Paris bars with live music: where something is actually on every night
You can fill a week of music in Paris without buying a concert-hall ticket. The eight rooms below put something on almost every night: swing you can dance to in a Latin Quarter cellar, free rock near Bastille, a Monday funk jam, salsa nights on rue de Lappe. Here is who plays what, which night, at what time, and for how much.
Le Caveau de la Huchette, 5th: swing dancing every night
A jazz band has played every night at 5 rue de la Huchette since 1946, in a vaulted cellar in the Latin Quarter. People come as much to listen as to dance swing and lindy hop on the floor in the middle.
Doors run Sunday to Thursday 9pm to 2am, Friday and Saturday until 4am. One thing to plan around: the club closes from 30 November to 14 December 2026 for renovation.
- Cover 14 EUR Sunday to Thursday, 16 EUR on Friday, Saturday and the eve of public holidays, 10 EUR for students under 25.
- Three sets a night, the first at 9.30pm.
- No booking. Metro Saint-Michel or Cite.
Le Duc des Lombards, 1st: two jazz sets a night
At 42 rue des Lombards, the Duc runs two shows a night Monday to Saturday, at 7.30pm then 10pm, seventy-five minutes each. Free seating.
Price follows the bill, from 29 EUR to 41 EUR, with 7 EUR off for under-25s, students and jobseekers on proof.
- The Duc’s jams run Friday and Saturday from midnight to 4am.
- Free entry, one drink minimum.
- Doors 7pm for the first set, 9.30pm for the second.
Le Baiser Sale, 1st: the Monday jam
Two doors down from the Duc, at 58 rue des Lombards, the Baiser Sale books a show most nights, from jazz to Afro-Caribbean groove.
Its best-known night is the Monday jam, run for years by percussionist Francois Constantin. Amateurs and pros both end up on stage.
- Monday jam at 9pm.
- Free entry, first drink obligatory with an 8 EUR surcharge.
- Metro Chatelet.
Supersonic, 12th: free gigs most nights
Supersonic, at 9 rue Biscornet near Bastille, puts on two or three bands a night, usually for free. Garage, post-punk, shoegaze, synth-pop: the booking leans rock and turns over every week.
A mezzanine looks down on the stage, and a vinyl shop has taken the room next door since 2020.
- Doors around 7pm on gig nights, happy hour 7pm to 8pm.
- Monday to Thursday until 2am, Friday and Saturday until 6am.
- Weekend nights turn into a club from 11pm for 10 EUR.
- A half-pint is 3.50 EUR.
La Bellevilloise, 20th: gigs, bals and a jazz brunch
At 19-21 rue Boyer, in the old 20th-century cooperative building, La Bellevilloise strings together gig nights, bals and club nights. The big hall takes the bands and the club keeps the night going on site.
Its bar-restaurant, the Halle aux Oliviers, books gigs Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 7pm to 1am, plus a jazz brunch on Sunday. The programming runs from the grand swing bal to Afro-Caribbean parties.
- Jazz brunch at 11.30am and 2pm on Sunday.
- Prices change per event, worth checking the agenda.
- Cloakroom 2 EUR, 4 EUR for large bags.
Le Studio de l’Ermitage, 20th: jazz and world music
An old biscuit factory on the heights of Menilmontant, at 8 rue de l’Ermitage, the Studio books more than five gigs a week, between jazz and world music.
The room is 200 m2 on the ground floor, with a mezzanine along three sides. You can watch the show with a drink in hand, which not every room allows.
- Doors 8pm and show 8.30pm Monday to Thursday. Friday and Saturday, doors 8.30pm and show 9pm.
- Tickets 18 EUR to 26 EUR depending on the night, advance booking cheaper.
- Metro Menilmontant or Jourdain.
Le Balajo, 11th: tea dances, salsa and clubbing
At 9 rue de Lappe, the Balajo has occupied a former Bastille dance hall since 1936. The week revolves around bals: tea dances, salsa, mixed nights.
Monday, tea dance from 2pm to 7pm. Tuesday night, a Cuban salsa class then a salsa party. Thursday, salsa and bachata until 12.30am before the urban club. Friday and Saturday, club from 11pm to dawn. One rock night a month on Wednesday.
- Cloakroom obligatory at 2 EUR.
- Metro Bastille or Ledru-Rollin.
Point Ephemere, 10th: gigs, DJs and an open stage
On quai de Valmy, at number 200, Point Ephemere has run a cultural centre on the bank of the Canal Saint-Martin since 2004. Alternative rock gigs, DJ sets, exhibitions and open stages share the space.
The open stage mixes poetry, dance and music. At the weekend, after the gig, the room turns into a club until 3am.
- Open every day including Monday.
- Monday and Tuesday 5pm to 2am, Wednesday and Thursday noon to 2am, Friday and Saturday noon to 3am, Sunday noon to 11pm.
- Metro Jaures or Louis Blanc.
What this page leaves out
We skipped the big concert halls, from the Bataclan to La Cigale and the Cabaret Sauvage: those are venues you enter for a named artist, not bars you hang around in. Purely electronic clubs are also left out, for lack of a regular live programme.
Hours and prices move fast, especially late in the year. A change of programme does not always mean a change of opening time: check the venue’s agenda before you head out.