Casino de Paris

NileGuide Expert tip:

To find the Casino, walk down the open shuk from Jaffa Road. Take the first alleyway on the left, turn left again and you're there.

Description:

• Casino de Paris opened in its present incarnation as a lively bar in September 2011--but almost a hundred years ago, the same site was also a place of entertainment in Ottoman occupied Jerusalem.  Today, Casino de Paris is one of Jerusalem's most popular bar/cafes.  Once the merchants have closed their market stalls and the weary shoppers have traipsed home, a young crowd descends on the Machane Yehuda market to hang out and enjoy a drink and some kosher nosh at Casino de Paris.  The music isn't overwhelming and the bar is well stocked.  In the warmer months there's plenty of outside seating in the courtyard and a friendly vibe.
  
  Owner Eli Mizrachi, a longtime market booster, delights in telling visitors the history of the Casino.  Its heyday was during the last days of the British Mandate period in 1947-48 when the Casino de Paris was a favorite with British soldiers and their Jewish girlfriends.
  
  Closed for decades, the new Casino de Paris is a great place to relax with a drink and meet the locals.
  
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