An easy-to-reach bar that manages to be convenient and hip at the same time lies almost directly across from the city's tourist office: La Rotonde, Place Jeanne d'Arc (tel. 04-42-91-61-70; www.larotonde-aix.com). Open daily from 8am until at least 2am, it functions as a bar, cafe, and rendezvous point for friends and business associates throughout the day and evening.
People between the ages of 20 and 30 who like animated bar scenes and loud electronic music head for Le Mistral, 3 rue Frédéric-Mistral (tel. 04-42-38-16-49), where techno and house music blares long and loud, all for a cover charge of around 15€ to 18€ ($20-$23) -- unless you happen to be gorgeous and female, in which case you'll get in free, and, depending on the mood of the staff, you may even receive a free glass or two of champagne.
For jazz by a changing roster of visiting musicians, head for the Scat Club, 11 rue de la Verrerie (tel. 04-42-23-00-23), a smoky jazz den that's the preferred venue for patrons in their late 30s and 40s. Open Tuesday to Sunday, it maintains notoriously late hours, with live music often not beginning until around midnight. And last but certainly not least is Aix's body-shop bar, La Joia (tel. 06-80-35-32-94; www.joia-club.com), route de l'Enfant, in the hamlet of Les Milles, 8km (5 miles) south of Aix (to get there, follow the signs to Marseille). On-site you'll find a restaurant, several bars, an outdoor swimming pool (the kind where you may opt to jump in topless), a dance floor with both indoor and outdoor sections, and a venue that's more hip than it is chic. Know in advance that long lines await on Fridays and Saturdays. Entrance usually costs 11€ to 16€ ($14-$21), unless you're a star or self-enchanted enough to convince the doorman that you are, in which case, the velvet ropes may miraculously open, without charge, like the Red Sea before Moses.
