The best nights in Paris start at these addresses — award-winning cocktail rooms, beloved locals' haunts and views worth ordering a second round for. All rated 4.5 stars or higher.
Ritz Paris, Place Vendôme · $$
Legend says Hemingway himself helped liberate this wood-paneled corner of the Ritz in 1944, and longtime head bartender Colin Field made its Serendipity and flower-topped Clean Dirty Martini world-famous. With only about 25 seats among typewriters and hunting photos, it is the most intimate of the world's great bars.
Insider tip: No reservations; arrive 15 minutes before the 5:30pm opening or late after 10pm, and dress smartly.
Opéra, 2nd arrondissement · $$
Open since 1911 at 5 Rue Daunou, this mahogany American bar claims the invention of the Bloody Mary in 1921 and poured for Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Gershwin, who composed parts of An American in Paris in the basement piano bar. College pennants and dollar bills still paper the walls.
Insider tip: Order the Bloody Mary where it was allegedly born and head downstairs to the piano bar after 10pm.
Haut Marais, 3rd arrondissement · $$
Behind its namesake crimson door on Rue Charlot, this snug Marais speakeasy builds concept menus around French farm produce and routinely places in the World's 50 Best Bars. Drinks arrive as artworks, with menus illustrated by commissioned designers.
Insider tip: Go early on a weeknight or book online; ask the bartenders to riff off the current menu's farm ingredients.
Faubourg Saint-Denis, 10th arrondissement · $
Hidden behind a façade plastered in torn posters on rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis, this hip-hop-soundtracked bar mixes exclusively with French spirits — Armagnac, Cognac, Chartreuse, and obscure regional liqueurs. It turned patriotic sourcing into one of the most original back bars in Europe.
Insider tip: Look for the unmarked poster-covered door; try whatever they are doing with Armagnac.
Saint-Germain-des-Prés, 6th arrondissement · $$
Sartre and de Beauvoir effectively officed at these Art Deco tables, and the Flore's red banquettes and white-jacketed waiters remain the definitive Left Bank café experience since the 1880s. Order the famously thick chocolat chaud, served in a silver pot on the terrace.
Insider tip: Come at breakfast before 9am for a terrace seat without the wait, and order the hot chocolate rather than the espresso.
Haut Marais, 3rd arrondissement · $
A pioneering 2011 speakeasy concealed behind an unmarked white door at the back of a tiny taqueria on Rue de Saintonge, Candelaria pairs mezcal- and tequila-led cocktails with some of the city's best tacos. Its Guêpe Verte, a chili-spiked tequila cocktail, is a modern Paris classic.
Insider tip: Eat tacos in the front taqueria first, then push the white door at the back; arrive before 8pm on weekends.
April–June & September–October
Euro (EUR)
French
How this list is made: we only feature places rated 4.5 stars or higher with 1,000+ reviews from real travelers. Ratings and review counts are approximate and move over time — always check current numbers before booking. Photos are sourced from Wikimedia Commons under free licenses (credits in each gallery).
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Four days lets you cover the Louvre, Orsay, Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, and Montmartre with unhurried café time, which is the point of Paris. Add a fifth day for Versailles, which deserves a full day on its own.