Paris Entertainment
Best Funky Bar with Live Music and Late-night DJs: Industrial-chic
OPA (9 rue Biscornet; 12th; M° Bastille; tel.
01 46 28 12 90;
www.opa-paris.com) is like a live Myspace Music joint: it's free and Paris's up-and-coming bands play from 9pm until late, before DJs take over and spice away into the wee hours. Tuesday is rock or folk, Wednesday pop or French chanson, Thursday varies and Friday and Saturday nights are electro rock and pop.
Best Open-Air Film Festival: Between mid-July and mid-August, just €1 gets you into
Parc de La Villettte's Cinéma en plein air film festival (Prairie du Triangle, 211 ave Jean-Jaurès; 19th; M° Porte de Pantin;
www.villette.com), where cult movies are projected onto Europe's biggest inflatable movie screen. Pack a picnic and bring a blanket. Deck chairs and covers can also be hired on site for €6.50.
Best Free Concerts and Cheap Booze: The cool 11th district got a little cooler when this joint opened in 2008.
L'International (5/7 rue Moret; 11th; M° Ménilmontant; tel.
01 49 29 76 45;
www.linternational.fr) is a breath of fresh air for music lovers with free entry and a string of on the up bands playing to hip indie crowds. Beer is a steal at €3, and once a month there's an after-party 'til 4am.
Best Place for Half-Price Theatre Tickets: Paris mightn't be Broadway or the West End, but it's got a thriving theatre scene that sees everything from slapstick French comedy, to experimental dance, absurdist drama and classic vaudeville.
Le Kiosque Theatre (Tue-Sat 12:30pm-8pm; Sun 12:30pm-4pm; at Place de la Madeleine, 8th; Place des Ternes, 17th; and in front of the Montparnasse train station, 14th) sells last minute half-price tickets for same-night shows.
Best Free Jazz Concerts:
Le Sunset-Sunside (60 rue des Lombards; 1st; M° Chatelêt/RER Chatelêt-les-Halles; tel.
01 40 26 46 60;
www.sunset-sunside.com) has seen more Great Jazz musicians pass through its door since 1983 than most Parisians have had hot croissants. Although you have to pay for concerts, jam sessions are free the first Tuesday of the month and Sunday night after 9pm at the upstairs Sunside.
