If you're in the mood to meet the locals, head for the town's most animated bar, Le Vichy, 15 rue Burnol (tel. 04-70-97-05-70). Here, within a mostly blue-toned setting punctuated with a long bar and a karaoke setup, you can babble and jive with a clientele aged 23 to 50. The town also contains two casinos, both of them modern, contemporary-looking affairs, and both of them accessorized with dining and drinking facilities. The larger, better accessorized, and more appealing of the two is the Casino des Quatres-Chemin, rue Lucas (tel. 04-70-97-93-37). Inaugurated in 2004 within the Centre Commercial des Quatres Chemins, it replaced the grand, neoclassical casino (Casino Elysée Palace, now closed) whose clients included Napoleon III in the 19th century. The newer setting is glassy, glossy, and Vegas-ish. An area devoted exclusively to slot machines, with free entrance and virtually no dress code, is open daily 10am to 3am. A more formal area for blackjack and roulette (games referred to as les grands jeux) is open daily 8pm to 3am (until 4am Fri-Sat). To access les grands jeux, you must present a driver's license, ID card, or passport. Whereas les grands jeux are closed in February, the slot machines remain open here year-round, and there's a restaurant on-site.
Le Grand Café, 7 rue du Casino (tel. 04-70-97-16-45), is a less impressive place to gamble, this one only with slot machines, and lies within a modern annex of the old casino. Entrance is free, and it's open daily 10am to at least 2am (slot machines room open until 3am on Sat), and sometimes later, depending on business. A cafe-bar and restaurant are on the premises, as well as a disco, Le Loft (tel. 04-70-97-16-46), which is modern, reverberating with pulsating electronic dance music, and noted as the town's most popular drinking and dancing joint. The disco is open Wednesday to Saturday from 9:30pm to 3am; admission is free.
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.
