Mix Club

Montparnasse - 14eme, Paris –

Anyone hunting down college-aged clubbers in Paris will routinely find about two thousand of them at Mix Club on Thursdays, when international students get free entry before midnight.

Located at the base of the Montparnasse Tower, this self-described temple to house probably has enough flashing lights to give its pretty and always raucous young regulars a fake tan, with blinding strobes exploding off the ceiling and entire walls of LEDs that definitely put the “electronic” in electronica.

Considering the bar is packed whenever it’s open, it’s not unusual to find lines of eager patrons suffering twenty-minute waits outside, especially before midnight when the cover charge bumps up to €15.

Those who make it inside are met with velvet red carpets and quick access to a large VIP area for the bottle service-inclined, while the plebian party-masses glide down a stairway toward the huge main dance floor.

Smoke clouds, disco balls, elevated platforms, and laser lights promise a high-energy scene, as do the ever-present, ever-lovely house dancers and a regular lineup of international DJs who spin lots of house and techno, Latino mixes, rock, and even some metal depending on the night.

Early arrivals may be able to stake their claims for a section of the floor, but both the music and the crowds usually don’t get going until well after midnight, when Mix Club clearly seeks to recreate a little bit of Ibiza in Montparnasse.