The best hotels, insider guides, spas + 275 more ideas for travel and Paris

When you think of Paris you think of art, architecture, cuisine, cafes and history.

Music is not necessarily at the top of the agenda, but, despite being spoilt for choice of nightlife in the UK, there’s plenty to tempt fans of good dance music on to the Eurostar.

Look beyond turgid europop, and you’ll find that France has spawned a host of the best electronic artists, from Daft Punk to Bob Sinclair, Justice and Laurent Garnier.

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Best for looks and location - SHOWCASE

Opened in 2007, this is one of the newest and coolest large clubs in Paris. On Thursdays and Fridays you’ll find up to 1500 well-heeled Parisians strutting their stuff to well-known international and local DJs.

Under the Pont Alexandre III bridge, between the Champs Elyssee and Les Invalides, the venue is stunning - all gleaming metalwork and cool curves in the toilets and bar area, superb lighting and large windows with views out to the river. The grandeur is perfectly offset by the stonework of the bridge arches.

It’s 2am and time for Chloe, who is fast becoming one of France's most famous DJs internationally, to take to the decks. She follows in the musical footsteps of techno legend and now jack of all electronic trades Laurent Garnier.

Sometimes known as Chloe from Paris, she retains an air of cool modesty on stage, working the room a with series of building electro tracks, jacking techno and some deeper, housier offerings which come together to climax in spaced out euphoric tunes. All worked seamlessly, fully exploiting the superb surround sound system, Chloe maximises crowd control.

Despite the electronic source of the music, there's a gallic flavour imbued by the sexy, organic weave epitomised by the productions of French artists like Garnier and Chloe herself.

Here, in the first venue of the long weekend, I get a sense of the French and their clubbing habits, as well as the cost. A vodka and mixer sets us back 10 euros. They‘re continental measures (i.e. doubles) but it's still steep and emphasises the dire exchange rate - what was around £7 for a double a few months ago, reasonable for a club, is now topping £10 after commission at the bureaux de change.

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