Bears Den, Paris

About Bears Den

A bear bar on Rue des Lombards, just over the edge of Le Marais near Châtelet, and one of the central gathering spots for Paris's bear community: bears, cubs, otters, daddies, and the people who like them. It works across three levels, a small street terrace and ground-floor bar up top, a mezzanine, and a stone cave-like cellar downstairs that turns into the dance and cruise area as the night gets later. The crowd is friendly, hairy, and unpretentious, an easygoing alternative to the more see-and-be-seen bars a few streets over in the Marais proper. It's a good first stop to settle into the evening with a drink before things pick up. Programming includes regular apéro evenings, a Sunday tea-dance, and karaoke nights through the back half of the week, so there's usually a reason to stay past the first round.