Le Bethel is a bar inside a church. The entrance is an unmarked doorway in the far right corner of the Eglise du Gesu in Vieux Nice; a corridor from the former 18th century Jesuit college leads to an open air patio where volunteers pour drinks on summer Saturday nights.
France 3 covered it with the headline question: sacrilege, or a secret passage to paradise. Father Frederic Sanges of the Nice diocese created it as a different way to welcome people in.
Every euro goes to the restoration of the church. That is the whole business model.
A sheltered stone patio behind the nave, strung with mismatched furniture and what Nice City Life calls a grunge collection of found objects.
Curious locals who heard the rumor, parish volunteers, and old town wanderers who followed the right doorway.
Nice Presse reported steady Saturday crowds since opening; the patio caps the numbers naturally.
Find the Eglise du Gesu on Rue Droite's southern stretch, enter the nave, and look for the doorway at the far right. Summer Saturdays, 7pm to 11pm.
Pair with Snug and Cellar around the corner on Rue Droite when the patio closes at 11.
What to order
- 01
A glass of local wine
- 02
Saturday morning coffee
- 03
Whatever the volunteers pour