L'Arc is not what I am looking for (and am sure you're not either): extremely show off and crappy music.
Haven't been to Les Bains Douches for years. Baron is a little bit washed up but still nice to go if you like to party in a 5sqm room. other clubs in that range include le Madam for instance.
Lately, I've been most enjoying going to bars in my dear city, so I guess that's all I can tell about nightclubs. oh, the Bus Palladium is a good one too.
Regarding places to act all lazy in summer afternoons I'd recommend:
- Jardin du Luxembourg. Don't forget to pay a visit to:
a) Patisserie Mulot (
http://www.gerard-mulot.com/ 76 rue de Seine): their orange/Cinnamon macaron is to die for. Forget LaDurée. Other delicacies I'd recommend would be the Amarylis (cake made of two macaron shell, filled with creme patissiere, raspberries and almonds mmmh)
b) Chocolate maker Patrick Roger (
http://www.patrickroger.com/en/index.php 108 boulevard Saint Germain): forget about Pierre Hermé. Best quality in town (IMO). His feuilleté noir will take you to heaven. (If you need confirmation on this, just ask Costi
)
c) all the art galeries down the rue de Seine and rue des Beaux arts
d) go have a drink at the bar of "L'Hotel", rue des beaux arts: really nice atmosphere and good cocktails.
- Canal Saint Martin: much more "parisian bobo" but the atmosphere is really nice. lots and lots of bars and restaurants, could not recommend one in particular. Hotel du Nord (after the famous movie) is nice. But just sitting by the canal to drink your beer is enough.
One great place next to the Canal Saint Martin is Café A (
http://www.parisbouge.com/articles/le-c ... parle-665/ 148 rue du faubourg Saint-Martin,), a former convent with the nicest terrace. You can also watch a show / party at the Point Ephemere (
http://www.pointephemere.org/ 200 quai de valmy) which has a really good music schedule - and a nice terrace.
- Go have a picnic in the parc de la Villette
- Go picnic in the Parc de Sceaux (outside of Paris)
Regarding bars, I mostly go out around where I live (9th, 18th arrondissement, Montmartre). You can find some really great bars in the Abbesses neighborhood (Pigalle), or in the 9th arrondissement in the rue des Martyrs. Nice restaurants there too. Go have a brunch at La Maison Mere (
http://lamaisonmere.fr/) and at the Hotel Amour (
http://www.hotelamourparis.fr/).
One place is either a total win or forgettable: Le Blue Note (
http://www.lebluenoteparis.com/ (14 rue Muller)). Last time I went there there was a band playing typical Ivory Coast music, with 99% of the attendance being guys from back home, dancing like crazy and with such happiness you couldn't do anything but go on the dancefloor and be the silly white man looking dumb trying to dance like the Black ones... they also serve the strongest Cuba Libre I've ever tasted. Other fun times can include chatting with the Burundi Ambassador's son about Black Flag and other punk bands...
Other places I'd go to are bars around the Cour des petites ecuries/rue du faubourg poissoniere. Will post names when they come back to my mind.
Oh, go have a brunch at the Mama shelter (
http://www.mamashelter.com/en/paris/food-drink/) really, really good one. Need to book early! On the other side of the street you have La Fleche d'Or, a former train station transformed into a concert place/ nightclub. Most of the time shows are free. Really worth a loo (
http://www.flechedor.fr/Accueil/ 102 rue de bagnolet).
All of this may not be "old fashioned" alas...