All-night drinks in Paris?

September 24, 2006 1:53 PM

Late night Paris. Where can we drink and/or eat between midnight and when the first Eurostar leaves Gare Du Nord?

A friend and I are travelling from London to Paris in a couple of weeks, to see a gig at Point Ephemere, an arts venue in the 10th arrondissement. Due to financial constraints, the only sensible way for us to travel there is to get a mid afternoon Eurostar from London, and the first train back in the morning.

I imagine the show will finish by midnight at the latest, and that leaves a good 8 hours to kill before the train leaves. I've been to Paris many times for work (either DJing, performing, or crewing for bands) and always had a hard time finding things to do after hours.

We'd love to hear suggestions of places we can hole up for a few hours between the show kicking out, and the train leaving. We're a couple of pretty ordinary looking guys, but we'll be on a limited budget. Places near the venue, Gare Du Nord and all points inbetween would be ideal.

I've done this before when flying, but after roaming the streets for an hour or so trying to find anywhere open, we got a cab to the airport and hung around in the terminal until check-in opened. I doubt Gare Du Nord would be anywhere near as pleasant.

Many thanks.

posted by coach_mcguirk to Travel & Transportation around Paris, France (5 answers total)

"La Mouffe"
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 4:25 PM on September 24, 2006

Rue de Lapp (Paris XI), just behind the Opéra, is an easy walk from the tenth — plenty of clubs in there.
posted by Wolof at 12:55 AM on September 25, 2006

Best answer: If you're going to a show at Point Ephemère then neither the rue Mouffetard nor the rue de Lappe (both mainstay bar-hopping destinations for tourists, though they attract some locals too) are likely to be your thing. Skip those.

The Flèche d'Or is a good bet in general: good music, open late, free entry, not too pricey. It's a hike away from the Point Ephémère, but there's a new night bus system in Paris that works very well, especially on weekends: you can find out how to get there using the route planner on the local transit authority web site.

Otherwise, here are a few web sites with information on things going on at night in Paris, including hours, addresses, etc. It's all in French, but you should be able to find out the essentials.
www.vodkacoca.com
www.parisbouge.com
www.atome.com
www.parissi.com
posted by paul! at 3:44 AM on September 25, 2006

Rue Mouffetard, enthusiastically seconded as a place to grab a late-night drink or bite, BUT:

I know a very nice-for-the-money, quite inexpensive hotel on rue Pascal, a five minute walk from r. Mouffetard and close to the Censier/Daubenton Metro stop.

Are you *sure* it isn't worth, say, 80 € (USD102; GBP54) split between the two of you to get some sleep before the morning train?

I suppose that this is just early middle age talking, but if you can afford the Eurostar, and can afford to sit up all night drinking, surely you can afford (as an alternative), say, a modest late-night meal with a couple of drinks and then £27 each to share a room and get some actual sleep.

You could even enjoy a cheap breakfast at a neighborhood patisserie, take some nice pastries back to the home folks, and take an only-slightly-later train. (E-mail's in profile if you want suggestions or details.)
posted by enrevanche at 3:53 AM on September 25, 2006

Response by poster: Enrevanche - I see where you're coming from, but it's just not worth the outlay when we'd be able to spend, realistically, no more than 5 hours actually asleep.

Anyway, I'm hoping that as it's the last night of their tour, we'll be able to convince the band to accompany us to some of the places mentioned above.

Thanks all for the suggestions. Much appreciated.
posted by coach_mcguirk at 9:26 AM on September 25, 2006