Le Cavern Club

A good bet near Ile de la Cité and Saint-Germain, the Cavern Club is an easygoing venue without pretensions: in an area where the rents are the most expensive in Paris, €8 cocktails can be had for €3.50 during happy hour – though made with ‘value’ alcohol, they’re mixed with taste and a generous hand, like a Berry Cooler (vodka, amaretto, cranberry juice), the June Bug (white rum, melon liqueur, banana, pineapple juice, lime) or the Chimayo (tequila, crème de cassis, apple juice), plus good renditions of jazz standards like mojitos and piña coladas. If you want to stick with premium booze, those cocktails aren’t counted in the happy hour.

There’s a beautiful big old bar in the entrance, exposed beams and trendy patterned wallpaper – what’s more, at the back of the bar and down a staircase is the cavern that gives the place its name: a huge vaulted basement with a second bar and stage where they put on pop, rock, folk and chanson française of an evening, as well as electro house DJs and, every Wednesday at 8.30pm, improv theatre skits from La Muse Hante group. The final sell: it closes at dawn, so is one to choose for evenings you don’t want to end, especially in this area that tends to be dead after dark. The full events programme is available here.