Le Vieux Léon

This is one of Time Out's 100 best bars in Paris. Click here to see the full list.

Few of the bars around the Halles market provoke a desperate desire to stop and have a drink. They tend to be cold, unwelcoming dives squeezed between two kebab shops and full of the forum’s shoppers, practically encouraging the passer-by to hurry on past. But that’s not counting Le Vieux Léon, a charming little neighbourhood bar that fills your outstretched arms with well-priced pints, charcuterie boards and free concerts. Even better, it also hosts a weekly quiz with a bottle of champagne offered to the most knowledgeable music lover – though beware, the winner has to organise the next week’s quiz, complete with esoteric bonus questions. In winter, the bloody battles over the original author of a song or film keeps the place warm, while in summer the terrace offers a restorative sunny corner.