Pubs in the wintertime... not so appealing, but necessary

Man, I hate pubs, especially in the winter.
I went to this pub near Goodge St Stn to meet Paula, Patricia and Michael. I got there early - as usual - and it was fucking crowded. And hot. And no empty seats available. So I had to stand at the counter for almost half hour waiting for them to come. They wouldn't come together but of course they all arrived at the same time. And all those English speaking and me not understanding them... got on my nerves big time.
I drained the first pint. Just like that. Fifteen minutes and half a liter was gone. It was warm and I don't like my beer warm. People laughing. I was hot. No, not like that, but literally, with my coat and scarf on and my huge heavy bag on my shoulder. I couldn't smoke at the counter and I had no other place to stand so I had the pint smoke-free. Not my cup of tea, you know?
Ugly people all around. The music was good, though, they even played 'Love Her Madly'.
Michael left soon, so it was only the girls.
We got the Northern line home, we would change at Stockwell. Man, that's the worst line ever. The train stopped for nearly ten minutes before Charing Cross and I was almost peeing in my pants, as usual.

The bitch about nightlife here is that everything is far away, cab is not an option, so you either go home by tube (and depending on the line you might face a no-more-service situation) or get on the night bus, which takes two hours from wherever you're coming from. The local pubs are a bitch as well, especially if your saying 'good-bye to the Brixton sun'...
Man, sometimes I'm so desperate to get home that I wouldn't mind taking a ride in the Black Maria...
But pubs are the only way to have a beer if you wanna see people, even if the ungly-impolite bastards.
Well, I'm having a beer at home right now, and sure miss the Grand Prix...

It turns out that my trip in March isn't gonna be that long, a week only. I'm thinking two places: Paris and Barcelona. Paris is a must, but what about the other place? I'd like some suggestions, please, but nothing in Germany because we're going in June.
Btw, you're invited, Ro!