30 editor picks across France.
30 live music worth the night across France, editor-ranked. All France guides.
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.
TipConcert tickets 12-€18 via the venue site; Thursday and Friday jam sessions at 22:30 are free once the bill has finished.
Stereolux runs two halls beside the Machines de l'Île in Nantes, a music and digital arts venue with programming across indie, electronic and experimental.
TipTwo rooms of different sizes share the building, so check which hall your ticket names before you arrive.
Caveau de la Huchette in Paris's 5e is the medieval cellar jazz club opened 1946 that is the oldest still running in the city, with a sprung dance floor.
TipCover €15-18 weeknights, €18-21 weekends, cash or card at the door. The dance floor opens after the first orchestra set around 22:30.
AJMi Jazz Club stages weekly jazz and improvised music concerts in a hall on Rue des Escaliers Sainte-Anne in Avignon, with a bar serving organic beer.
TipConcerts usually start at 20:30, and the bar serves organic La Comédienne beers and wines; the building has no step-free access.
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.
TipTickets 10-€18, reservation on the venue site; RECIF festival mid-April is the easiest first visit, with 14 sets across five nights.
Espace Julien in Marseille's 6e Cours Julien is the 800-capacity concert hall opened 1984 in the artists' district, with a rock, hip-hop, electronic.
TipTickets €18-35 via the venue site; Café Julien downstairs runs free or low-cover sets most weeknights.
Pannonica has been the jazz and improvised music stage of Nantes since autumn 1994, a small room that leans hard on discovery and emerging players.
TipSets usually start at 20:30; tickets go through the venue's own box office rather than the door.
New Morning in Paris's 10e is the Rue des Petites Écuries jazz room open since 1981, with a black-box stage that has hosted Chet Baker, Stan Getz and Prince.
TipTickets €25-45 via the venue site; arrive 19:30 for unreserved seating closer to the stage.
Sunset Sunside on Rue des Lombards in Paris's 1er is the twin jazz club where the upstairs Sunside books acoustic sets and the basement Sunset runs electric.
TipTickets €25-35 per set; the first set at 20:00 is calmer than the 22:00 turnaround.
Le Duc des Lombards on the Lombards jazz strip in Paris's 1er is the TSF Jazz partner club booking established names and rising French talent.
TipBook a table for the 21:30 set in advance; the early 19:30 set is the easier walk-in window.
La Cartonnerie is the scène de musiques actuelles on Rue du Docteur Lemoine in Reims, with a main hall, a club room and the Floor bar for concert nights.
TipThe Floor bar opens at 19:00 on concert nights, with small plates served until 21:00.
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.
TipFree entry but reservations only via the venue site; book Tuesday for the next weekend, drinks order at the table is the only spend.
La Caravelle on the Quai du Port in Marseille's 2e is the first-floor mezzanine bar above the Hôtel Belle-Vue, open since the 1920s, with a tiny balcony.
TipClimb the staircase next to the hotel reception; the balcony seats six and fills first. Pastis €4 at the bar, cocktails €11-14.
Le Ferrailleur puts concerts on the Loire quays at the Hangar à Bananes in Nantes, then turns into a dance floor for its Nuits Blanches until 04:00.
TipThe summer concerts sauvages on the terrace are free and start around 19:00, before the ticketed room opens.
Le Bataclan in Paris's 11e is the 1,500-capacity Boulevard Voltaire concert hall with the painted pagoda facade, rebuilt and reopened in November 2016.
TipAllow extra time for bag check at door; balcony seated tier is the easier sightline if you arrive after 20:00.
Le Comptoir du Jazz in Bordeaux's Saint-Croix is the long-running live-music bar on Quai de Paludate, with nightly jazz sets from 21:30, a working dinner.
TipNo cover most weeknights; the front stools fill by 21:00 for the first set so arrive early.
Un Singe en Hiver turns its former flour mill into a stage on Rue François Robert in Dijon, with concerts, DJ sets and exhibitions most weekends.
TipSeasonal brews join the four year-round beers; the upstairs room programmes concerts, talks, exhibitions and screenings.
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.
TipTram T1 stop Sainte Blandine; the upstairs main hall is standing-only, the KiosK side room is the 100-cap seated alternative.
Le Molotov in Marseille's 6e Cours Julien is the small Place Paul Cézanne club programming rock, reggae, hip-hop, jazz and electro since 2012.
TipTickets €8-20 on the venue site; capacity is tight so weekend bookings sell out a fortnight ahead.
L'Affranchi in Marseille's 11e Saint-Marcel is the SMAC-labelled hip-hop complex inaugurated 1996, with a 380-seat concert hall, a studio and a DJ school.
Tip€2 yearly membership added to your first ticket of the year; tickets €12-22. Bus 12 from Castellane is the easier route home.
La Bouche d'Air programmes contemporary French chanson at the Salle Paul Fort in the Talensac quarter of Nantes, seated shows most weeks of the season.
TipThe box office shuts for summer from 10 July and reopens on 1 September, so book around the break.
Moon Bar at Hotel Aston La Scala on Avenue Felix Faure runs live music nights Friday and Saturday from 19:00 on the seventh floor rooftop, panoramic view of Vieux Nice across the city.
TipFriday and Saturday evenings feature live concerts; bring a layer once the mistral picks up at the rooftop.
La Bellevilloise in Paris's 20e Ménilmontant is the four-floor Maison du Peuple built 1908 and reopened in 2006 as a 2,000m² venue with the Halle aux.
TipThe Sunday jazz brunch in the Halle aux Oliviers runs 11:00-15:00, €38 with live trio; book a fortnight ahead.
La Maroquinerie in Paris's 20e Ménilmontant is the 500-capacity former leather workshop next to La Bellevilloise, with a sweat-soaked basement room.
TipThe courtyard restaurant opens 19:00 for a pre-show plate; doors usually 19:30, headliner at 21:00.
Le Delirium is a members' arts salon and artists' residence on Rue Mignard in Avignon that opens some nights for live music, from jazz to French chanson.
TipCheck the programme page for the evening, and add the €2 membership to your ticket; the wine list runs to 88 bottles.
L'Explo hosts live music evenings and blind tests in its craft beer bar on Rue des Teinturiers in Avignon, run by the La Comédienne brewery.
TipFollow the bar's Facebook page for concert dates; hoppy hour runs Tuesday to Thursday from 17:00 to 19:00, before the evening programme.
Rock School Barbey in Bordeaux's Saint-Croix is the 700-capacity standing-room venue on Cours Barbey that has booked touring rock, indie and electronic acts.
TipTickets typically €18 to €35 on the venue site; the upper balcony is the easier sightline for tall bands.
Le Caillou Jazz in Bordeaux's Bastide is the bistro and jazz club at the Botanical Garden, with concerts Wednesday to Saturday, a working dinner menu.
TipMusic is free with a drink or meal purchase; sit on the terrace in summer for the garden setting.
Krakatoa in Merignac, just west of Bordeaux, is the 1,000-capacity indie and alt-rock venue with a serious touring programme of European and American acts.
TipTram A from central Bordeaux to Pin Galant takes 25 minutes; last tram back is around 00:30.
Le Bistrot de St-So sits inside the old Gare Saint-Sauveur in Lille, a bar with a stage running free concerts and DJ sets Wednesday to Saturday.
TipProgramming gives priority to local artists and entry is free, so turn up rather than book.
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