Top things to do in Paris — week of 13 April

Mid-April in Paris is the moment when the terraces officially win. The 18:00 apéro becomes the 21:00 dinner without anyone deciding it should. Plan accordingly.

I keep my list on Rifio because Paris event listings are fragmented across, je sais pas, eight different platforms. The Paris this-week page gets updated daily and the search is genuinely better than scrolling.

Monday: a quiet Marais

Monday is for a walk in the Marais, a galette at the place on rue Vieille-du-Temple, and an early night. The actual events calendar is thin. There is one English-speaking standup in the 10ème but I would not subject anyone to it.

Tuesday: Septime cave à manger walk-in

Septime proper is booked three weeks out. The cave next door — Septime La Cave — is walk-in, the wine list is the most honest in Paris, and the small plates are 8 to 14 euros. Go at 19:30 if you want a stool, 20:30 if you do not mind standing.

Wednesday: Clamato natural-wine pop-up

Clamato hosting two Loire producers for one night, walk-in, no reservation. The room is small, the bar will be insane by 20:00, and the producers will pour generously because they always do.

If you cannot get in, Bar à Vins Clamato does a Wednesday list that overlaps. Same family, same energy.

Thursday: startup salon, 11ème

This used to be the meetup that everyone made fun of. It has, somehow, become useful. New venue, half the room is from Mistral or one of its alumni companies, and the talks are kept to twenty minutes. Free, RSVP via Luma, fills up by Tuesday.

Friday: La Machine du Moulin Rouge

La Machine has the best Friday booking in the city this week and absolutely nobody is talking about it. 18 EUR door, doors at 23:00, the basement floor is the move. Definately better than the main floor unless you are specifically there for the headliner.

Saturday: Le Comptoir Général all afternoon

The garden bar reopens for the season. 17:00 is the right arrival time. Free entry, you pay for drinks, the room inside is one of the prettiest in the 10ème.

If you want a club night after, Bonne Mère in the 11ème is open until 04:00 and the door is friendlier than it has any right to be.

Sunday: brunch and a museum

Brunch at the place on rue de Charonne that does not take reservations and does not need to. Then a museum — the Bourse de Commerce currently has a show that everyone is talking about and they are right to.

Light Sunday. The week was full.

That is the list. Twelve things, one week, one Paris that is not the one in the guidebook. Save the ones you want on Rifio — the free events filter is genuinely useful for a Tuesday evening on a budget.