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So you just arrived in Paris, and barely installed you feel the call of the
night. The old buildings seem to invite you to come and explore them, the bats
-unless they are pigeons?- who lend on the edge of the window make you feel
deeply melancholic, you dream of complete nights spent in medieval caves and
share with others some batcave music. In a word, where to start you gothic
trip? 
Caves St-Sabin: Considered as the best of the parisian nights. Les caves are just amazing with their multiple corners and alcoves. The light and decoration (candles and bronze horse, painting') Everything has been put together to create the perfect gothic ambience, the toilets are even considered as essential sets of the night ! The music varies depending of the organisation which is in charge of the night, it has in general something to do with the classical punk gothic batcave of the 80's, mixed up with some new songs and old melodies to satisfy every dwellert. There are also some Taverne Médievale nights organised every once in a while with knights in armor, music and appropriated food, which are usually worth seeing. Bal des vampires: An old outing which takes place like St Sab in caves, smaller and not as well decorated, specially when they decide turn on the disco lights. Despite this and the turkish like toilets, the ambience is excellent and you'll meet as well old veterans, people dressed alike the count Dracula, curious or baby-bats. The music goes from heavenly at the beginning of the party, when the caves ares till deserts, to batcave classics, cut buy a large period of electro/indus around 2/3h in the morning, sometimes you'll be able to hear punk, before ending with " Bela Lugosi's ". No surprise then, only the assurance that you'll always and ever go to the same ol' party, months after months, years after years. Beware of the tourists more and more numerous due to the fashion area, and to the fact that the bouncer haven't decide yet to slice open their throats. This place was close during 2008-2009 and now only partialy re-open. So check the flyers. Bateau Concorde Atlantique: A party on a boat on the seine, with a terrace, which allows you to breath the fresh air, before diving again into the masses. 2 dance floors, one batcave/new wave and the other electro/indus for those who like noises. Théatre de Nesle: Created by the dynamics members of the "Crépuscule des Damnés", these parties take place in the heart of Paris and are a good alternative to St-Sab, with a rockier music and sometimes artistic performances. Le Klub: Right in the heart of Paris, le Klub has two floors;
one, very nice, for batcave addicts while the other (with a disco
feeling...) is using for electro and industrial musics. The mood is okay
and there usualy a lot of people wich is not always a good thing as the
place is quite small. La Loco:
Blackdog: Restaurant bar, more metal than really goth, but with a rather
pleasing dark atmosphere. Walls stream with black, and BeetleJuice like
chairs bend in high. A T-Fighter even found refuge in a corner! Also
try the south american food in the restaurant part. Dr Feelgood: Located just by the Blackdog, this new spot is specialised in rock and metal music, with live gigs every weeks. The dark paint mixed with red and green neons make it looks like some kind of cool US biker bar. Le dernier bar avant la fin du monde: You'll find in this new space a wall covered with lovecraftian's incantations, a library full of fantasy books and boardgames to use at will, but also starwars cocktails, mana potions etc. The underground is a very cool Tron like room and sometime displays arts or events. Without a doubt it's THE place to be if you like geek-related subjects. La Cantada: Very nice metal/indus/punk bar, with an underground
philosophy; everyone is welcome, there's good, original drinks
(absinthe and medieval beer!) but also spooky expos, artistic
shows, strange movies etc. A must see! Piano-Vache: It's a little bar, near by the Pantheon, dwelled during the week buy students, and morph every wenesday into a gothic hideout. Very good musical program, and the tv plays all evening long videos more or less goth. Les Furieux: It's a bar close to Bastille, which plays dark/indus every
wenesday evening. The metalic decoration, the dark red colour and
the spooky painting attract many spooky kids, especially before a party
at St-Sab, wich is a few streets away.
Flibustier: A pirate-themed shop where you'll find jewelries carved with skulls (and sometimes tentacles). Good quality, everything is homemade in France and therefor you can customize some parts (color, metal, stone...) or even ask for a text to be engraved. Grouft: L'indien: Three shops with all the goth/steam/cyber/punk/rock styles you may wants... often quite cheap. The fact that several others geeky shops (comics, cosplay, roleplay etc.) are in this street and the underground bar Le Furieux at the corner makes this zone a big parisian hub. Soulfetish: High quality jewels and leather. If you like to ride, they also design their own Harley-Davidson merchandises. New Rock Paris: After some years in torpor, Paris once again has an official New Rock seller ! Located in the Keller's gothic hub, you'll find there dozens of shoes models but also bags, bracelets, shirts and even couch right from the spanish brand workshop. Harajuku: For gothic-lolita's fanatics. You'll find maid outfits, princess dress, dark/kawaii trinkets etc. even sometimes cosplay events. Edemonium: A real cabinet of spooky curiosities with strange skulls, cthulhish statues and others mysterious flasks! Despite being small, you shouldn't miss this shop, as lots of works there are originals that can't be find elsewhere. Edemonium Bijoux: The tiniest gothic shop you'll ever find in Paris! Specialised into rings, bracelets and other dark jewelries. Several homemade and unique models at a very reasonable price. Boys loove girl: Alike the Grouft with maybe a bit more choice (especially for pants, belts and bracelets) and quieter despite the 200 meters that separate the shops. Darkland: (dissection in progress...) Voriagh: Parisian brand of gothic-chic prêt-à-porter, made in France. Gavilane: Luxury and spooky jewellery; You'll find there awesome pendants, brooches and earings with skulls or spiders patern. It's all pure silver, jade and onyx, everything is made in France so expect 100 to 3000 euros accorting to the (unique) piece. Black Lotus: "Fetish-cyber-goth clothes with strong personality". Official Skintight reseller, this shop opened in 2008 and hold regular artistic exhibitions.
Black Norns: Sweet victorian looking shop with a small but varied choice (goth/cyber/lolita etc) and uniques creations. Also there is sometimes art exhibition in it. Théatr'Hall: Doc Martens: One of the rare official boutique and the best way to avoid fakes anywhere else. Be warned that for a few years now, most of these shoes are made not in England but in sweat-shops. Voltage: Probably the last parisian disc shop specialised in metal music. From Black Sabbath's bootlegs to your last norvegian doom release, they have them all. La Mandragore: Three tiny little shops for lovers of celtic mythology. Figurines and jewels representing fairies, imps and other leprechauns can be found there. Dèmonia: THE fetish dungeon of Paris, for all your BSDM's fantasies ^^ Album: Same theme as Arkham, but with a movie section in add where you can find books about goths, Giger, Tim Burton, about movies with giant bats from outer space, etc. Librarie du Graal: Esoteric bookshop for more than 30 years. Lots of old and mysterious secrets sleep here ! Repliqua: You can find there remake of medieval shields, armors, swords and so on. Good price and quality for every Lord of the Rings addicts. Il Campiello: Venicians art, especially beautiful masks but also maps and clothes. If you walk there, take some times to enjoy the old streets all around. V.O. Boutik: Small shop with neo-romantique cloths. L'Antre Monde: More than a bookshop with esoterism, erotic and uchronian thematics, this place (near the Pere Lachaise cimetary) is a true hub for Underground's lovers, with it art galery and even a rocking-chair for extra hospitality value. Rocket 34: Cyberdog seller as well as others electro-goth brands. Oeuf Cube: Role playing shop with lots of books, old or recent, written in french or in english. They also sell trading card games such as V:TES or Werewolf. There are others shops of that kind in the quarter, but a worth seeing is the shop Descartes, rue des écoles, where you'll find board games.
Place de la rue des Barres: Very calm place having kept a medieval
mood; Around a small paved place, a church, an old "auberge de
jeunesse" with visible beams, a dwelling entirely covered with
ivy, nearly no noise from the traffic... And to enjoy the whole, a tiny
tearoom ideally placed! A must see. Père Lachaise's cemetery: The best is to enter by the back door, the artist entrance, and to get lost quickly in the maze that is the Pèere Lachaise. There are mostly little chapels, typically 19th century like, and terribly gothic. Try to get a t the top, not to follow the drawn paths, and to enjoy the astonishing trees, and more importantly, to run away from the crowd. The catacombes: The part allowed to visits is spooky but quite small. It's better to go and explore the other part but for that you'll need someone who knows the maze; Also mind that illegal exploration by night can be very dangerous (with the real risk to get lost within the kilometres of underground galleries or to meet some lovecraftian cultists or even worst: a human being). Montparnasse's cemetery: Not as wild as the Père Lachaise, the cimetière Montparnasse is still worth beeing seen for all the excentrico-gothic tombs and its typically parisian atmosphere.
Le manoir de Paris: From the Phantom of the Opera to the Medicis serial killer, discover the darkest legends from Paris with this sophisticate ghosthouse. The museum of Vampires: "My name is Jacques Sirgent. Trust me and entrust me with a short moment of your time and let me guide you, in english and french through the premises of what is Le Musée des Vampires. As Dracula once said: leave some of the happinness you bring, but take the friendship and memories I offer you, for life..." Mysteries of Paris: Ghost & haunted places, theatre of the vampire, history of absinthe, gargoyles... This original book & tour will be revealed in Spring 2009 ! Shakespeare & Co: A fabulous place, and so british too, built for lovers of old books. It's an Anglo-Saxon book shop (even if you'll be able to find books in other languages) and surreal: stairs build on books, the walls are made of books, and racks look like they are going to crack under the books weight. On the first floor, sofas are there to welcome you and rest while reading some XVIIIth century's poetry or an essay about sorcery: A must seen! Studio Galande: A movie theater in the heart of the Latin quarter, which plays for years now and every week the cultissime The Rocky Horror Picture Show with actors on the scene : a delirious show! Disadvised to all who prefer to see a movie in silence. By the way if you have not seen this movie already expect to see... hmmm expect to see something very special. Paris Zombie: Every year for Halloween, the biggest Undead Union leads this big event where thousands of zombies gather in search of blood: come with your own make up for extra fun ! (Check the website, the walk is usualy a saturday in October) Vidéosphère: One of the last, true, parisian videoclub; Especialy interesting as you may find there lots of underground, very old and/or foreign movies, be it on videotapes, DVDs or Bluray. |
