Parisian parties took a serious nosedive somewhere in the noughties. Everything was all becoming a bit samey until Concrete blew a massive boat-sized hole in the city’s nightlife. So much so that it isn’t even at night any more. With a game-changing Seine-side locale, they can max out their Funktion One speakers for one filthy 19-hour mashup, and there’s not a peep out of the neighbors, simply ‘cos there aren’t any. Thoughts of this being some dark ’n loud after-hour gurn-fest, should be (at least partly) erased from your mind however. Lots of light reaches into the venue and in the summer, well, it’s all feet on deck! The techno-house soundtrack is marshalled by some real international ringers—no space to drop names here though, the word count won’t allow it. And everything takes place on the sleepiest of family days, so get your Sunday dinner excuse in early.

What with the seemingly endless amount of neat little bars around the Oberkampf area, it seems odd that L’Orange Mécanique should be worthy of a mention given its pokey size and gaudy decor.

The genius of this place, however, is its happy hour that runs from 18:00-20:00 when a pint of beer will only set you back a measly 2,50€. Refreshingly free from the snobbish atmosphere that dogs many of the more superficially appealing watering holes in the area, L’Orange Mécanique is a good honest bar where the friendly staff and even friendlier prices make it a pretty unavoidable staple bar.