If you are looking for cultural events Paris offers plenty of choice and a wide variety of lively festivals. Among these are the free, city-wide Fête de la Musique (21 June), the Festival du Film de Paris (early April) and the biennal Festival d’Automne (September-December) contemporary dance event. Free concerts are held within the city’s churches, during the Festival d’Art Sacré in the weeks preceding Christmas. Classical concerts are listed in the monthly Le Monde de la Musique.

But if you want to know the special taste of Paris by night and to have real fun you will have to take others directions. It is never too late to go out in Paris. Theatres, cabaret, opera - some of the world's most well known are here and if you are a middle-aged tourist you can go to the famous Lido, the Crazy Horse Saloon, or the Folies Bergère. But may be you will prefer live music. Live jazz is played nightly at Le Bilboquet, 13 rue St-Benoît, by local and international high-caliber musicians. There is no admission charge, but drinks are expensive. If you are young and unsophisticated you’ll go to La Flèche d’Or Café, 102 bis rue de Bagnolet, a converted station turned live music venue. Concerts run from Thursday to Sunday evenings and the music ranges from rock to blues or reggae and satirical French chansons. At the Chesterfield Café, 124 rue La Boétie,just off the avenue des Champs-Elysées you ‘ll find expatriates and hosts US rock and blues bands.

If you are the one that prefers techno, house, garage and latino or hip hop, trip hop and drum’n’bass you can find clubs opened at about 23:00 and not to close until dawn; it is coolest to arrive around 03:00, or at least after midnight. Lots of trendy bars in Paris become clubs after the dark. The most famous ones are located in the Champs-Elysées area: the Six-Seven (former Bash), the VIP room (located in the basement of Planet Hollywood), the Baron, the Latina café... These celebrities meeting-points usually don’t have admission fees and are for people in their thirties or more.

In the Bastille area, the huge and chic Barrio Latino is also a great spot for having drinks and tapas while dancing the salsa. If they don’t charge entrances, they do have well-built bouncers who are not tender with those who mess around.
There are places to go out in almost every neighborhood, except maybe the deep south-western part of Paris (16th and 17th arrondissments) which is not the most lively.
On the other hand there are a bunch a real clubs, with entrance fees, all over Paris. For 18 to 30 years-old, the number one choice is the Locomotive at Pigalle: Quite affordable (10 to 20 €), House / Disco music and three floors to shake-out. The friendly Balajo, at Bastille (rue de Lappe) is also a good spot for all categories of age. The entrance fee is fairly cheap (around 15 €) and they have salsa classes and traditional French “bal-musette” in the afternoon. Another good choice for college students would be the Gibus near République, with mainly electro music (entrance fee 5 to 13 €). And let’s not forget the Batofar, a former lightship moored on the Seine just off the “Grande bibliothèque” (near Bercy): an unusual and convivial place very popular among college students (entrance fee: 7 to 12 €).

The hippest discotheques in Paris, more appropriate for those in their thirties or more, are Les Bains-Douches in the Marais: mythic Parisian club which attracts lots of celebrities and also has a restaurant (entrance fee: 20 €). The Queen on the Champs-Elysées, which used to be a gay dance club but is now mainstream, and has become one of the top venues for Paris clubbers (entrance fee: 15 to 20 €). You ild night are to stay.And finally the Pulp, in the Grands boulevards area, a lesbian club, which has also become one of the latest fashionable club for many heterosexuals in their thirties, mostly on special Thursday nights (Entrance fee: 9 €).
Whatever you choose, you must know that most of clubs do have very strict dress codes and are quite particular about their customers’ look. Dont’ forget also that you have to be over 18 to get in, but you will rarely be asked your I.D. At last, let me remind you that the minimum legal drinking age for drinking alcohol (beer and wine) is 16 years of age, 18 years for stronger drinks and spirits. Bars are usually licensed until 1 am. And now enjoy yourself!