3 a.m. - Rat Catchers

The store’s only open by day, but if you’re hankering after a little late-night taxidermy, fill your eyes at Julien Aurouze and Co. The exterminator’s shop-front clearly displays their expertise: dead rats dangle in the window and the sign above promises to destroy ‘harmful animals’. Open since 1872, the shop also featured in the Disney film Ratatouille.

Julien Aurouze and Co: www.aurouze.fr

3 a.m. - Dead Lock

If it’s dark and it’s late then it’s the perfect time to check out the Lock of the Dead on Canal Saint-Martin. Located near a Merovingian cemetery and the infamous Montfaucon gallows – where offenders were hanged in groups of sixteen and left to rot – if you close your eyes you may still catch a whiff of the scent of decay. In this café-packed area, though, it’s more likely to be last night’s dinner than what’s leftover on the gallows.

Les Écluses des Morts: Rue Louis Blanc on Canal St-Martin.

2 a.m. - Dance on Deck

For more than ten years, big red boat Batofar has been home to some of Paris’ best after-hours parties. With DJs spinning everything from experimental to techno, you can join the crowd on the dance-floor or hang around in one of the suspended hammocks on deck. Just watch where you spin or you might end up in the drink!

Batofar: www.batofar.org

1 a.m. - Oyster Aphrodisiac

If you need something extra to get going for the night ahead, you can’t go wrong with oysters from Au Rocher de Cancale. Located on the site of a former oyster market and open since
1846 – a time when Parisians were consuming six million dozen oysters each year – the restaurant was a favourite of literary giant Balzac and the street itself was immortalised
in an 1878 painting by Claude Monet. Polish off some sea creatures and take a stroll through history.

Au Rocher de Cancale: www.aurocherdecancale.fr