After the sun sets, head for place Jean-Jaurès, rue des Ecoles Laïques, place St Ravy, or the more sophisticated area around rue du Palais de Guilhems.

The large student population means Montpellier has its fair share of great bars. Fitzpatricks, 5 pl. St-Côme (www.fitzpatricksirishpub.com; tel. 04-67-60-58-30), serves Irish beer and has an Irish music evening on Fridays. It’s open daily noon to 1am. La FaBRik, 12 rue Boussairolles (tel. 09-60-37-86-45) is friendly, crowded, and noisy and showing TV sports and live music during the week. 

Rockstore, 20 rue de Verdun (www.rockstore.fr; tel. 04-67-06-80-00), has 1950s rock memorabilia, a Cadillac embedded in its front entrance, live concerts, several bars, and a disco. No cover, but charges for music nights. For the best jazz and blues in town, check out JAM, 100 rue Ferdinand-de-Lesseps (www.lejam.com; tel. 04-67-58-30-30). Regular concerts in the noisy, industrial-style space average 10€ to 25€.

Students gather in crowds at Cargo, 5 rue du Grand St-Jean (tel. 04-67-29-96-85) for its Tuesday night Latin parties and great bars. Otherwise expect blues, funk, soul, and Latin from their DJs. Le Coxx, 5 rue Jules Latreilhe (tel. 04-99-66-77-61), is one of the most popular hangouts for mainly gay men. Good bar plus karaoke nights and dancing are the main attractions here.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.