Nantes
Far more than just a bar, Le Nid (or The Nest) is an interactive art installation by Nantais artist Jean Jullien. Designer armchairs, with yolk-yellow…
Must-see nightlife in Southwest France
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Bordeaux
A black steel door marked with a small, red doorbell (aka 'le point rouge', or 'the red dot') heralds the entrance to this trendy speakeasy, a theatrical…
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Bordeaux
There is something inviting about this clandestine address with a soft green facade across from the river on the fringe of the Chartrons district. This is…
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Chez Garcia – Cave de la Guiguette
La Rochelle
For a sweet taste of 1930s La Rochelle, follow the hipster crowd to this rough-cut wine bar where little has changed since it opened in 1933 in a…
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Nantes
This enchanting bar à vin with vintage green wood façade is the best spot in town to taste regional wines with a laid-back, hipster crowd. When the…
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Arcachon
As seafront cafes go, you can't do better than stylish Café de la Plage. From sunrise to sunset and beyond, this gourmet cafe and bar by the vintage Big…
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Bordeaux
The decor – herringbone parquet, grandiose stained glass depicting the godly Bacchus, and sky-high ceiling – matches the reverent air that fills this wine…
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Bordeaux
At home in an old church, this much-venerated art address is a local institution – its sunny terrace alone is fabulous. Art-house cinema, mellow cafe, hot…
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Bordeaux
Hip hop, rock, indie pop, psyche blues rock, punk and hardcore are among the varied sounds that blast out of this fun nightclub and concert venue, on a…
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Bordeaux
There is no finer, more elegant or more romantic rooftop bar in Bordeaux than this achingly hip drinking-and-hobnobbing joint on the 7th floor of the…
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Toulouse
No address buzzes with Toulouse's hip, buoyant crowd more than this fabulous all-rounder wine bar, which was voted the best wine bar in the world in 2017…
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Toulouse
This speakeasy-style cocktail lounge is a wonderful place for a drink thanks to its so-far-above-average cocktails and so-better-looking-than-you…
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Bordeaux
The door handle alone – part of a coffee machine – says it all: this new-generation coffee shop is cool. Lounge on cushioned bench seating in a faintly…
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Bordeaux
'Delicate music, drinks and food' is the driver of this chic retro-styled cafe, named after New Yorker DJ David Mancuso who made The Loft private parties…
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Bordeaux
Every fashionable city street has to have one – a new-generation coffee shop, that is – and on rue du Palais Gallien it's Le Monologue. Green-floral…
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Toulouse
This unashamedly retro bar-brasserie in maroon and gold trim has been here since 1889. The left-hand entrance panel reads ‘vin blanc’; the right, ‘vin…
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Bordeaux
A more refined, fashionable crowd sips craft cocktails at this stylish cocktail bar, decked out 1920s style with vintage armchairs, tassel-fringed…
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Bordeaux
Craft-beer lovers will be in heaven in this cavernous beer bar, an urban-smart place to kick back beneath gold-stone vaults over one of 100 bottled beers…
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Bordeaux
No place buzzes with a local Bordelais crowd quite like the Apollo, a fabulous neighbourhood bar with burnt-orange, paint-peeling façade and busy pavement…
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Nantes
This former banana-ripening warehouse on Île de Nantes is home today to a line-up of trendy restaurants, bars and clubs, each hipper than the next…
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Bordeaux
Only in gourmet Bordeaux can the age-old local food market boast a nouvelle génération coffee shop. Argentinian-born, Bordeaux-raised Gaele Nadur is the…
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La Rochelle
Sit inside to appreciate the full frescoed-ceiling-and-gilt-mirrored grandeur of this timeless historic cafe, around since the belle époque, and a…
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Bordeaux
For serious coffee lovers, nothing beats the beans that arrive at this coffee shop freshly roasted from Paris' Belleville Brûlerie. In a tiny but…
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Bordeaux
Coffee shop, tea room, upmarket grocery and design-cool boutique: overnight this Scandinavian drink-dine-shop hybrid upped the street cred of fashionable…
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Bordeaux
What with its fabulous gluten-free cooking, chic interior design and Soundcloud page featuring the fantastic playlists spun here during Sunday brunch,…
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Nantes
Sacks of raw beans waiting to be roasted fill one corner of this specialist coffee shop, a five-minute walk from Les Machines de l'Île de Nantes. Patrice…
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Bordeaux
Across from the river, by city gate Porte de la Monnaie, serious cocktails are shaken with style by mixologist Ben at this chic cocktail bar. Steel-grey…
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Bordeaux
With exposed gold-stone walls and a soothing, slate-blue colour palette, this contemporary coffee shop in Bordeaux's vintage wine-merchant district is a…
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Bordeaux
From the miniature bouquets of dried flowers wedged in coffee beans in glass vases on the tables to the peppermint-green walls and wicker lampshades,…
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Nantes
Squirreled behind the imposing Théâtre Graslin on a tiny car-free street, the festive pavement terrace of this neighbourhood cafe with orange awning…
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Atlantic Coast
Follow knowing locals away from the old town to this superb cave à bières, a thoroughly contemporary beer bar with spartan interior dedicated to the…
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La Rochelle
La Calhutte is the pick of drinking addresses on idyllic place de la Fourche, the city’s most enchanting (car-free) square (or rather elongated triangle)…
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Bordeaux
A mixed bag of retro tables and chairs furnishes this self-proclaimed 'urban eatery', best known for its excellent choice of artisanal craft beers from…
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Bordeaux
Mingle with digital natives at this homey, light-filled co-working cafe with geometric patterned rugs and a Scandinavian palette of soothing cream and…
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Bordeaux
Enjoy a refreshing glass of blanche (white), ambréé (amber), blonde or brune (brown) beer brewed in situ at this innovative brasserie in Saint-Michel. A…
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Bordeaux
Why does it come as no surprise to learn that France's first officially certified organic pub is in Bordeaux? Run with passion and panache by Quebecois…
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Nantes
Mingle with the cool crowd at this art gallery and cafe with vintage, faux fur–covered armchairs and a retro-tiled flooring. Urban street art is its genre…
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Nantes
Local Nantaise beers, among dozens of others, are served at this fun bar just around the corner from the city's opera house and theatre. Fire engine-red…
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Bordeaux
When respite from the urban crowds beckons, duck into this peaceful coffee shop near the cathedral. Books to tempt and be browsed casually sit on shelves…
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Biarritz
Operating since 1880, this grande dame harks back to the time when belle époque Biarritz was the beach resort of choice for the rich and glamorous. Today…
