Where to have a drink in Arras?

Café, wine bar, estaminet, cocktail bar: who is who?

Behind the word « bar » lie, in Arras as elsewhere, several ways of welcoming guests. Telling them apart helps you aim right, depending on the hour of the day and the mood of the moment.

The square-side café

This is the versatile address par excellence, open from morning to night. You have a coffee at the counter before work, a quick lunch at midday, a drink on the terrace in the afternoon. On the two Arras squares, these cafés occupy the finest terraces under the arcades, facing the belfry. Atmosphere comes first, prices stay moderate, and you quickly feel at home, local or passing visitor alike.

The wine bar and cellar

More specialised, the wine bar puts the bottle at the centre. You taste by the glass, advised by the team, before sometimes leaving with a cuvée spotted on site. The dual role of cellar and wine bar lets you discover a wine before buying it. It is the go-to for enthusiasts and the curious, in a more hushed atmosphere than the lively terraces.

The estaminet and the board game bar

The estaminet is the traditional café of the North, warm and convivial, where people once gathered around old games. This spirit lives on today in board game bars, where hundreds of games wait to be borrowed, drink in hand. You come as a group, with family or with friends, for a moment of sharing more interactive than a simple round.

The cocktail bar

An evening address by nature, the cocktail bar takes care over the gesture and the measure. From the daiquiri to house creations, you come for the aperitif as much as to extend the night, in a more nocturnal atmosphere. In Arras, this format rounds out the square offer and is found notably over on the boulevard Faidherbe, near the station.

What you drink in Arras

The Arras drinking culture draws on a well-identified repertoire. Here are the essentials to spot, from morning to night, to truly taste the spirit of the North.

To these three pillars add many other pleasures. The grower's wine, tasted by the glass in wine bars, lets you travel across the French wine regions; the genever, that traditional Northern grain spirit, recalls the region's distilling history; local craft beers appeal to enthusiasts after novelty; and hot drinks, coffees and chocolates warm the terraces under the arcades in the shoulder seasons. Many addresses round out the glass with sharing boards, charcuterie and cheeses, for an aperitif with real backbone.

From the morning coffee to the last drink

An Arras bar lives to the rhythm of the hours and the seasons. Knowing this tempo helps you choose your moment, and enjoy each address when it is at its best.

Choosing your bar or café well

Not every address suits every occasion. Open these few pointers to find the spot that fits you.

Northern beers and wine bars

If people drink well in the bars of Arras, it is also because the region is a land of tradition. The Hauts-de-France is among the most dynamic brewing regions in France, heir to a long history of beer and genever.

This culture is found on the menus of Arras bars, where regional beers, blonde, amber, brown or craft, hold pride of place. The estaminet, that traditional Northern café, is its symbol, with its old games and its warm atmosphere carried on today by the board game bars. Alongside beer, wine also finds its ambassadors, in wine bars that showcase cuvées from independent growers, to enjoy by the glass or take away.

Choosing an address that works with the region's products or a fine wine selection means finding in the glass a little of the soul of the North and the Artois. It also means supporting brewers, growers and wine merchants who keep alive a culture of good drinking, far from standardised formats.

Your questions about bars and cafés in Arras