18th arrondissement

A trendy little bistro with a nice enclosed terrace, the Just BE named for owners Brigette and Elsa is a nice place to settle in for a couple of hours to watch people pass by on the lovely tree-lined rue Caulaincourt.

Run as part of the Laboratoire Multi-culturel populaire the Olympic Café is one of the few places in Paris where you can reliably find avant-garde jazz, making it at least spiritually a descendant of the club where the Art Ensemble of Chicago were resident for 5 years or so in the early '70s. In addition to jazz they book music from around the world especially Africa and the Caribbean.

A small venue which is decorated to resemble a 20s speakeasy but which none-the-less has hosted a range of musicians from local singers to major arena acts.