Bar de la Marine on the Quai de Rive Neuve in Marseille's 7e is the 1929 Vieux Port institution that doubled as Marcel Pagnol's Marius bar, with a 1930s interior of Marseille frescoes and model ships, open from breakfast to 02:00.
Tip: Order a mauresque on the terrace at sunset; the back room with the Pagnol fresco is the rainy-night option.
Address: 15 Quai de Rive Neuve, 13007 Marseille
Le Trolleybus on the Vieux Port in Marseille's 7e is the 900-capacity vaulted-stone club inside a 17th-century galley arsenal, with three rooms: La Dame Noire for pop-rock, Le Whisky Bar for house, La Marquise upstairs.
Tip: Doors midnight Thu-Sat, busiest from 01:30. Cash or card accepted; the La Marquise room is the easier seating room of the three.
Bar des 13 Coins in Marseille's 2e Le Panier is the old quarter dive on Rue Sainte-Françoise with a pavement terrace under the pastel facades, cheap pastis and rolling-shutter regulars who carry the room past midnight.
Tip: Pastis €3, plat-du-jour at lunch under €15; the pavement tables are the move on warm nights, cash preferred.
Cabaret Aléatoire in Marseille's 3e is the SMAC-labelled concert hall and club nested inside La Friche Belle de Mai, a 45,000m2 former tobacco factory turned cultural complex, and the city's industrial-techno benchmark.
Tip: Tickets on Shotgun or the venue site, €15-25 most club nights; entry via the Friche through Rue Jobin or Rue François Simon.
Le Trolleybus on the Vieux Port in Marseille's 7e is the 900-capacity vaulted-stone club inside a 17th-century galley arsenal, with three rooms: La Dame Noire for pop-rock, Le Whisky Bar for house, La Marquise upstairs.
Tip: Doors midnight Thu-Sat, busiest from 01:30. Cash or card accepted; the La Marquise room is the easier seating room of the three.
Vice Versa in Marseille's 6e Cours Julien is the late-opening cocktail bar and basement club on Rue des Trois Rois, with a Caribou-trained mixology team upstairs and a secret-door dancefloor that runs house and deep house from 23:00.
Tip: Classics €8, signatures €12; the basement is the draw after 23:00 Thursday to Sunday. Metro Notre-Dame du Mont is two blocks away.
R2 Le Rooftop des Terrasses in Marseille's 2e Joliette is the 1,000m2 open-air club on top of the Terrasses du Port shopping centre, with house, techno and live billings under the stars overlooking the Frioul Islands.
Tip: Programming runs late May to early September; tickets €15-30 on Shotgun. Access by lift from inside the Terrasses du Port mall.
Toit-Terrasse de la Friche in Marseille's 3e Belle de Mai is the 8,000m2 rooftop at La Friche Belle de Mai, with summer Friday-Saturday ON AIR sessions of DJ sets, live music and open-air cinema across panoramic city views.
Tip: ON AIR season runs early June to early September; bring a layer once the mistral picks up. Food trucks and bar on the roof, no need to bring anything.