One of the most romantic places to dance Argentine tango in Europe is on the bank of the river Seine.

There is a regular tango milonga on the left bank of the Seine, in the Tino Rossi Garden, with a full view of the Seine itself, Pont du Sully bridge, Pont d'Austerlitz bridge, and the Saint-Louis island. The onlookers from the opposite bank, as well as the passing by boats, get an up-close view of how Argentine tango is danced by its aficionados.

The park itself is named after Tino Rossi, a famous French singer from the early 20th century, who recorded hundreds of songs and starred in over twenty movies. Among the songs he recorded, there were plenty of tangos, as well.

If one was forced to name a single best tango location or milonga in Paris, it would be Le Chantier in Montreuil, on the outskirt of Paris.

Le Chantier is a tango staple in Paris, home to several milongas — Le Balbutiant (a Thursday milonga), Comme Il Faut (a seemingly rare Friday milonga), and Le Chantier (a Saturday all-nighter). Generally, if one has to spend only one night dancing tango in Paris, it is Le Chantier that is most frequently recommended.

The venue features a nice hallway entrance with coat check, a bar, a well-sized floor, a cozy atmosphere and lighting, reasonable seating, and a patio for getting some fresh air or enjoying a smoke.

It is somewhat a tradition to spend all night at Le Chantier, and then, as the dawn breaks, enjoy fresh pastry and light breakfast with the rest of the survivors.

Warsaw's milonga Comme Il Faut is arguably the best hidden milonga in the city. One has to find a little shopping building, find its rear entrance, enter the Coco de Oro bar, go through it, find a door to a lowered hallway leading to some dead end, and find the actual room with tango dancing behind the door at the end of that hallway. The room is lowered even more, giving a funny new meaning to the term “underground milonga.” The hours of operation are also somewhat strange — it starts at daylight and finishes when another milonga could just be starting. Not that any daylight can make it into the dancing space.

And yet, despite its lack of grandeur and strangeness, Comme Il Faut is one of the staples of Warsaw tango scene, frequented by some of the best tango dancers in Warsaw. It is difficult to explain why, but, apparently, Comme Il Faut combines just the right ingredients for a few hours of high quality dancing and escaping the routine.

Over the years, Comme Il Faut (or Coco, as the regulars like to shorten the bar name) has welcomed numerous guests — from tourists to visiting maestros to world champions.

While it is difficult to pinpoint “the best” milonga in Warsaw, Comme Il Faut is definitely a contender.