Vacation is a time where one can discover new things, ranging from art and history to bars and cocktails. This spring break, I ventured off to Paris for a firsthand glimpse of what this famous city might be able to offer.

My girlfriend, like many other Badgers, is studying abroad in Paris this semester. With my visit overseas in order, I saw this as an opportune time for some Bartime research. What can a city like Paris offer both the spring-breaker and the student abroad? It was time for some adventures.

Paris is an amazing city. You feel like a kid in a candy store with the dazzling array of bars that come in all shapes, styles, and sizes. Surprisingly, Paris is a very approachable city. In just a few days it is possible to scrape the nightlife surface and experience variety not found in Madison. You only need to watch your step.

One night on the subway, or “Métro” as it is called, we bumped into the cast of “The Real World,” which is currently filming in Paris. Let me just say that our adventuresome Badger colleagues overseas are making a name for themselves, and before we could say, “Hey ‘Real World,'” they were shouting, “What’s up, Wisconsin!”

The “Real World” scene is a vacuum I didn’t particularly want to get sucked into, and we parted paths at the next stop. Our destination was a quaint live music pub called Who’s Bar, located just a stone’s throw away from the famous Notre Dame cathedral.

The Who’s Bar is L-shaped, with a very small stage in the corner. The musicians always seem to play music you know the words to — ranging from classic rock to more recent favorites like Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, and Radiohead.

The audience is typically college-aged, international and friendly. Beer is the drink of choice — usually the blonde ale known as Kronenbourg, which happens to be France’s national beer. Since the music is familiar and the beer tasty, it isn’t long before everybody is singing along with the players on stage.

On an entirely different level in terms of stimulation is a popular club/bar called Barrio Latino. Located in a building designed by Gustav Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame), the theme is up-tempo Latin and South American beats. Matched by drinks from the same region, this joint is always jumping to people dancing salsa and meringue.

Paris has a number of bars fitting such a genre. Yet few can compete with the setting and reputation of Barrio Latino. Their DJs are world famous, and it is not hard to find mixed compilation CDs from the club at places like Amazon.com. The interior is also stunning, featuring four balconied levels overlooking the dance floor.

After a few twists and turns to the hot sounds, the bartenders put on their own show making drinks. Bottles are flying back and forth, and they try to impress even with the simplest of orders.

One of the most refreshing drinks is a Mojito, which is made with fresh mint leaves crushed in a glass with some sugar and mixed with lime juice and rum. Both sweet and sour, this drink can go down fast after heating things up on the dance floor.

Paris is also well known for its house music. House is the electronic variation of disco taken up to a level of roughly 120 beats per minute. At the ultra-hip bar Sanz Sans, patrons are in for a show beyond the DJ’s sounds.

Illuminating the bar are lights with cymbals for lampshades. In reaction to the music and the crowd, the bartenders will skillfully play the cymbals to the rhythm. While this might create the initial impression that the bar will be filled with nothing but banging noises, the bartenders seem to know when it is best to add the extra percussion. They also have to be coordinated enough not to accidentally hit any of the girls dancing on the bar — a frequent sight as the night moves on.

Deep inside Sanz Sans is a large room with a giant video screen of the customers near the front of the bar. This place has a see-and-be-seen quality but in a let-your-inhibitions-loose type of atmosphere. While the dress code is certainly not overly stylish, guests would be turned away for wearing tank tops or baseball caps.

Drinks at Sanz Sans are generously poured, something I found to be a bit of a rarity at other bars in Paris. The biggest difference in drinks as opposed to Madison is the absence of ice cubes. There is something unusual in a cocktail without the familiar “clink” sound in your glass.

Regardless of how you view the French, it is safe to say they have style and know how to live it up. If a night on the town in Paris doesn’t suit your mood, at least you can relax in your apartment with a good bottle of wine purchased for about $5 from the local supermarché.

While my trip might have been a brief voyage to fantasyland, our friends studying abroad are making the most of their extended tour.

Bartime will be at The Silver Dollar this weekend. The Silver Dollar is located at 117 West Mifflin St., near the new Overture Center. Cheers!