Rue Oberkampf is a great place for Bobos...its atmosphere and ambience are fun, bohemian, laid back and lively.

But what exactly is a Bobo?  Be sure to check out our article on Bobos if you’re not sure.  In short: if you want the coolest and most laid back places to go out in Paris, places that won’t completely break the bank, then you want to snoop out where  the Bobos are (A Bourgeois-Bohemian (Bourgeois-Bohême) = Bobo), and even better, where the traditional Bohemians are hanging out...as the place where the Bohemians are currently chillin' isn’t likely to transform into a unaffordable-snob-joint for many years to come...though those very fashion people do sniff it out and invade the Bohemian/Bobo places eventually.

Rue Oberkampf is a very BoBo location. 5 years ago it was the latest Bohemian hang-out, and has slowly started to transform. That said, it’s still somewhere between Bohemian and Bobo at this point; and it has some of the coolest bars I’ve seen in Paris.  Considering that on Nuit Blanche a ton of urban street artists converged onto Oberkampf to decorate the streets in their stencils and graffiti I would have to say that Oberkampf is still pretty bohemian...at least in my opinion.   Its atmosphere and ambience are fun, laid back and lively. And best of all the prices aren’t too bad and you meet really cool down-to-earth people (unlike places such as on the Champs-Elysees).   But some local Parisian-Bobos reported to me that Oberkampf is getting more and more crowded with Suburbanites now, and starting to lose its authentic Paris-Bohemian feel. So catch it before it changes!

A couple streets over from Rue Oberkampf is the Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud. It also has a lot of cool bars, but has a definitely more authentic Bohemian atmosphere to it. It’s said the Bohemians are now moving over there to get away from the non-local Suburanites that have begun to take over Rue Oberkampf.  I went to check it out, and upon looking around I could start to see the difference in the general style and demeanor of the crowds there; though not as well as a local Parisian might be able to. The bars are more student-bohemian style, and we even came across a really cool literary bar that certainly didn’t exist over on Oberkampf.  Yet overall, I thought both locations were pretty chill and similar in style.

Not long ago there used to be only factories and small cheap cafes on Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, but now it has been transforming due to the incoming Bohemians.  For a local Parisian, whether Bohemian, Bobo, Snob or other,  a tourist isn’t necessarily your run-of-the-mill American coming to town.  For local Parisians, a tourist is the middle-class Suburbanites that come from the suburbs outside Paris to hang in places like Oberkampf. These Suburbanites are often viewed by the down-town Parisins and Bobos as non-locals...as infiltrators. The local Parisian bohemians see this as an invasion on their cool places to hang...so they move to new places when this starts to occur.

I found it interesting that for me a tourist is a foreigner, a non-French.  But for local Parisians, there are those kinds of tourists (Americans, etc), sure, but they would never be found at places like Oberkampf or Jean-Pierre Timbaud, and therefore Parisians can easily avoid them if they want to. Instead, for local Parisians, tourists were non-Parisians, or Suburbanites.  According to my self-proclaimed-Bobo-friend all the Bobos apparently find it harder to avoid the Suburbanites as these “Bobo-wanna-bes” follow the Bohemians or Bobos around trying to find the cool places to get a drink at a decent price.   Sounds like a turf war to me.

I imagine in 5 years Oberkampf will slowly get turned over into the latest ‘very fashion’ place to hang, and the drink prices will soar to the cost of a heart-transplant surgery and the bars will be filled with the snobs that Bohemians and Bobos alike detest.  But for now, Rue Oberkampf and Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud both seem like really cool places to hang out, and I personally had a harder time telling the difference between them or the crowds at each. I guess you have to be a true native-born local to really see that.

Getting there and where to go:

Take the Paris metro to Permentier, or to Oberkampf or St. Maur. 

I would like to list all the cool bars that there are in this area to go to...but frankly the list would be far too long.  The best advice I can give you is to catch the metro to either Oberkampf, or Parmentier...and then just begin to walk up and down Rue Oberkampf and do a little bar-crawl yourself to find the places that best suit you. About 90% of the bars have some kind of happy hour from 5:30-7:30 or 8pm.  Sometimes that’s just wine and beer, and at other places it includes some cocktails like Mojitos. 

There are all types and genres of bars and clubs here, and you’re bound to find a few that fit perfectly for your style by just gadding about Rue Oberkampf.  Then when you’re board of that street just head a bit north to Rue Jean Pierre Timbaud and check out that scene. 

That said: I will list a couple of my most favorite places for you, or venues that have some kind of unique theme or benefit...and believe me...while this list is long it’s only a few of the places that you can go to in this area:

Mecano Bar, 99 Rue Oberkampf. Tel: 01 40 21 35 28

A very cool place with nice ambiance.  Recently renovated, the Mecano is large with plenty of room for large groups.

Les Abats Jour à Coudre.  115 Rue Oberkampf. Tel : 06 16 24 08 54

This cool little student dive can also be rented for parties.

2Steps Cafe. 117 Rue Saint-Maur, 75011.  Tel: 01 43 57 11 38 or 06 22 78 00 70

Here is another hip little disco style place that you can rent out for birthdays, parties and other occasions.  It can hold up to 40 people. It costs 20 euros per person, and that includes 2 cocktails.  5 euros more per person and they cater a buffet as well.

L’Orange Mecanique. 72 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud. 

The name clearly states the style of this bar, as any place called Clockwork Orange MUST be as bohemian as you can possible get.  This hipster bar also happens to have Wifi so that you can bring your lap-top earlier in the day and hang out. 

Au Cabaret: Bar a Rhum. 115 Rue St. Maur. www.myspace.com/princesskshu

This place has DJ who frequent it putting out cool tunes, and on the last Saturday of every month they have a reggae Latino and ‘Sweet grooves’ night starting at 9pm.

Sans-Gene Bar-Resto. 122 Rue Oberkampf.  www.sansgene.fr

A ‘presque traditional’ bar and cafe where you can get drink up at happy hour and get some tasty tapas.

La Lubie Bar-Resto. 104 Rue St. Maur.  Tel : 01 43 57 16 02.

At this cute little place you can hear a live piano player every single Thursday while sipping your kir or wine.

Bakara Loung. 61 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud. Tel : 01 48 07 17 04

A pretty cool ambience this place also hosts several very large tables to accommodate large groups.

Charbon. 109 Rue Oberkampf. Tel: 01 43 57 55 13.

This cool little swanky hipster bar can get a bit a smoky. Yet, without door seating and the smoking ban arriving this January it has a really nice atmosphere for a drink.

Blue Bayou and Billiard Club.  111, 113 Rue Saint-Maur. Tel : 01 43 55 87 21. www.bluebayouresto.com

This place took me by surprise. It’s a Louisiana Bayou style place complete with stuffed alligators hanging about. Completely traditional the entire interior is made of wood, and it apparently took 13 tons of tree trunks to outfit the place.  What cracked me up were all the ‘Route 66’ signs...except Route 66 didn’t go through Louisiana. Oh well. Nobody is perfect. ;) It is also huge, and if you wander back past the main area and bar up front you suddenly come to this huge room of two stories with more than 30 pool tables.  So, if you’re dying to play some pool and get some Cajun and Creole food, this is the place. Keep in mind this one point about this place, which anyone who has been there will attest to: the servers are complete jerks. As long as that doesn't bother you, and you're more for the ambiance than service, then you're likely to enjoy yourself. 

Cafe Place Verte. 105 Rue Oberkampf. Tel : 01 43 57 34 10

This cool little artsy place has a huge wall next to it that is in a constant state of urban-art flux. Located on a cool little small square the outdoor seating in the summer is very pleasant, and the Mojitos are great.

Chez Jusine. 96 Rue Oberkampf. Tel 01 43 57 44 03

This place has a great candle-lit atmosphere, and some of the seating are these really cozy cushy chairs that let you look out onto the street and people watch. The food is really good, and the Mojitos were fantastic...though it’s said that across the street at Cafe Place Verte the Mojitos are better.

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