Paris is in the top 3 of the best cities to party The French capital dethrones Berlin and imposed itself as the new queen of the night
It’s official: in addition to being a major fashion capital, a city with an incredible historical heritage, and one of the most beautiful metropolises in the world, Paris is also a star of the nightlife. According to Time Out and its 2025 ranking of the best cities in the world for partying, the City of Light is the 3rd best capital to go out and dance the night away. Created using responses from 18,000 night owls around the world and a jury of Time Out editors based in the various analyzed cities, Paris and its elegance—reflected even in its nightclubs—stand out. Ranked behind Las Vegas in first place and Madrid, Paris even surpasses Berlin, which has a global reputation for its techno nights, attracting thousands of visitors each year who come not to drink beer and taste schnitzel, but to party.
"Parisian nightlife is going through a new golden age", says Antoine Besse, restaurants and bars editor at Time Out Paris. "Queer collectives like La Créole, Divin0 and Le Bunker are lighting up the city with joyous, inclusive and intersectional parties where dancehall, perreo and afrobeats ring out, proving that techno no longer has a monopoly on the dancefloor. For all you BPM addicts, some exceptional new clubs have also sprung up this year, from the tiny, cutting-edge Essaim to the huge industrial temple that is Mia Mao. The city's northeast quarter can now boast the largest concentration of clubs in Europe – from La Station to Nexus, via Le Gore and Glazart – primed for non-stop 48-hour parties. No early nights here!" he continues. Objectively, Paris remains relatively expensive. In terms of affordability, it received the lowest score, with only 23% of respondents saying it’s cheap to party in the French capital. Yet ultimately, every cent spent is worth it, according to the respondents and 80% of locals.
It’s true that in recent years the City of Light has not only rediscovered its party spirit, but also learned how to harness and sell it properly. Since Covid, the capital and its nightlife have been reborn—unlike their London and Berlin counterparts, which despite their party reputations are struggling to recover, also hindered by the housing crisis. While these cities are forced to close even their most iconic venues, Paris, on the other hand, keeps opening new ones. Mega-clubs are springing up like daisies from south to north, even spreading into the suburbs, and they’re not limited to four concrete walls: between parks swarming with nighttime dancers and riverboats transformed into nightclubs, Paris is creative and resourceful. As for intra-muros clubs, their number has almost quadrupled in twelve years, rising from 44 in 2011 to 167 in 2023, according to the Paris Île-de-France Chamber of Commerce and Industry. And that’s not counting venues with a night permit—numbering 300 as of February 1, 2025, according to the Paris police prefecture—or the free parties, which gained renewed popularity during the 2020 pandemic. No wonder Paris is establishing itself as a rising nightlife power. Who knows, maybe next year it will even take first place in the ranking.
