When bars and clubs close and how to stay open later, the drinks licence and the declaration, the door and noise rules, what the bill and the team cost, and the nights that run until morning.
Bastille and Oberkampf are the heart of a Paris night. Rue de Lappe has bars close enough to walk from one to the next, and Rue Oberkampf is full of pubs and beer bars. Pigalle has turned fashionable, above all South Pigalle, with its cocktail bars and intimate clubs, and the Marais is known for its LGBT+ community. In summer the crowds gather along the Canal Saint-Martin and the Seine. Out west, the Champs-Élysées keeps the VIP rooms and the luxury hotel bars. A club night here runs until morning: La Machine du Moulin Rouge and Le Carmen keep going to 6 a.m. Not every room gets to stay that late.
In Paris the police, not the city, decide how late a room can pour. One order sets the hours for bars, clubs and terraces alike. Opening declarations and late-opening exemptions go to the Préfecture de Police.
Bars may open from 5 a.m. and must close by 2 a.m. The Préfecture de Police can grant an exemption to 5 a.m. to a venue with a nocturnal purpose, never to its terrace. A club with a dance floor closes by 7 a.m. and stops selling alcohol 90 minutes before it actually closes; the lane assumes a 7 a.m. close. The nights of 13 to 14 July, 14 to 15 July, 24 to 25 December and 31 December to 1 January are open all night by right.
Under the Préfecture de Police order on opening hours, a bar or other licensed outlet without a dance floor may open from 5 a.m. and must close by 2 a.m. Takeaway sales of drinks and fast food on the street stop at 00:30.
MoreTheatres, concert halls, music halls and cinemas close at 00:30 unless authorised. A room that wants to trade past 2 a.m. needs the late-opening exemption.
Source: Hours orderAs an exception, the Préfecture can let cafés, bars and clubs with a nocturnal purpose open from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. The venue offers stage shows or music, or a particular concept, and meets the fire safety and noise rules.
MoreThe exemption is personal, cannot be transferred, can be withdrawn and ends when you stop running the venue. It is granted for three months to a year and renewed online. For a one-off late night, apply to the district police station at least 15 days ahead.
Source: Late openingA venue whose main business is a dance floor closes by 7 a.m. at the latest and stops selling alcohol 90 minutes before it actually closes.
MoreClose at 6 a.m. and the last alcoholic drink is sold at 4.30 a.m. Tell the Préfecture what the venue does and its hours.
Source: Hours orderFour nights are open all night without special permission: 13 to 14 July, 14 to 15 July, 24 to 25 December and 31 December to 1 January.
MoreNo exemption is needed on those nights, so plan staff for a full night on each.
Source: Hours orderTerraces are left out of the late-opening exemption. All activity on them must stop at 2 a.m., whatever the room’s own hours.
MoreBring guests indoors by 2 a.m., even on a night the room runs to 5 a.m.
Source: Late openingDrinks served on the spot need a licence III, the restricted licence, or a licence IV, the full licence, which covers every drink still allowed, spirits included. Restaurants have licences of their own.
MoreA cocktail bar or club pouring spirits needs licence IV. Licence III stops at wine, beer, cider and other fermented drinks.
Source: Licence categoriesAnyone declaring the opening, change of owner, move or transfer of a third or fourth category outlet needs the permis d’exploitation: at least 20 hours of training over at least three days, cut to 6 hours with ten years’ experience as an operator.
MoreThe permis is valid for ten years, and a refresher course of at least 6 hours extends it for ten more.
Source: Permis trainingDeclare the opening in writing at least 15 days ahead, with your details, the address, the licence category and your permis d’exploitation. In Paris it goes to the Préfecture de Police, which gives a receipt at once.
MoreA change of owner or manager, or a move to another address, is declared 15 days ahead in the same way.
Source: Opening an outletA new third-category outlet cannot open where third and fourth category outlets already reach one per 450 inhabitants. No new fourth-category outlet may open at all, outside the temporary cases the code lists.
MoreA licence IV comes with an existing outlet or by transfer. A transfer goes to the prefect, who must consult the mayors of both communes.
Source: Opening an outletSelling or giving alcohol to a minor is banned, and you must ask the guest for proof of age. The penalty is a fine of €7,500 and a one-year ban on running the licence.
MoreUnder-16s may not come in without an adult. Display the poster on the under-18 ban.
Source: Bar rulesNobody may be employed to guard premises or keep the people in them safe without meeting the conditions of the Code de la sécurité intérieure, shown by a professional card. CNAPS, the national private security council, vets applicants.
MoreDoor staff working in security roles need a professional card. A venue with its own security team is spared the company licence, but whoever manages the team needs an approval. Ask CNAPS whether a physionomiste who only picks guests needs a card.
Source: Security codeThe card is valid for five years from the day it is issued. Aptitude is shown by a registered professional certification or an approved branch qualification (CQP).
MoreCheck each door person’s card and its date before the first shift.
Source: Security code, regulationsA venue playing amplified sound must never exceed 102 dB(A) or 118 dB(C) over 15 minutes anywhere the public can go. A club must record the levels continuously and display them by the sound desk; other venues that play it regularly must do so once they hold more than 300 people.
MoreWhere the music plays regularly, also tell guests about the risk to their hearing, hand out free ear protection and keep a quiet zone or quiet breaks.
Source: Amplified soundIn a closed venue, the music may not raise the sound in nearby homes by more than 3 dB(A) overall, or by more than 3 dB in any octave band from 125 Hz to 4,000 Hz.
MoreA venue that regularly plays amplified sound keeps a noise impact study (EINS), updates it when the room, the activity or the sound system changes, and shows it to inspectors.
Source: Noise and neighboursA Paris bar that serves drinks on the spot needs a licence III or IV, the permis d’exploitation and a declaration of opening to the Préfecture de Police. Trading past 2 a.m. takes a separate exemption.
Train with an approved body for at least 20 hours over at least three days, or 6 hours with ten years’ experience as an operator. The permis is valid for ten years.
Source: Permis trainingSource: Opening an outletLicence III covers soft drinks and fermented drinks such as wine, beer and cider, with a few wine aperitifs and fruit liqueurs up to 18%. Licence IV covers every drink still allowed, spirits included.
Source: Licence categoriesSource: Drink groupsA new third-category outlet cannot open where outlets already reach one per 450 inhabitants, and no new licence IV can be created, so it comes with an existing outlet or by transfer. The prefect also sets distances around health establishments, schools and youth facilities, and sports grounds within which no bar may open.
Source: Opening an outletSource: Protection zonesDeclare in writing to the Préfecture de Police at least 15 days before you open, with your permis d’exploitation. The receipt is given at once.
Source: Opening an outletTo trade from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m., apply online with the licence, the permis d’exploitation and a signed letter setting out your case. A venue with amplified sound adds its noise impact study, an installation and setting certificate and, where required, the limiter’s periodic check. The exemption is granted for three months to a year.
Source: Late openingIssued by the Préfecture de Police
General information, not legal advice. Laws and licence conditions change and vary by venue. Confirm with the Préfecture de Police or your district mairie before acting on it.
In a Paris club alcohol stops 90 minutes before the doors close, so a table’s spend lands early in the night. The TVA is already inside every price on the bill.
| Minimum spend | €1,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Service charge 10%, added by the venue | €100.00 |
| TVA on alcohol 20%, included in the prices | €183.33 |
| Guest pays | €1,100.00 |
| Tip the guest chooses to add | No tax |
Prices include TVA. Alcoholic drinks carry the 20% rate, whether drunk on the spot or taken away.
Source: TVA ratesFood and soft drinks sold for immediate consumption carry 10%, so a table with food and mixers on the bill splits between 20% and 10%.
Source: TVA ratesThe rates page does not cover a club’s entry charge, so confirm its rate with a tax adviser before pricing the door.
Source: TVA ratesAsk a tax adviser how TVA treats a service charge; the example taxes it at the drinks rate.
Source: TVA ratesRough estimates for tickets and bottle-service tables, from public listings and venues’ own pages.
€15 to €30
Typically about €20
No Paris club publishes a regular door price on its own page, so this is a general estimate for a Thursday to Saturday club night, generalised from the Amsterdam, Berlin and Madrid estimates. Headliner and festival nights cost more.
€400 to €1,000
A typical table, about €600
No Paris club publishes a table minimum on its own page, so this is a general estimate for the lowest table, generalised from the Amsterdam, Berlin and Madrid estimates, before the service charge. Prices include TVA.
Figures are estimates from the sources and samples listed. They change often and may be wrong. Check with the venue or the relevant authority before relying on them. Venues and events named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide.
Staffing a Paris night starts from the SMIC, the national minimum, and it can rise more than once in a year. Cost each shift from the current rate, not last January’s.
Minimum wage €12.31 an hour, since 1 June 2026Source: SMIC
The SMIC is €12.31 an hour gross since 1 June 2026, or €1,867.02 a month for 151.67 hours, a 35-hour week. Net, that is €9.74 an hour.
Source: SMICThe SMIC rises every 1 January, and again during the year whenever prices have risen by at least 2%.
Source: SMIC
Four nights a year, a Paris bar may stay open until morning without an exemption: two around Bastille Day, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Staff for the Fête de la Musique too, when the music moves into the street.
A public holiday, after a night open by right.
Official siteNo city-wide dates
No city-wide dates
A public holiday, which makes a long weekend.
Official siteThe only public holiday that must be a day off. Staff who work it, where the business cannot stop, are paid double.
Official siteA public holiday.
Official siteA public holiday that always falls on a Thursday.
Official siteA public holiday, which makes a long weekend.
Official siteThe city’s all-night contemporary art event, with close to 200 artworks and performances across Paris.
Official siteFree concerts by amateurs and professionals, mostly in the evening and through the night, in streets, bars and concert halls. The Préfecture de Police bans the sale and drinking of alcohol on the street in listed areas for the day, the Quai de Valmy among them.
Official site14 July is a public holiday, and the nights of 13 to 14 July and 14 to 15 July are open all night without special permission.
The city notes that night crowds gather on the Seine banks and along the Canal Saint-Martin in summer. Waterside rooms share the street with them.
Official siteA public holiday.
Official siteNo city-wide dates
No city-wide dates
Two public holidays ten days apart.
Official siteThe night of 24 to 25 December is open all night without special permission, and 25 December is a public holiday.
Official siteOpen all night without special permission. Paris je t’aime has reported hotel occupancy of 100% on New Year’s Eve.
Official site
Paris nights run east and west. Bastille and Oberkampf pack in bars, clubs and concert rooms, while the Champs-Élysées keeps the exclusive clubs, with a smart dress code at the door.
With Bastille, the epicentre of Paris nightlife in the tourist office’s words; Rue Oberkampf and Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud are full of pubs and beer bars.
Rue de Lappe is known for its many bars, close enough to go from one to the next.
Pigalle has turned very fashionable, above all its southern part, South Pigalle, with elegant cocktail bars and intimate clubs.
The upmarket night out: some of the city’s most exclusive clubs, VIP rooms with a smart dress code, and luxury hotel bars.
One of the liveliest neighbourhoods at night, known for its LGBT+ community.
Now a Paris nightlife hotspot, with Point Éphémère and the houseboats moored along the canal.
At the top, the west wins. Le Duplex and L’Arc, the two names guests look up most, are both by the Champs-Élysées, and Badaboum in Bastille comes next.
| Rank | Venue | Nights | Music | Published price | Monthly searches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Le DuplexClubChamps-Élysées · 2 bis Avenue Foch, 75116Source: Search estimatesSource: Le Duplex | Every night, 23:00 to 06:00 | Not listed | Not listed | 5,800 |
| 2 | L’ArcClubChamps-Élysées · 12 Rue de Presbourg, 75116Source: Search estimatesSource: L’Arc Paris | Thu to Sat | Not listed | Not listed | 4,000 |
| 3 | BadaboumClubBastille · 2 Rue des Taillandiers, 75011Source: Search estimatesSource: Badaboum | Club nights Thu to Sun; concerts earlier in the evening | Not listed | Not listed | 2,700 |
| 4 | RaspoutineClubChamps-Élysées · 58 Rue de Bassano, 75008Source: Search estimatesSource: Raspoutine | Thu to Sat, 23:30 to 05:00 | Deep house | Not listed | 1,800 |
| 5 | La JavaClubBelleville · 105 Rue du Faubourg du Temple, 75010Source: Search estimatesSource: La Java | Fri and Sat | Techno, trance and French touch | Not listed | 1,500 |
| 6 | La Machine du Moulin RougeClubPigalle and SoPi · 90 Boulevard de Clichy, 75018Source: Search estimatesSource: La Machine du Moulin Rouge | Fri and Sat, 00:00 to 06:00 | Not listed | Not listed | 1,500 |
| 7 | La Station, Gare des MinesClubPorte d’Aubervilliers · 29 Avenue de la Porte d’Aubervilliers, 75018Source: Search estimatesSource: La Station | Club nights Fri and Sat | Not listed | Not listed | 1,300 |
| 8 | Les BainsClubThe Marais · 7 Rue du Bourg-l’Abbé, 75003Source: Search estimatesSource: Les Bains | Thu to Sat, 23:30 to 04:30 | Not listed | Not listed | 1,000 |
| 9 | Rex ClubClubGrands Boulevards · 5 Boulevard PoissonnièreSource: Search estimatesSource: Rex Club | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | 1,000 |
| 10 | Le CarmenClubPigalle and SoPiSource: Search estimatesSource: Le Carmen | Tue to Sat, 00:00 to 06:00 | Not listed | Not listed | 700 |
Ranked by monthly Google searches in France for each venue’s name with the city, as Ahrefs estimates them. Few rooms publish a capacity, so this measures demand, not size. Only rooms that their own site shows open are listed.
Venues named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide. Details come from each venue’s own pages and can change; a venue can ask us to correct or remove its entry.
Fewer people live in Paris than a decade ago, but Greater Paris still counts its visitors in the tens of millions.
These figures describe Paris and Greater Paris, not any venue’s guests.
Sell tickets, take table bookings with deposits, run the guest list and check guests in at the door, in one place. Built for clubs, lounges and bars.
A bar without a dance floor must close by 2 a.m. and may open from 5 a.m. The Préfecture de Police can grant a late-opening exemption to 5 a.m. to a venue with a nocturnal purpose, such as music or stage shows.
A venue whose main business is a dance floor closes by 7 a.m. at the latest, and stops selling alcohol 90 minutes before it actually closes.
Apply online to the Préfecture de Police with the licence, the permis d’exploitation and a signed letter setting out your case. A venue with amplified sound adds its noise impact study and the sound installation certificate. The exemption is granted for three months to a year, is personal and can be withdrawn, and never covers the terrace.
Yes. The nights of 31 December to 1 January, 24 to 25 December, 13 to 14 July and 14 to 15 July are open all night without special permission.
Take the permis d’exploitation, at least 20 hours of training over three days. Licence IV covers every drink, spirits included, and no new one can be created, so it comes with an existing outlet or by transfer. Declare the opening in writing to the Préfecture de Police at least 15 days ahead.
18. You must ask for proof of age, and selling or giving alcohol to a minor brings a fine of €7,500 and a one-year ban on running the licence. Under-16s may not come in without an adult.
Door staff working in security roles need a professional card, issued after vetting by CNAPS and valid for five years. A venue with its own security team needs an approval for whoever manages it.
Until 2 a.m. Terraces are left out of the late-opening exemption, so all activity on them stops at 2 a.m. even when the room stays open to 5 a.m.
A venue playing amplified sound must stay under 102 dB(A) and 118 dB(C) over 15 minutes wherever the public can go, and a club must record and display the levels. A closed venue may not raise the sound in nearby homes by more than 3 dB(A), and a venue that plays amplified music regularly keeps a noise impact study.
Alcoholic drinks carry 20% TVA. Food and soft drinks sold for immediate consumption carry 10%. Prices include TVA.
The SMIC is €12.31 an hour gross since 1 June 2026, or €1,867.02 a month for 151.67 hours. It rises every 1 January, and again during the year when prices rise by at least 2%.
No Paris club publishes a door price or a table minimum on its own page, so about €15 to €30 for a club night and €400 to €1,000 for the lowest table are general estimates from Amsterdam, Berlin and Madrid.
VenueStack publishes this guide for general information. We take care to keep it accurate and list our sources and review dates, but we can’t guarantee it is complete, current or correct, and we aren’t responsible for decisions made on it. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice. Prices, minimums and wages are estimates from the samples described and don’t represent any particular venue. Venues, events and organisations named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide.
Data gathered in October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
TorontoOntario, Canada
Closing time and extensions, getting a liquor licence, the City nightclub licence, noise limits, HST on service charges, door licensing, wages, ticket prices and the year’s big nights.
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MontrealQuebec, Canada
Closing time and Nuits Montréal extended hours, the RACJ permis de bar and its fees, entertainment authorisations, borough noise rules, GST on service charges, tips, wages and the year’s big nights.
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VancouverBritish Columbia, Canada
Hours to 4 a.m., getting a BC liquor licence, Serving It Right, door licensing, PST on liquor, wages and tips, and the year’s big nights.
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