Bada Bar calls itself Lyon's first bar à rencontres — a chic libertine meeting bar on the quai Gailleton in the 2nd arrondissement, in the Perrache quarter along the Rhône. The format sits deliberately between a cocktail bar and a club libertin: the evening is built around the bar and the conversation, with intimate corners and a bathroom available for those who want to take things further — never an obligation, as the house puts it, always the desire.

It runs Tuesday through Saturday from 18:00 to 01:00 — early hours by libertine standards, which is the point: Bada Bar is the before, the place where couples and singles meet before the night decides itself. Entry was advertised at around €30 per couple, €10 for women and €50 for men when this page was written, each including a drink — confirmed at the door.

The house rules read like a manifesto: appropriate dress required, absolute discretion, a safe and secure setting, respect always. It is a natural companion to Bada Club, its full-scale sibling club in Dardilly on Lyon's north-west edge.

Browse our Lyon guide for the city's other libertine venues.