Le Petit Salon in Lyon's 7e Gerland is the two-room electronic club near the Jean Mace tram, with one floor decked out as a 1970s lounge and the other a modern dance hall booking techno, house and disco residents.
Tip: Tram T2 to Garibaldi Berthelot is the easiest route; tickets on Shotgun and Dice, 12-18 EUR depending on lineup.
Address: 3 Rue de Cronstadt, 69007 Lyon
Le Sirius in Lyon's 3e is the 1950s sand dredger moored on the Rhone at Quai Augagneur since 2002, hosting around 200 concerts and 300 DJ sets a year across the deck, hold and waterside terrace.
Tip: Monday jam session is the long-running ritual; arrive 21:00 to grab a hold-level table before the band starts.
Hot Club de Lyon in the 1er Presquile is the vaulted-cellar jazz room founded by Beaux-Arts students in 1948, now the oldest continuously running jazz club in Europe, with more than 200 concerts a year on Rue Lanterne.
Tip: Concert tickets 12-18 EUR via the venue site; Thursday and Friday jam sessions at 22:30 are free once the bill has finished.
Le Periscope in Lyon's 2e Confluence is the SMAC-labelled jazz and improvised music room on Rue Delandine, open since 2007 and running over 100 concerts a year plus the RECIF festival each April.
Tip: Tickets 10-18 EUR, reservation on the venue site; RECIF festival mid-April is the easiest first visit, with 14 sets across five nights.
La Clef de Voute in Lyon's 1er Croix-Rousse slopes is the 18th-century vaulted cellar booking more than 150 jazz nights a year since 2004, with free entry and a Saint-Germain-style table service.
Tip: Free entry but reservations only via the venue site; book Tuesday for the next weekend, drinks order at the table is the only spend.
Marche Gare in Lyon's 2e Confluence is the 414-capacity concert hall in the former wholesale-market admin building, renovated in 2022 with the 100-cap KiosK side room and a 20th-anniversary indie, hip-hop and electro programme.
Tip: Tram T1 stop Sainte Blandine; the upstairs main hall is standing-only, the KiosK side room is the 100-cap seated alternative.
Le Melhor in Lyon's 2e is the 8th-floor cocktail bar at the Sofitel Bellecour overlooking the Rhone, with live jazz on Friday and Saturday nights and house-made foams, syrups and bitters behind the mixology counter.
Tip: Book a Rhone-facing window for sunset, cocktails 17-22 EUR; the jazz set Fri-Sat starts around 21:00 with no extra cover.