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Paris is not only a wonderful vacation destination with lots of world famous landmarks (http://www.paris.org/Maps/MM/), it is also a fantastic place to dance salsa either live or to DJs. As a modern metropolis, it offers a great variety of venues. Moreover, Paris has a direct and open communication with Cuba, and therefore, the Cuban community is quite important in the capital, bringing their Cuban style of dancing. However, the Puerto-Rican style is also popular. Since the 60's, this Latin-American rhythm has been captivating Paris and expanding here, providing excellent quality of music as well as very good dancers! In fact Paris is the home of the Mondial de la salsa (http://congres.salsabor.fr), an international event held in June every year. The festival attracts professional, amateur, and social Salsa dancers from all around the world.
This is definitely a salsa congress you do not want to miss, and here are some of the most sought after Salsa clubs in the city:
Les Etoiles
61 rue du Château d'Eau
75010 Paris
Metro: Château d'Eau
Price: €8 including salsa class, €10 after the class, one drink included (cloakroom: 2 euros)
The first silent-movie house in the world, then a dancehall, Les Etoiles (meaning The Stars) was one of the first salsa Clubs in Paris back in the 90's. With marble floor and carpeted walls, this place has a yesteryear feel. However; the DJs play such vibrant music, keeping you on your toes and on the verge of a heart attack all night, that you forget about the old-fashioned décor. You can dine there before the club starts.
La Boca Chica
58 rue de Charonne
75011 Paris
Metro: Bastille or Ledru-Rollin
Price: €5 euros, class, drink and cloakroom included
Le Clair-Obscur
62 rue de Charonne
75011 Paris
Metro: Bastille or Ledru-Rollin
Price: €8 euros, one drink included (cloakroom €1)
Diablitho
45 Rue St Sébastien
75011 Paris
Metro: Saint Ambroise ou Richard Lenoir
Price: €8 with one drink included (cloakroom: €2)
O'Sullivan's
92, Boulevard de Clichy
75018 Paris
Metro: Blanche
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La Coupole
Infoline 06 61 50 20 52
salsacoupole@yahoo.fr
www.eventolatino.com (French site)
102 Boulevard du Montparnasse
75014 Paris
Metro: Montparnasse or Vavin
Price: €10, salsa class and one drink included (cloakroom: €2)
A famous restaurant where lots of renowned artists used to dine last century, La Coupole is also a Mecca for salsa dancing since the 90's when its famous salsa Tuesday nights started to take place! Friday night, underneath the restaurant, the nightclub, called El templo de la salsa, gets incredibly jam-packed, making dancing uncomfortable. While the restaurant retains a Belle Epoque feel, the club looks pretty much like a contemporary nightclub with a rather low ceiling and neutral décor, but a fairly smooth wooden floor. The best thing is the music, which is very well mixed and diverse: you will be dancing to reggaeton, R&B, bachata, zouk, meringue and of course salsa! Some good dancers around!
Le Mandunga
Www.mandunga.fr (French site)
32 Avenue Corentin Cariou
75019 Paris
Metro: Porte de la Villette
Price: varies, can be free, €10-15, depending on the night
If you want to dance salsa every night of the week, go to Le Mandunga. Note, however from May 9, this place will be closed Mondays.
This club opened in spring 2004 and has been increasingly popular ever since. It offers an outdoor terrace where you can dance during the summer. It features a bar and a restaurant, as well as two levels of dance floors, lots of space and a good fusion of Latin music. Here is another venue where you will come across lots of Latin Americans, mainly Cubans. One particularity of this place is it has a family-friendly atmosphere, indeed Sunday afternoon till 4 or 5pm, there are quite often children running around, while their parents are dancing away or just relaxing. There is a Happy Hour till 7pm, which gives you a good opportunity to taste delicious fruit cocktails. Also Sunday afternoon is the day to enjoy an informal ball in the large room with free entrance.
Los Mexicanos
www.los-mexicanos.com
10, rue Papillon
75009 Paris
Métro: Cadet
Price: €5 (cloakroom included)
This bar and restaurant serves Tex-mex cuisine next to a small wooden dance floor where you can dance to all the Latin rhythms Tuesday and Friday nights! Quite a lot of Mexicans can be seen in this place. It does get packed Thursdays with dancers but still retains a fun atmosphere.
Besides all these very much sought after clubs and trendy bars, there are a few other places, more recent but no less popular, that you might want to check out:
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Le Mandunga
Www.mandunga.fr (French site)
32 Avenue Corentin Cariou
75019 Paris
Metro: Porte de la Villette
Price: varies, can be free, €10-15, |
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La Java
(http://salsalive.free.fr/, French site)
105 rue du Faubourg . du Temple
75010 Paris
Metro: Goncourt or Belleville
Price: €15
This retro-style club started to host salsa nights around 1992 every Thursday and Friday. It consists of a rectangular shaped room, with an orchestra stand at the very end while the sleek wooden floor is flanked with cosy sitting alcoves. It stopped for a while but since March 26, La Java has become once again the inevitable hub of European Latin music. Every Saturday from 11:00pm, an orchestra plays here, reminding us all that Salsa is principally a live show which shouldn't be only played by DJs: You see salsa, you feel salsa and you breathe salsa!
Le Mandunga
Www.mandunga.fr (French site)
32 Avenue Corentin Cariou
75019 Paris
Metro: Porte de la Villette
Price: varies, can be free, €10-15, |
La Java
(http://salsalive.free.fr/, French site)
105 rue du Faubourg . du Temple
75010 Paris
Metro: Goncourt or Belleville
Price: €15
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La Pachanga
http://www.lapachanga.fr/ (French site)
8, rue Vandamme
74014 Paris
Metro: Gaïté or Montparnasse
Price: €8; €10 Saturday, class and one drink included (cloakroom: €2)
Another club which dates back to the beginning of salsa in Paris! You can also come here to eat so that you don't collapse after three or four spins on the dance floor and if you do eat here you can access the club for free! Here you will be dancing mainly Cuban style and rueda. Dominican-themed classes and parties are also organized. You might find an older crowd here mixed with genuine Latinos, and therefore a high level of authentic dance style!
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La Java
(http://salsalive.free.fr/, French site)
105 rue du Faubourg . du Temple
75010 Paris
Metro: Goncourt or Belleville
Price: €15
La Java Every Saturday from 11:00pm, an orchestra plays here, reminding us all that Salsa is principally a live show which shouldn't be only played by DJs: You see salsa, you feel salsa and you breathe salsa!
Le Mandunga
Www.mandunga.fr (French site)
32 Avenue Corentin Cariou
75019 Paris
Metro: Porte de la Villette
Price: varies, can be free, €10-15,
Los Mexicanos
www.los-mexicanos.com
10, rue Papillon
75009 Paris
Métro: Cadet
Price: €5 (cloakroom included) |
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Barrio Latino
46-48 Faubourg St Antoine
75011 Paris
Metro: Bastille
Price: €5 (cloakroom: €2 per item)
If you want to dance in a lovely setting, this is definitely the place to go! Located in the very lively district of La Bastille, this venue is easy to find and offers a beautiful décor of colourful carpets, cosy sofas and huge windows flooding the interior with natural light. This former factory has been revamped and converted into a splendid bar-restaurant on three levels, ornate with wrought-iron artwork right up to the ceiling. There is also a grand staircase to go to the upper floors where you'll find tables and chairs to sit and watch the dancers from above. This is a very trendy and popular bar, therefore it tends to get extremely crowded, and it can be difficult to dance at ease here. But it is worth a visit. In addition, classes are given here on Sunday afternoon, starting at 1pm, followed by a club till 7:30pm. The idea is to give you the opportunity to dance like mad and still get a good night's sleep afterwards to be fresh and radiant at work on Monday morning! | |
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