The question: During the March break I will be travelling to Paris with my soon-to-be 16-year-old daughter. We have lots on the itinerary for our daytimes, but with the exception of taking in a ballet one evening, next to nothing in the evenings. Clearly clubbing isn't going to work for either of us! Suggestions?
TRAVEL CONCIERGE: This is the city that invented Nuit Blanche – the all-night arts and culture extravaganza – and that recently launched Nuits Capitales, five days of after-dark partying. So yes, there is much to do once the Eiffel Tower starts twinkling.
Heather Stimmler-Hall, who writes Secrets of Paris ( secretsofparis.com), an insiders' city guide, suggests checking out one of the atmospheric jazz clubs in Saint-Germain-des-Près.
Café Laurent, located in a French mansion-turned-hotel ( hoteldaubusson.com), has free jazz Thursday to Saturday nights, she says, and at the Caveau de la Huchette ( caveaudelahuchette.fr), there are "jazz, soul and swing concerts every night, followed by dancing, in a historic cellar dating back to the Knights Templar."
Or why not continue your cultural excursions with a visit to one of the museums? The Louvre ( louvre.fr) is open until 10 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday and the Palais de Tokyo ( palaisdetokyo.com) is open until midnight daily. If you would rather bond over well-displayed heels and handbags, wander some of the late-closing department stores, such as Galeries Lafayette ( www.galerieslafayette.com), with extended hours on Thursdays.
Or consider the big screen.
"I would suggest a movie in one of the many Parisian cinemas, such as La Pagode, a cinema in a real 19th-century pagoda," says Stimmler-Hall, who arrived in Paris a decade ago as a student. And finally, even if the glasses are plastic and the drinks overpriced, the Eiffel Tower's champagne bar ( www.tour-eiffel.fr) is open until 10 p.m., offering bubbly and sparkling views. There are times to be a tourist, and this sounds like a lovely mother-daughter moment to me.
E-mail your travel questions to concierge@globeandmail.com.
Karan Smith is a former Globe Travel editor. Special to The Globe and Mail