Call it fate, but there's something fitting about these two Parisian venues sitting side by side in this list. A converted boat full of intricate little nooks, cub holes and dark crannies, Le Batofar has also been a beacon for the alternative and the underground for almost 10 years.

And in the same way The Rex can claim a Parisian revolution in Laurent Garnier's Wake Up! parties, the city's underground owes much to Dan Ghenacia's Kwality after-hours that ran here every Sunday between 1998 and 2002. A cult retreat of deep hypnotic house, Kwality was the place where Ghenacia met future Freak 'N Chic label mates Shonky, Dyed Soundorom and :Terry:.

Now one of the scene's global icons, Ghenacia still holds a special place for Le Batofar's intimate enclaves and returns each summer for his Thursday night Freak 'N' Chic parties.

But much as Le Batofar has provided a vital outlet for the underground sound of Parisian house, its diverse programming has never been moored to one sound alone. You're as likely to hear soothing reggae basslines or high tempo Jamaican dancehall as you are 170bpm deathcore or the Brazilian nu-rave funk of CSS (Lovefoxx has DJed here before). Recent guests have ranged from Spirit Catcher, Greg Tresher and Zombie Nation to Warp's Tim Exile, Gilles Peterson, Benji B and Bonobo. Basically, if it's off the commercial radar, it's on the boat.