Tania Club Paris

Le Tania
43 rue de Ponthieu, 8th
M° Champs-Elysées Clémenceau

Open Mon-Sat 11pm-5am. No entry fee.

I passed the entrance to this club many times, since it's on a street lined with many other night spots (Neo, Le Sens, Régine's, Pink Paradise, Mathi's) but had never bothered to peek inside until last week. Like many popular watering holes around the Champs-Elysées, Le Tania used to be a "gentlemen's club". And like Paris-Paris and Le Baron, the new owners (since 2006) thought it would be a great (and les expensive) idea to keep the old decor. So outside the door you'll still see the "Ambience Slave" sign, and inside you'll still find the lower level dance floor surrounded by mirrors and fuzzy black walls covered in sparkles.

But this is no longer a gentleman's club, of course. The average age now is probably 25, a stylish gang of jeunesse dorée blowing their entire weekly allowance on cocktails in the upstairs bar and dancing enthusiastically in the teeny-tiny dance floor (the mirrors really don't make it feel any bigger).

This sounds absolutely whiney, but I actually had a good time. I arrived at about 2am with a young Frenchman in tow as my guinea pig, er, research assistant. There is no "list", so you just have to wait and hope you pass muster.  The guys next to us were turned away by the bouncer with a typical, "If we don't know you, you can't come in." Then a dapper young gentleman in a bow tie came out and asked us if it was our first visit, and then gave us the nod to go in.

Drinks are approximately €10, music is a mix of French and Anglo rock hits from the 80s and 90s on "Cabaret" night. There's also a popular quiz on Mondays called Blindtest (www.blindtest.net). The atmosphere is quite fun, if a bit like a school party. Some say it becomes a bit "libertine" in the wee hours, but I didn't stick around long enough to see anyone disrobe. A suivre...