Top things to do in Paris — week of 30 March

End of March in Paris and the city is finally pretending it is spring. The terraces are filling up by 7, the clubs have stopped doing the winter line-ups, and there is a Wednesday public talk at Station F that is honestly the best free thing on the calendar this week.

If you would rather skim the calendar, the Paris this-week page has all of these listed already.

Monday: a quiet apéro in the 11th

The 11th has a few wine bars — Septime La Cave, Le Verre Volé, Aux Deux Amis — that are quietly the best Monday in the city. €6 a glass for something honest, a small plate of charcuterie for €8, you are home by 10. C'est ça.

Tuesday: a free reading at Shakespeare and Company

Shakespeare and Company is doing a Tuesday evening reading from a writer whose new novel got a long FT review last month. Free, the room holds about fifty, the Q&A is always the better half. Show up at 6.30 to get a seat.

Wednesday: Station F public talk

The headline midweek thing. A Mistral engineer and a Sifted journalist talking about European AI funding and where the next round of cheques are going. Free with RSVP, the wine afterwards is honest, and the room will be a mix of founders and a handful of VCs from the Place Vendôme side. Take the 14 to Olympiades.

Thursday: La Bellevilloise apéro

La Bellevilloise in the 20th is doing a Thursday apéro session — live band, decent wine list, the courtyard is open if the weather plays. Free entry, the food menu is small but the gnocchi is the call. Worth it.

Friday: a long dinner

I am leaving Friday off the headline list. Eat somewhere — Robert in the 11th, Le Servan, Frenchie, depending on what you can book — and save the legs for Saturday. Pas mal.

Saturday: Rex Club

The big one. €18 advance, doors at midnight, a line-up that is the strongest Rex has had since the new-year run. The cloakroom is €3, not €2 like the website says, just so you know.

If you cannot get into Rex, Concrete-as-was at Hangar Y has a Saturday for €14 with a smaller line-up that has been quietly good for two months.

Sunday: long brunch in the Marais

The Marais is the obvious move on a dry Sunday. Boot Café for the photo, Le Mary Celeste for a proper brunch, and a long walk along the Seine after. There is a Sunday afternoon session at La REcyclerie in the 18th if you want one more thing — €7, local DJs, the canal-side terrace is open.

A reminder that the Paris techno page has the line-ups already filtered if you want to plan ahead. It is alot less faff than the usual Resident Advisor scroll.

Saturday at Rex and Wednesday at Station F are the two I would book first. Thursday at La Bellevilloise if you want a free evening. Sunday is the long one. Voilà.