Happy hours, big screens and French flair – Paris rocks when it comes to sports bars
You don’t have to trawl the boulevards of Paris to track down the best bars to watch football in the French capital.
On either side of the Seine, in tourist-friendly arrondissements of the 5th and 6th, in edgier eastern Paris and in a particular hub around place de Clichy straddling the 9th and the 18th, you’ll find plenty of sport-focused pubs and bars appealing to a global clientele.
The city’s significant Moroccan, Portuguese and Brazilian communities will always be out in numbers, watching, celebrating and/or commiserating during big tournaments, along with the numerous Brit expats and visitors of every stripe.
Long-established local chains such as the FrogPubs, O’Sullivans and Corcoran’s always fill for international rugby weekends, a major fixture on the calendar. Another common feature are long happy hours, offsetting hefty bar prices by a euro or two.
With the successful Olympics now a golden memory, Paris can get back into its regular rhythm of welcoming major European teams, and their followers, for PSG’s runs in the Champions League.
At the same time, with Mbappé, Messi and Neymar no longer illuminating the City of Light, local clubs not so far down the pecking order such as Paris FC, Red Star can share some of the spotlight. Even venerable Racing aren’t so shabby these days.
You’ll find a bar or two near all of them, though you’ll be hard pushed to find better than atmospheric L’Olympic de Saint Ouen, haunt of followers of Red Star and like-minded clubs Dulwich Hamlet and Altona 93, who make a pilgrimage to this workaday quarter on the wrong side of the Périph.
1 the pub
Opened in September 2023, The Pub is cresting the new wave of sport-friendly, Anglo-style hostelries in the French capital. Replacing its Caledonian predecessor, Pure Malt, close to Saint-Paul métro in the Marais, this joint expat venture feels as refreshing as Gallic drinks it serves. Artisanal beers come from Brasserie La Française sourced from Noisy-le-Grand near Paris, natural wines from family-run vineyards across France.
Within a cosy, lived-in interior, large screens beam sports action, Brazilian futebol getting a look-in when time difference permits thanks to regular gatherings of the city’s Fluminense fraternity. Open-mic and quiz nights are also programmed, football-related art and shirts exhibited, and prizes given for beer pong.
Closed Mondays and Tuesdays but Champions League nights might affect this schedule. Note also earlier opening on Saturdays before kick-off whistles sound at 3pm across the Channel.
The Pub, 4 rue Caron, 75004 Paris. Open Wed-Thur 4.30pm-midnight, Fri 4.30pm-1am, Sat 3.45pm-1am, Sun 2pm-midnight.
2 Lush bar
Not to be confused with the Rush Bar (see below), which can be considered a not-so-distant cousin, the Lush Bar is equally sport-focused but has since developed a stronger Liverpool connection. As if the groovy layout and eccentrically intriguing bas-relief mural outside weren’t enough, loyalty to the Liver Bird allows the Lush Bar to stand out from the many expat-friendly, match-screening options the other side of place de Clichy a short walk away – the Harp Bar, Coq & Bulldog and The French Flair are also included in this selection.
This particular pub irlandais has clocked up the best part of a quarter-century of service, offering its own-brand Lush lager, rotating IPAs, ciders and craft beers. Food is kept to bar snacks, krispy chicken in various sauces and pizzaninis at weekends. Friendly staff blend in with the laid-back ambience, enmity reserved for the old-school dartboard.
Lush Bar, 16 rue des Dames, 75017 Paris. Open daily 5pm-2am.
3 Rush bar
Originally set up as a homage to the LFC legend of the same name, the Rush Bar sits on sleepy rue Saint-Sébastien, between two main boulevards in the 11th. Thanks to its street-corner location, this actually looks like an English pub, although its status as a Liverpool stronghold has been somewhat diluted these days, venues such as the Lush (see above) and the Kop Bars (see below) challenging for the No.9 shirt.
The Rush Bar remains firmly sport-focused, however, with four screens and a friendly staff eager to find the game you’re after if available. In between channel surfing and serving quality burgers, they pour an excellent Guinness and, a rarity in Paris, pints of Grolsch. Daytime opening hours mean they also offer set lunches, chalked up on a board outside. While you’re waiting for kick-off, there’s a pool table downstairs. Recommended.
Rush Bar, 32 rue Saint-Sébastien, 75011 Paris. Open Mon-Sat 11am-2am, Sun 11am-midnight.
4 Coq & bulldog
Embracing sporting cultures either side of the Channel, the Coq & Bulldog is personified by its owner, Sasha, French by name, partly French by parentage, and Lancastrian by accent and football passion. As the Argentines say, you can’t change your mother or your football team, and amiable, French-speaking Sasha grew up among the families of famous BFC players of the 1970s. That’s Sasha’s claret scarf hanging proudly behind the bar. (Also, if you’re passing, Sasha might appreciate adding to his collection of street signs denoting your club’s ground.)
An inveterate European traveller, Sasha paid his dues in various pubs around Paris before opening this cosy corner spot back in 2011. Around a dozen football-friendly hostelries proliferate the pavements a corner-kick from place de Clichy – somewhat tucked away, the Coq tends to attract loyal regulars rather than passing tourist trade.
Which is not to say that random footfall doesn’t happen, particularly during big tournaments, when bar space is at a premium and half-time chatter continues outside. During the regular season, a Premier League game plays on one large screen and a European one on the other, with the bar and Sasha and/or his Gallic colleague in between.
Coq & Bulldog, 64 rue de Clichy, 75009 Paris. Open daily 5pm-2am.
5 the harp bar
If there’s one bar to head for in Paris to watch the match, it’s The Harp. The only downside is that this cosy cabin between Blanche and place de Clichy métro stations has limited space, so arriving early (it opens at 5pm) is paramount on big-match nights.
The spotlight is very firmly on sport, shown amid the flags and scarves covering every inch of wall and ceiling, with rugby as favoured as football. During happy hour (5pm-8pm), the house lager, Brooklyn IPA and Palm Royale beers run a little cheaper, a long list of bottled selections, too.
A concise bar menu hits the spot – most are happy to order a bowl of chips and sit out on the terrace, amid Parisian boulevard bustle a few steps from the Moulin Rouge.
The Harp, 118 boulevard de Clichy, 75018 Paris. Open Mon-Fri 5pm-2am, Sat-Sun 2pm-2am.
6 The hideout Paris
Five minutes from the Eurostar terminal at the Gare du Nord, The Hideout straddles the Channel with its lived-in pub interior and French ambience. Behind a classic Parisian terrace of wicker chairs and bustle, an old-school saloon houses a lively bar counter lined with draught options – Newcastle Brown, Belgian Hapkin and Alsatian Mützig – that also reflect a Eurostar dynamic. Guinness is a given, of course, as are match screenings.
The bar food of croque monsieurs and charcuterie platters is mainly Gallic, alongside six burger varieties. Hot drinks are served until 5pm, including chocolate, wine and that winter classic, rum-based grog. Happy hours then come into force on a daily basis.
The Hideout Paris, 8 boulevard de Denain, 75010 Paris. Open Mon-Fri 9am-2am, Sat-Sun noon-2am.
7 The French flair
To watch the game with French football followers rather than Brit or Celtic ones, this large bar in the Clichy pub hub is the place to come. The name is something of a misnomer – there’s nothing French about the décor at all, the walls done out with Pistols and Floyd album covers, and sporting iconography from pre-war Britain. So far, Fulham.
Where FF does come up trumps is in its obscure draught beers – St Idesbald from Koksijde, L’Iloise from St Agulin – and superior platters, fine charcuterie served instead of inferior fish ‘n’ chips. Le rugby gets more of a look-in than le foot, but big games are always screened, while DJs spin recherché tunes till 5am on Fridays and Saturdays without subjecting you to Come On Eileen.
The bar doesn’t turn its nose up at the provision of happy hour, however, between 5pm-8pm, when lager goes for €4.50 a pint and cocktails for €5. There’s a back room to crack away at a few games of pool.
The French Flair, 75 bis boulevard de Clichy, 75009 Paris. Open Mon-Thur 5pm-2am, Fri 5pm-5am, Sat 2pm-5am, Sun 2pm-2am.
8 galway irish pub
Diagonally opposite Notre-Dame, Le Galway differs greatly from the nearby tourist traps on this side of the Seine partly because of its prices – house beer is €4/€6 – but mainly thanks to its authenticity. It isn’t only the Guinness, Kilkenny and O’Hara’s, the Tayto crisps and snakebite on the drinks list, it’s the wooden counter and bar chairs that have stood the test of time.
Cosy yet somehow squeezing in nine screens for sport, this cavernous hostelry also programmes live entertainment four nights a week, including open mic Mondays. Boozeday Tuesdays are given over to tequila, so if you’re tying one on midweek, 5am closing might appeal. Hearty pub grub served.
Galway Irish Pub, 13 quai des Grands Augustins, 75006 Paris. Open Mon, Wed-Thur, Sun noon-2am, Tue, Fri-Sat noon-5am.
9 Belushi's Gare du nord
Maybe it was because that Belinda Carlisle song was playing on the radio, but one morning in a grey basement in Shepherd’s Bush, London W12, Franca Knowles decided that Live Your Life Be Free should be the motto for her hostel chain of Beds and Bars.
Thus was born a lifestyle concept of affordable but comfortable hostels, St Christopher’s Inns, and fun, sport-focused, standalone pubs, Belushi’s, attached to them, welcoming all-comers. Before Franca’s brainwave, Ron Knowles had opened his first pub in Holland Park in 1960, moving to the Goldhawk Road in the mod era and into Soho just after punk. Now there’s a Belushi’s off the Ramblas in Barcelona and one a pleasant stroll from Alexanderplatz in Berlin.
Here in Paris, budget-conscious travellers have the choice of staying by the Canal St-Martin or close to the Gare du Nord, where the sports bar is not only vast, it’s party central at weekends. Twofer deals and happy hours keep your visit affordable, and with 21 screens and a giant TV cube, you’re never too far from the action. Note that the bar entrance is not facing the somewhat sketchy street life across from the Gare du Nord, but down a pedestrianised spur of rue de Dunkerque off rue La Fayette.
The original Shepherd’s Bush outlet is still going strong, btw, a handy stop-off by the Tube station before heading up to see QPR struggle yet again in the Championship.
Belushi’s Gare du Nord, 5 rue de Dunkerque, 75010 Paris. Open daily 11am-2am.
10 kop bar
Dressed from head-to-toe in Liverpool red – not that the place is that big, mind – the Kop Bar differs from other soccer-centric hostelries in town partly because of its location. A tram stop from Porte de Clignancourt means that it’s very handy if you’re heading to Red Star, but off the radar if barhopping around the regular haunts of place de Clichy and the Left Bank.
Three framed montages of match tickets (remember them?) point to regular support across Europe, red flags neatly lined up in a row as if awaiting a military ceremony. In a back room, a huge Shankly mural awaits punters with open arms.
Busy for Liverpool games, of course, and random visits by pockets of LFC followers of often unusual provenance, the Kop lacks the post-work buzz of Paris during happy hour – meaning you’ll easily find a place at the bar early evening. Food is served during the day, the couscous will keep you sated until kick-off and way beyond.
Kop Bar, 123 boulevard Ney, 75018 Paris. Open daily 1pm-2am.
+1 aux sports
A corner of Paris that is forever Rennes, Aux Sports anchors a quiet junction of the featureless 15th, its fire-red façade and lively Breton banter a contrast to the grey streets surrounding it. Manning the half-moon bar counter that centrepieces the intimate interior will be a friendly, garrulous follower of Stade Rennais, talking football with the regulars and occasionally interrupting his near unbroken spiel to pour a glass of St Omer or sought-after, unfiltered Belgian Cuvée des Trolls.
Affordable lunches see the place busy by day, hungry customers too focused on their hearty fare to pay much attention to the walls entirely covered in SR iconography, flags, posters and photos. A Gwenn-ha-du flag also displayed indicates that all Bretons are welcome to join in the conversation, although derby matches broadcast on the TV over the door might polarise opinion somewhat.
Aux Sports, 2 rue des Morillons, 75015 Paris. Open Mon-Sat 10.30am-2am, Sun 2pm-midnight.
