Not as hectic as a club but livelier than a regular bar, these dance bars offer partygoers the perfect middle ground
Don’t get us wrong, Paris has some incredible clubs, but sometimes you just don’t have it in you to pay for entry, queue for overpriced drinks, and stay out until dawn. That’s when a dance bar comes in handy: they tend to open earlier and wind down around 2am, and they’re often cheaper and more diverse, but you still get a chance to try out your best moves on les Parisiens.
Below, you’ll find our Paris editors’ fourteen favourite dance bars. From an iconic gay spot perched atop the hills of Park Buttes Chaumont, to a retro-futurist bar on the edge of the Marais, there’s a dance bar for every reveller, whether you want to dance to post-punk, French trap, techno, or dancehall.
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Antoine Besse is a journalist at Time Out Paris. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.
Belleville’s Discobar was opened by two music-obsessed friends, Gautier Honorez and Lucas Boulanger. In the back room, which is about the size of a Fiat 500, they’ve set up a dance floor and two vinyl turntables. When there isn’t a guest collective there to make the crowd dance, you can take control with your own records.
Where? 92 rue Rébeval, Paris 19th arrondissement
Since 2020, Fabien Lombardi’s wine and vinyl bar Bambino has been bringing the party to its corner of the 11th arrondissement – and it shows no signs of losing steam. At the end of the week, after devouring well-crafted small plates and sipping on natural wines from the expertly curated menu, the thirty-something clientele pushes the tables aside and dances to the mixes of guest DJs, who draw from the bar’s vast record collection.
Where? 25 rue Saint-Sébastien, Paris 11th arrondissement
If you were paying attention in your high school French classes, you might have spotted the connection between the name of this bar and Joy Division’s song ‘Disorder’. We promise it’s not a reference to the state of the bar (which, as it happens, is pretty tidy), but rather the post-punk tastes of the guest DJs who come and play their mixes on the weekends. If names like Buzzcocks, Neu!, or Fontaines D.C. make you want to wiggle in your skinny jeans, a night at Désordre is a must.
Where? 103 rue de la Folie-Méricourt, Paris 11th arrondissement
Since 2018, Fréquence, the bar run by Matthieu Biron and Guillaume Quenza, has remained a go-to spot for fans of meticulously crafted cocktails with adroit Japanese influences, as well as for 80s funk vinyl enthusiasts and those just looking for a good vibe. Every weekend, tables are pushed aside, and the crowd dances to mixes that manage to be sophisticated while bringing the party.
Where? 20 rue Keller, Paris 11th arrondissement
Wait until after 10pm, when guest DJs take over the decks at Wax and the massive custom-made speakers unleash their powerful (mostly techno) mixes, and you’ll see this elegant cocktail bar transform into a chaotic party. Tables are pushed aside, the lights are dimmed, and people throw their hands up and let loose in the spontaneous party atmosphere.
Where? 96 rue d'Hauteville, Paris 10th arrondissement
Rosa Bonheur is nestled in a pavilion at the top of the bucolic Buttes Chaumont Park. You can enjoy an aperitif under the tall trees, soaking up the last rays of sunshine and the stunning view. On Sundays, there’s an unmissable queer party (straights welcome too). After all, the bar’s owner Michelle Cassaro (aka Mimi) used to run the legendary Pulp, a lesbian club that closed in 2007. Expect a night packed with guilty pleasures!
Where? 2 avenue de la Cascade, Paris 19th arrondissement
Hidden beneath the Datsha restaurant, this retro-futuristic, 6-metre-high wooden cellar bathed in elegant orange light offers expertly shaken cocktails. But that’s not all: Spootnik also has a small dance floor where guest DJs get the crowd moving until 2am.
Where? 57 Rue des Gravilliers, Paris 3rd arrondissement
Housed in a striking crimson structure designed by Bernard Tschumi within the Parc de la Villette, À la Folie is a nighttime haven. You can enjoy a drink in the open air under the lime trees and, most importantly, dance in the spacious neo-industrial concrete and metal hall which boasts a powerful sound system that pumps out the house and techno beats that guest DJs spin. The programme is very queer and gay-friendly.
Where? 26 avenue Corentin Cariou, Paris 19th arrondissement
Set in a beautiful townhouse in the Marais designed by the Mazouz brothers, this hidden bar takes inspiration from the Marrakech of the 1950s. Kaled Derouiche crafts sophisticated cocktails, and as the evening progresses, the small but stunning dance floor lights up, while the DJ, stationed behind a mini console, gets the crowd going.
Where? 69 rue des Gravilliers, Paris 3rd arrondissement
On the ground floor, Montezuma Café keeps things relatively calm, serving dishes with a modern bistro flair (including fantastic breaded sweetbreads, sea urchin tarama, and tuna tartare) paired with carefully selected natural wines. But in the vaulted cellar, things get much livelier (though only until midnight) with music-loving guest selectors putting the speakers to work.
Where? 15 rue Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, Paris 2nd arrondissement
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