Where, oh where in Paris is the perfect Mojito to be found?

But where there's pastis, there's hope.

Sprinkled across the City of Light, tucked away in areas far from the well-worn, tourist trail are a growing number of trendy, young hangouts sexing up the capital's drinking scene.

The 11th

The Oberkampf area in the 11th arrondissement is bursting with a mish-mash of bars. A standout is Mange-Disque. Throbbing electronic music, contemporary art exhibitions and funky furniture attract a music-loving crowd who come to shimmy the night away, fuelled by the homegrown vintage.

"I had originally wanted to open a record shop but because my family produce wine I thought it'd be fun to have a place where people can drink, buy records and local artists could show their work," explained owner Hubert Plauzolles, whose family produce wine in the south-western Languedoc region.

At the back of the bar, music fans can flip through vinyl records or check out the latest exhibition.

The emphasis is on Plauzolles' family vintage, so only wine and beer are on the menu.

An international crowd squeezes nightly into this tiny, crimson-coloured bar, lured by its impressive cocktail list and equally alluring bar staff, which includes a former male model.

Mojito-drinking punters balance on red bar stools while the sound system pumps out new wave guitar bands like the Kaiser Chiefs and Arctic Monkeys.

The owners, Burkinan Kadi Traore and Englishman Ben Lethbridge, reflect the bar's cosmopolitan mix. They set it up a couple of years ago after working together at Lethbridge's first bar in the area, Zero Zero on Rue Amelot.

"It's hard to find a local bar that does a really good cocktail in Paris, so that's why we come here," said Nicole Gifford, a 26 year-old British jewellery-maker who moved to Paris five years ago.

"It's a cool place for girls too because it's not full of men trying to pick you up."

The 3rd

Those more open to a little French seduction can be found at La Perle in the 3rd arrondissement. The bar is a regular haunt of France's answer to Orlando Bloom, Russian Dolls actor Roman Duris, and brims with fashionistas during Fashion week.

A night at La Perle is not for the faint-hearted. It's hot, sweaty, noisy, perpetually smoky and packed with a bohemian crowd who would not look out of place on the set of an art-house movie. Everyone battles to capture the attention of the bar staff and, of course, each other.

"People don't come here for the way it looks," said manager Eric Bollaert gesturing towards the unremarkable, scruffy 1970s interior.

The 18th

If punters aren't packing out La Perle for its decor that's definitely not the case with one of the capital's coolest additions, the Ice Bar. As the name suggests, it's totally made of ice, right down to the cube-shaped glasses.

The 'Zen bubble' of the Ice Bar; coats and gloves distributed at the door

The bar is located in the hip Kube Hotel, on the outer limits of the city at Porte de la Chapelle. It's run by the crew behind the stylish Murano Urban Resort Hotel (11th) where Hollywood A-listers Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt recently stayed.

"You walk in and the combination of the cold, the music and the lighting gives people an almost other-worldly experience," said director Jérome Foucauld, who describes a stint at the Ice Bar as "being in a Zen bubble".

The 19th

If you need to come back down to earth after a trip to the Ice Bar then the canal-side Bar Ourcq is the perfect place to chill out.

Like the 18th, the 19th is a surprising location for one of the city's trendiest bars.

"When I set the bar up four years ago I couldn't afford to be in one of the more beautiful, up-market areas but this is actually a really charming spot," said owner Jérome Naccache.

In the summer, daytime drinkers hire pétanque sets to play under the trees or surf online thanks to a free wireless connection.

Nightfall brings an eclectic crowd from across the city who gather in the bright, urban-cool interior to listen to local DJs or share a cheap, over-the-counter meal.

"Look at this," Naccache said proudly. "How many places in Paris are there where you can have a drink outside next to the water. It's very beautiful, non?"

April 2006

Copyright AFP

Subject: Living in France, Paris bars