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I was very briefly in Paris last week for work. Not expecting any free time, I hadn't researched any beer destinations. Then I found I had three hours to kill at Gare du Nord.

I know a couple of things about Parisian cafés. Principally that they're hideously expensive. But there's one handy rule of thumb: any café in a prominent position on a main road is likely to be at the top end of the price scale. So I went for a wander around the smaller streets, hoping to find somewhere vaguely affordable.

I did better than I expected. Not only did I find a place with something drinkable on offer, the prices were about the same as Amsterdam. Just 5 euros for a Chimay Blue. I took more than 90 minutes to drink it. That's record. A slowness record.

It's a handy place to know if you're waiting for a train. It can't be more than 100 metres from Gare du Nord. And they've got half a dozen draught beers and a dozen or so bottled. Two of the draughts I've never heard of: Gothic and Record. (Turns out the former is a Kronenbourg brand, the latter a Pelforth one.) Duvel and all three Chimays are the highlights of the bottles.



A La Pinte du Nord
38 Rue de Saint-Quentin,
75010 Paris, France.
Tel.: 01 45 26 11 89


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