Most French nightclubbers begin their evenings on the town by heading to the boulevard Trudaine, a thoroughfare in the town center that's very close to the Eglise Notre-Dame-du-Port. It's lined with at least 20 bars and restaurants catering to the young and the restless.
B. Box, La Pardieu (tel. 04-73-28-59-74; www.bboxclub.com), is the biggest nightclub in Clermont. Expect mass consumption of alcohol and a bevy of attractive young people clubbing the night away. Cover ranges from 10€ to 14€ ($12-$17) and includes your first drink. Open Thursday to Saturday only, from 10pm to 5am. Two dance clubs are Le Frog, 12 rue des Petits Gras (tel. 04-73-37-99-73), and Le Symbol, 11 rue de Serbie (tel. 04-73-31-01-01; www.lesymbol.com). Both attract a crowd over 25, including lots of single, divorced, and nominally married people looking for a dance and perhaps a fling. A popular gay bar is the Bar d'O, place de la Victoire (tel. 04-73-91-43-14), which tends to be busy during the late afternoon and early evening (4-9:30 or 10:30pm). After that, but only Wednesday to Saturday after 10pm, gay men and, to a lesser extent, women, head for L'Enigme, 32 rue Fontgieve (tel. 04-73-31-07-63; www.l-enigme.com), the town's (and the region's) busiest and most animated gay disco. Entrance ranges from free to 10€ ($13), depending on the night of the week, and the dancing usually continues until at least 4am. You may also consider dropping into Le Frog. It's not altogether gay, but its trendiness and hipness make it an agreeable place for lots of gay patrons (along with everyone else).
