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Bars & Cafés
(by David)

2^nd Arrondissement

• Harry's New York Bar: 5, rue Daunou (Mº Opéra)
  
  This bar is one of the most historical bar in the world, but I'll let somebody else describe it into more details (I have a few friends who know a lot about it, I hope they'll come to contribute sooner or later). Just know that this is where the likes of Hemingway and Fitzgerald would spend their nights of debauchery, and also the place where the Bloody Mary was invented.

4^th Arrondissement

• Café Klein Holland: 36, rue du Roi-de-Sicile (Mº St-Paul)
  
  MSupposedly a Dutch bar, but when I went it felt more like an American bar, as everything was written in English in it. And I liked it mostly because of that, because the atmosphere was more interesting that the one you usually find in bars of this neighborhood, used to be the gay/Jewish neighborhood, still is, but lately it's been invaded by the "bobos" (can't really describe, you'll have to make some research about that one), and this is towards them that my gripe is directed, not the traditional dwellers of these streets.
  
   

5^th Arrondissement

• The Bombardier: 2, place du Panthéon (Mº Maubert-Mutualité or Cardinal-Lemoine)
  
  One of the many British pubs of the area. I'm quickly becoming a regular of the place, most thanks to the friendly staff and the costumers that are some of the most diverse of Paris (few places have at the same time French people, foreigners living in Paris and tourists at the same time). Also, even if the place is a pub, so you'd expect to drink beer there (and it's really good), the cocktails are also very good and perfectly done.
  

• The Fith Bar: 62, rue Mouffetard (Mº Place Monge)
  
  A small bar on rue Mouffetard, not that different from many others, except for the fact that it shows NFL games. I'll tell you more about it when season starts I guess.

• Hurling Pub: 8, rue Descartes (Mº Maubert-Mutualité or Cardinal-Lemoine)
  
  Another pub, a pretty cool one too.
  

• Rhubarb: 18, rue Laplace (Mº Maubert-Mutualité)
  
  A very tiny bar in a very tiny street in the shadow of the Panthéon, it's pretty easy to miss it (I actually had missed it until a friend brings me there). Let me put it this way; Happy Hour lasts from 5PM to 10PM and cocktails are 5 € then (and only 7 the rest of the time). Usually, when you have cocktails that cheap in Paris, they're also really bad (with like three drops of alcohol in them). Not there. In this bar, they are made the way they're supposed to be made, for 5 €!
  Like many other bars in the neighborhood the crowd is mostly Anglo-Saxon, and talking about crowds, the only problem of this bar is that it's so small that it gets overcrowded very very quickly. Still it's one of the best places I know to have a cheap cocktail for apéritif.
   

• Who's Bar: 13, rue du Petit-Pont (Mº St-Michel)
  
  As previously stated, I don't remember the exact address, but this is not an issue. Because, just don't go there. The bar tries to appear hype and all, but in the end it's very tacky, and quite "beauf" (another word you need to understand the meaning of to grasp certain aspects of France (imagine something along the lines of "French urban redneck" if you can). Also, there's no room, terrible music and bad cocktails (but they're cheap).
   

6^th Arrondissement

• Café de Flore:  172, boulevard St-Germain (Mº St-Germain-des-Prés)
  
  One of the most famous cafés in France, maybe in the world. I love the interior, especially the second floor which is very calm and mellow (with plants at the windows blocking most of the noise of the street), but I have major issues with the terrace. It's usually full of people perpetuating this strange cliché of trying to appear "intellectual" because they're sitting at the terrace of the Flore so they have to. I've never seen worse poseurs in my life.
  In another words, if you want to go to Flore, go inside. Another thing though, just like any other very famous café in Paris, prices are ridiculously high. Be warned.
  for the second floor.
        for the terrace.

• Café Latin: corner of rue Gît-le-Cœur and rue St-André-des-Arts (Mº St-Michel)
  
  A small traditional café where you can also eat, patrons are a nice mix of tourists and locals (including writers/publishers that work in the neighborhood), the staff is very very nice. It's basically one of my favorite cafés in Paris. Every time I want to spend a few hours in a café to read and/or write, it's always my first choice. I never tried the food though.
   

• Les Étages: 5, rue de Buci (Mº Odéon or Mabillon)
  
  It's one of the "hip" cafés of the neighborhood (with all the other cafés in the street), it might also be the cheapest and the cutest. Tables and seats are close to the ground, which can be a small problem for tall people, and are very narrow, which can be a problem for big people. But apart from that, it's always very pleasant to have a drink there (whether it's a cocktail or a coffee).
  

• La Gentilhommière: 15, place St-André-des-Arts (Mº St-Michel)
  
  I went there only once, the service was terrible, and the waiter tried to rip us off because we looked like American tourists. Too bad for him, two of us were Americans, but living in France, and another one (yours truly) was a Frenchman. Asshole!
  Still, I'll use this entry to remind foreign tourists (and if you're reading this, it's likely that you are one) that some people, especially in bars and restaurants are always gonna try to rip you off, this is unfortunate, but this is a fact. One way to try to avoid those places if you're not very aware on how they might try to trick you, is to avoid places full of foreign tourists. Try to go to places where the locals go or the foreigners that live in France (as opposed to the visitors).
   

• The Highlander: 8, rue de Nevers (Mº Pont-Neuf)
  
  A very fun and interesting Scottish pub, I need to learn to know better.
  

• Shannon Pub: 23, rue Bréa (Mº Vavin)
  
  Another pub (quite French though), with a very interesting decoration and the atmosphere is always a lot of fun. One of my favorite places to go out at night.
   

8th Arrondissement

• The Freedom Pub: 8, rue de Berri (Mº George V)
  
  You wouldn't expect an English pub in this neighborhood (well, I didn't), but I was gladly surprised, the place is a lot of fun, and really cheap (for the area). The waitresses are very nice and very fun and they put on quite a show where they're in the mood for it.
   

10^th Arrondissement

• De la Ville Café: 34, boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle (Mº Bonne-Nouvelle)
  
  Located in an ancient bordello, this café (as well as restaurant) has a quite interesting charm, mostly due to the mix of period decorations and contemporary ones. During daytime, the place is perfect to rest, read, write, etc. At night, it becomes one of the hotspots of the Grands Boulevards, but I must admit I never went at night.
  

• L'Escalier: 105, rue du Faubourg-St-Denis (Mº Gare de l'Est or Château d'Eau)
  
  You wouldn't expect a café like this one, in a street like this one. It's basically a "cool" café located in a "not-so-cool" neighborhood. Which makes the place even more "cool". Maybe not the place where you want to go party (well, I'm not sure, I've never been at night), but one of the best place you can imagine to just hang out in the afternoon, whether it's to read, study, spend time with friends, etc. Oh and by the way "Escalier" means 'stairs' and that's because of the layout of the café and its great mezzanine.
   

12^th Arrondissement

• t pour 2 Café: 23, cour St-Émilion (Mº Cour-St-Émilion)
  
  This is the kind of place one ends up more or less randomly (I mean, there might be a few regulars too), I don't know who really goes in this area to go out (to work or shop, yeah, but go out, no). This is the kind of place that calls itself a "Lounge" (never trust a place that calls itself a Lounge in France. Never.) to attract French yuppies that work in the area. This is the kind of place that want to be like the places of South Beach, but they're not. This is the kind of place where when you order a Martini, they'll serve you Vermouth. This can normally happen in French bars as Vermouth is often called Martini, but not in a place where they serve cocktails, and definitely not in a place that calls itself a Lounge. In other words, avoid this place.
   

18^th Arrondissement

• The Corcoran's: 110, boulevard de Clichy (Mº Blanche or Place de Clichy)
  
  A cool Irish pub in between Pigalle and Place de Clichy.
  

• The Harp: 118, boulevard de Clichy (Mº Blanche or Place de Clichy)
  
  Another cool Irish pub in the same area (strange that this area seems to be having only two Irish pubs and they're almost neighbors). This one is pretty small, and I advise it more for an afternoon beer with a friend than to party at night.
  

• Le Sancerre: 35, rue des Abbesses (Mº Abbesses)
  
  Apparently this bar is quite known. I actually ended up there totally randomly. I like the atmosphere of the place, some strange mix of traditional French café and hip place. Drinks are cheap (5.5 € for a cocktail) but not great. A nice place to go when you're in the area, but I wouldn't go there just for it.