Lyon
Down in the Confluence neighbourhood, Lyon's most innovative club hosts DJs, live shows and eclectic arts events on its super-cool roof terrace atop a…
Must-see entertainment in France
Marseille
Fewer video shops would have gone the way of the dodo if they’d followed the lead of Videodrome 2: simultaneously a DVD rental shop, bar-bistro and tiny…
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Nantes
Within the one-time LU biscuit factory (crowned by an iconic angel-sculpted, domed tower, which you can ascend for €2), this industrial-chic lieu unique …
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Paris
A landmark addition to Paris' cultural offerings, La Seine Musicale opened on the Seine island of Île Seguin in 2017. Constructed of steel and glass, the…
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Marseille
This 45,000-sq-metre former tobacco factory is now a vibrant arts centre with a theatre, cinema, bar, bookshop, artists’ workshops, multimedia displays,…
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Montmartre & Northern Paris
Major complex the Cité de la Musique – Philharmonie de Paris hosts an eclectic range of concerts, from classical to North African and Japanese, in the…
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Paris
Paris' first piece of 'interactive architecture', this cultural cafe and concert venue was unveiled in 2018. Contemporary works of pixel art prance across…
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Latin Quarter
Café Universel hosts a brilliant array of live concerts with everything from bebop and Latin sounds to vocal jazz sessions (see its Facebook page for the…
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Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé
Paris
This striking cinema has a small exhibition devoted to the history of cinema screens silent B&W movies accompanied by a live pianist. The Pathé Foundation…
Paris
Paris' premier opera hall, Opéra Bastille's 2745-seat main auditorium also stages ballet and classical concerts. Online tickets go on sale up to three…
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Bordeaux
Admire the art-deco domed ceiling and original octagonal windows of this former post office, telephone and telegraph centre where Bordelais once queued to…
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Le Divan du Monde & Chez Madame Arthur
Montmartre & Northern Paris
Very much an iconic, cross-cultural address at the foot of Montmartre, this hybrid cabaret-club has played host to cabaret troupe Madame Arthur since 1946…
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Paris
The city’s original opera house is smaller than its Bastille counterpart, but has perfect acoustics. Due to its odd shape, some seats have limited or no…
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Montmartre & Northern Paris
Immortalised in Toulouse-Lautrec's posters and later in Baz Luhrmann's film, Paris' legendary cabaret twinkles beneath a 1925 replica of its original red…
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Montmartre & Northern Paris
Built in neo-Egyptian art deco style in 1921 and saved from demolition by a neighbourhood association seven decades later, this historical monument is a…
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Marseille
Despite the name, this live-music venue is actually a repurposed 1950s cinema, not a windmill (which would have made for interesting gigs). Scheduling…
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Paris
Everything from film screenings to jazz and world music concerts, poetry slams, photography, painting and sculpture exhibitions, art installations and…
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Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville
Built in 1864, intimate concert, theatre and dance hall Le Bataclan was Maurice Chevalier’s debut venue in 1910. The 1497-capacity venue reopened with a…
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Latin Quarter
Housed in a medieval caveau (cellar) used as a courtroom and torture chamber during the Revolution, this club is where many of the jazz greats (Count…
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Montmartre & Northern Paris
On the banks of Canal St-Martin in a former fire station and later squat, this arts and music venue attracts an underground crowd for concerts, dance…
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Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville
This true hybrid, known as the Grocery Store to Anglophones, is a massive space, fronted at street level by its in-house Italianate canteen-bar with big…
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Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville
Gigs, concerts, theatrical performances, exhibitions, readings, dance classes and workshops: this arts centre is where it all happens after dark in…
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St-Germain & Les Invalides
You don’t have to be a kid or be able to speak French to be delighted by marionette shows, which have entertained audiences in France since the Middle…
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Besançon
Behind an anonymous, black-shuttered shopfront lies one of Besançon's best venues for live music. Opening only when a gig's on (usually between 9pm and…
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Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville
The quarter's old covered market with gorgeous art nouveau ironwork has been transformed into a striking cultural centre and entertainment venue. The…
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Strasbourg
Reggae, metal, punk, chanson, blues – Strasbourg’s premier concert venue covers the entire musical spectrum and stages some 200 gigs a year. Tickets are…
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Bordeaux
Up to 11,300 spectators can fit in Bordeaux's sparkling new arena, a curvaceous white 'pebble' designed by French architect Rudy Ricciotti, 5km south of…
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Lyon
One of Lyon's most atmospheric music venues, La Clef de Voûte is set in a stone-walled, candelit cellar dating from the 18th century. Aside from an…
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Corsica
This auditorium stages concerts throughout the year, with a special emphasis on Corsican music. From April to October, there’s something every Tuesday and…
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Marseille
Built in the 1920s on the site of its 18th-century predecessor, this 1800-seat neoclassical theatre has seen the French premieres of many notable operas,…
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Nancy
A harmonious blend of neoclassical and art-nouveau styles, this is Nancy’s lavish stage for opera and classical music. The resident orchestra performs at…
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Marseille
Rock, opérock, alternative theatre, reggae, hip-hop, Afro groove and other cutting-edge entertainment all appear on the bill at this mainstay of the cours…
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Paris
The onomatopoeically named Badaboum hosts a mixed bag of concerts on its up-close-and-personal stage, but focuses on electro, funk and hip-hop. Great…
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Montmartre & Northern Paris
Now classed as a historical monument, this music hall dates from 1887 but was redecorated a century later by Philippe Starck. Artists who have performed…
Montmartre & Northern Paris
Hidden inside a convent dating from the 17th century and opening out back to a courtyard garden strung with coloured light bulbs, this multipurpose venue…
Paris
Under the Forum des Halles' custard-yellow glass canopy, Paris' inaugural hip-hop cultural centre has a 400-capacity concert hall, a 100-capacity…
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Auvergne
The opera house, opened in 1903, has a vast auditorium that can seat 1400 spectators for musical and theatrical performances. Tickets for shows can be…
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St-Germain & Les Invalides
Sunday-evening concerts are a fixture on the impressive repertoire of the dynamic Centre National d’Art et d’Essai (National Arts Centre). Whether it's…
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Lyon
After decades of playing in the 1920s-built, 40,000-seater Stade de Gerland, Lyon's multichampionship-winning football team Olympique Lyonnais inaugurated…
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Paris
Theatre in Paris lets non-French speakers access Paris' vibrant local theatre scene (and its resplendent venues). Bilingual hosts provide an English…
