Bastille moves fast. By day, the July Column anchors traffic and the Opéra Bastille hosts rehearsals behind glass. By night, Rue de la Roquette and Rue de Lappe fill with students, bartenders off shift, and anyone chasing a late closing time.
Expect pubs, mezcal bars, tiny clubs, and streets where people drink standing up in clusters under heat lamps. The Canal Saint-Martin entrance near Arsenal softens the edge with houseboats and joggers. Food runs from casual crêperies to inventive neo-bistros that take reservations seriously.
Bastille is where you start the night without knowing where you’ll end it. Keep small change for coat checks, expect loud conversations spilling into the street, and follow the locals when they peel off down quieter side lanes—you’ll likely find a better glass of wine and fewer tourists.