inti­mate, old-fash­ion, exclu­sive, lux­u­ry, dress to impress

Bar Le Gaspard at La Réserve

Designed by Raphaël Ham­burg­er, who we swear is a real per­son,  Bar Le Gas­pard oozes Parisian effer­ves­cence from inside the posh hotel La Réserve. It’s chic yet relaxed and has two ter­races per­fect for a laid-back after work get togeth­er. They mix time­less clas­sics along­side sig­na­ture cock­tails that reflect the eclec­tic inspi­ra­tions of the bar. The head bar­man com­bines spices and spir­its from around the world to cre­ate unex­pect­ed concoctions.

ADDRESS: 42 Avenue Gabriel (8th arr.)

MÉTRO: Champs-Élysées — Clemenceau (lines 1, 13)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Con­corde / Champs-Elysées / Arc de Triomphe

PRICE: €€€€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 58 36 60 50

DEETS: hotel bar, luxury

INSTAGRAM: @lareserveparis

Le Bar at Hôtel Plaza Athénée

Look up to see the dreamy and intri­cate blue design of the ceil­ing that flows and folds like fab­ric down the length of the bar. This styl­ish bar is a place to savor the ever-chang­ing selec­tion of exclu­sive Dom Pérignon cham­pagnes or sip a sleek and cus­tomiz­able cock­tail like Emi­ly from that show about things that 100% nev­er hap­pen in Paris.

ADDRESS: Hôtel Plaza Athénée, 25 Avenue Mon­taigne (8th arr.)

MÉTRO: Alma-Marceau (line 9)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Champs Élysées

PRICE: €€€€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 53 67 66 00

DEETS: hotel bar, lux­u­ry, exclu­sive, dress to impress

INSTAGRAM: @plaza_athenee

Joséphine at Hôtel Lutetia

Bar Joséphine is up to the minute with splen­dor. Run­ning from floor to ceil­ing are Art Nou­veau fres­cos and large win­dows between the sculpt­ed walls flaunt beau­ti­ful views of the city. The lux­u­ry starts with its lush fur­ni­ture and sig­na­ture menu and con­tin­ues with night­ly live jazz music. 

ADDRESS: 45 Boule­vard Ras­pail (6th arr.)

MÉTRO: Rue du Bac (line 12)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Jardin du Luxembourg/Odéon

PRICE: €€€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 49 54 46 00

DEETS: hotel bar, Eif­fel Tow­er view, live music, small dogs wel­come, dress code: smart casual

INSTAGRAM: @hotellutetia

La Terrasse de L’hôtel Raphaël

With 360 degree views of Paris, the rooftop bar at Hotel Raphaël gives more than expect­ed (more = views that include the Eif­fel Tow­er and the Arc de Tri­om­phe). Open from April to Sep­tem­ber, the ter­race is filled with sun­light and the smell of fresh flow­ers. It’s the per­fect place to relax and unwind with pure 1% vibes.

ADDRESS: 17 Avenue Kléber (16th arr.)

MÉTRO: Bois­sière (line 6)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Chail­lot

PRICE: €€€€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 53 64 32 00

DEETS: hotel bar, rooftop bar, 360 views, Eif­fel Tow­er view

INSTAGRAM: @hotelraphaelparis

Les Ambassadeurs at Hôtel de Crillon

From cham­pagne and cock­tails, canapés and caviar, to paint­ed ceil­ings, gold­en accents, and ornate chan­de­liers, Les Ambas­sadeurs is the epit­o­me of grandeur. They offer over a hun­dred selec­tions of cham­pagne from local pro­duc­ers, famous labels, and sig­na­ture cock­tails craft­ed by excel­lent barmen.

ADDRESS: 10 Place de la Con­corde (8th arr.)

MÉTRO: Con­corde (lines 1, 8, 12)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Con­corde / Champs-Elysées / Arc de Triomphe

PRICE: €€€€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 44 71 15 17

DEETS: hotel bar, dress code: smart casu­al, luxury

INSTSAGRAM: @rosewoodhoteldecrillon

Le Café Marly

Le Café Marly is chic and deli­cious, and not to brag, but it boasts the best and clos­est views of the glass dome at the Lou­vre (because it’s RIGHT THERE). With sky-scrap­ing ceil­ings of stone on the ter­race, you feel as if you’re in a cas­tle (a cas­tle where you might see a celebri­ty or two) with the best nat­ur­al light­ing. A sol­id choice if you aren’t in the mood to dig deep down into the ‘dress to impress’ sec­tion of your suitcase.

ADDRESS: 93 Rue de Riv­o­li (1st arr.)

MÉTRO: Lou­vre – Riv­o­li (line 1)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Lou­vre

PRICE: €€€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 49 26 06 60

DEETS: at the Lou­vre, lux­u­ry, break­fast, lunch, din­ner, cock­tail bar, terrace

INSTAGRAM: @cafe_marly

Le Bar Botaniste at Shangri-La

The selec­tion of alco­hols at Le Bar Botaniste is so top-tier, you could ful­fill any and all of your cock­tail dreams. They pay homage to the palace’s orig­i­nal res­i­dent, Prince Roland Bona­parte, with their rare botan­i­cal spir­its, plants in every cor­ner, and authen­tic absinthe fountains.

ADDRESS: 10 Avenue d’Ié­na (16th arr.)

MÉTRO: Tro­cadéro (lines 6, 9)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Chail­lot / Trocadero 

PRICE: €€€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 53 67 19 98

DEETS: hotel bar, lux­u­ry, dress code: casu­al chic, no smok­ing, open from 6pm-2am, botan­i­cal spir­its 

INSTAGRAM: @shangrilaparis

Roxo at Les Bains

Open from Thurs­day to Sat­ur­day, Roxo Bar at five star hotel Les Bains deliv­ers time­less clas­sics and cre­ative house spe­cial­ties. With a shiny red ceil­ing and check­ered floors, the bar is retro-clas­sic and classy whether you sit in a leather booth or at the bar top.

ADDRESS: 7 rue du Bourg L’Abbé (3rd arr.)

MÉTRO: Éti­enne Mar­cel (line 4)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Haut Marais

PRICE: €€€€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 44 78 34 78

DEETS: cock­tail bar, hotel bar

INSTAGRAM: @lesbainsparis

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