Dance clubs, live music, rooftop bars, speakeasies, LGBTQ+ venues, listening bars and late-night dives in Montpellier.
Dance clubs, live music, rooftop bars, speakeasies, LGBTQ+ nightlife, listening bars and late-night dives across Montpellier, with where to go and what is worth the late night.
Muchacha turns the Halles du Lez rooftop into a Latin dance floor after 23:00, 200 square metres inside and a 300 square metre terrace alongside.
Tip: Book a table if there are more than four of you; the floor fills from 23:00 on Fridays.
Ninkasi brought its Lyon craft-brewery and gig-venue format to Place Pablo Picasso, minutes from the Marché du Lez, with burgers, beer and live sets.
Tip: Check the gig calendar before you go; the room changes character entirely on show nights.
Le Clandestin puts a pianist in its stone-walled Ecusson room on Friday and Saturday nights and hands Thursday over to an open mic, wine and tapas throughout.
Tip: Thursday open mic is free and unpredictable; Friday and Saturday are the lounge-piano nights.
Drapeau Rouge doubles as a Boutonnet brewpub and a small stage, running brewing courses by day and local bands into the evening on the student strip.
Tip: It is a brewery, a restaurant and a brewing school at once; the beer is made on the premises.
La Nonna sits on top of the JOST hotel with a pool, an Italian kitchen and a long view across the rooftops of Saint-Roch towards the Ecusson.
Tip: Monday evenings through the summer the rooftop runs Thau oysters with a glass of white from €14, walk-in from 18:00.
Miranove opens its Port Marianne rooftop from 15:00 every day, an aperitif terrace above the tram line with a bistronomy dining room underneath.
Tip: The bar opens at 15:00, hours before the restaurant, and takes walk-ins on the terrace.
L'Arbre puts its cocktail terrace on the 17th floor of the Arbre Blanc tower in Port Marianne, open Tuesday to Saturday from 18:00 through to 01:00.
Tip: The architecture is half the reason to come: Sou Fujimoto's tower stacks cantilevered white balconies over the Lez.
Aperture hides behind a plain Ecusson door on Rue des Trésoriers de la Bourse, a twenty-seat bar run by world cocktail champion Julien Escot.
Tip: There are barely twenty seats, so arrive before 20:00 at weekends or expect to stand.
Le Quatrième Tiers works a deep spirits list from a quiet Rue Roucher room, closer to a tasting bar than a cocktail lounge and seated throughout.
Tip: Ask the bar to build around a spirit you like rather than ordering from the printed list.
Barberousse fits out its Rue Boussairolles room as a ship's hold, all timber and barrel tables, and runs flavoured rum by the litre for a student crowd.
Tip: Happy hour runs 18:00 to 21:00 and the room is loud from the moment it fills.
Les BerThoM runs a long Belgian tap list on Rue Boussairolles seven nights a week to 01:00, a beer hall rather than anything trying to be clever.
Tip: It is the only bar on this street that stays open every single night of the week.