Panic Room

Bastille / Oberkampf - 11eme, Paris –

Judging from the black bare-bones entrance, it’s easy to mistake Panic Room for just another typical Paris dive – but as the local shaggy-haired crowd can attest, looks can be deceiving.

Once inside, patrons find a chill 80s-style watering hole where a quirky clash of bright pop art, pink walls, and colorful fabric stools forms a cheery backdrop for the chatty hipsters and international students stopping in for Happy Hour flutes of champagne.

As night draws on, casual young professionals sidle up to the illuminated stone bar to order specialty cocktails like the Year in Provence (made with white grapes) and Orange Mecanique (mango liqueur), and to try out their best pick-up lines on the local jeunes filles.

Music lovers and hipsters of all stripes slip past the hazy fumoir and down to the cavernous basement, whose curved ceiling, mirrored walls, and scattered sofas create a funky performance space where DJs or live indie bands rock everyone out.

Dominated by a free-spirited vibe backed up by the painted credo above the stage – n’ayez pas peur (don’t be afraid) – Panic Room is indeed the perfect hideout from all of life’s anxieties.