Page 206 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Europe

204  FR ANCE AND THE L OW C OUNTRIES

Entertainment go to Le Petit Journal St-Michel.
Jazz is also popular across
The entertainment center of France is Paris. Whether your France, and big international jazz
preference is for drama, ballet, opera, jazz, cinema, or dancing festivals are held right through
the night away, Paris has it all. Across the rest of the country the year, in Cannes (February; see
the arts are also well represented, and there are a number of p196), Antibes and Juan-le-Pins
(July), and Le Mans (April). Opera
internationally renowned arts festivals throughout the year. and classical music are also
With a varied physical, as well as cultural, landscape, there are widely performed, notably at the
also many possibilities for outdoor sports and activities, Aix festival during July (see p194).
including golf, tennis, walking, and skiing. Specialist holidays
cater to those interested in the language, food, and wine. Clubs and Cabaret
Music in Paris nightclubs tends
to follow the trends set in the
Entertainment Listings
more than 100 years, the Palais US and Britain, although home-
Two of the best listings Royal has been the temple of grown groups, especially those
magazines in Paris are Pariscope risqué farce. playing garage, are popular and
and L’Officiel des Spectacles. Excellent theaters and influential both here and abroad.
Published every Wednesday, productions are also to be found Balajo, once frequented by
you can pick them up at any in major cities across France, and Edith Piaf, and the ultra-hip Le
newsstand. Local newspapers there are big theater festivals Social Club are particularly up-
and offices de tourisme are the held in Nancy (April) and to-the-minute with their music.
best places to find entertainment Avignon (July; see p191). For a more Latin touch, try La
listings for the regions. Java. The dance floor of this club,
where Edith Piaf once performed,
Music now sways to the sounds of
Booking Tickets
The music scene in Paris has Cuban and Brazilian music.
Depending on the event, tickets never been so busy, especially When it comes to picking a
can often be bought at the with the emergence of many cabaret, the rule of thumb is
door, but for popular events internationally successful simple: the better-known places
it is wiser to purchase them in contemporary French groups. are best. The Folies-Bergère is
advance, at the box office or There are numerous first-class the oldest music hall in Paris and
at FNAC chains. Theater box venues in the city, with excellent probably the most famous in the
offices are usually open 11am– jazz, opera, contemporary, and world. It is closely rivaled by the
7pm daily. Most accept credit- classical-music concerts. Lido and the Moulin Rouge,
card bookings by telephone. Opened in 1989, the ultra- birthplace of the cancan.
You can also buy tickets online modern 2,700-seat Opéra de
(via www.ticketnet.fr), from Paris Bastille stages classic and
Kiosque Théâtre, and from modern operas. Productions Cinema
other commercial centers in from outside France are staged Paris is the world’s capital of film
large towns. at the Opéra Comique. appreciation. There are now more
The Salle Pleyel is Paris’s than 300 screens within the city
principal concert hall and home limits, distributed among 100
Theater of the Orchestre de Paris. Paris’s movie theaters. Most are
From the grandeur of the newest venue is the Cité de la concentrated in clusters, which
Comédie Française to slapstick Musique in the Parc de la Villette. enjoy the added appeal of
farce and avant-garde drama, Top international and pop nearby restaurants and shops.
theater is flourishing in Paris. acts are usually to be found The Champs-Elysées has the
Founded in 1680 by royal decree, at huge arenas, such as the densest cinema strip in town,
the Comédie Française is the Palais Omnisports de Paris- where you can see the latest
bastion of French theater, aiming Bercy or the Zénith. A more Hollywood smash or French
to keep classical drama in the intimate atmosphere is found auteur triumph, as well as some
public eye. In an underground at the legendary Olympia. classic re-issues.
auditorium in the Art Deco Paris is, perhaps, most The movie theaters on the
Palais de Chaillot, the Théâtre renowned for its jazz, and the Grands Boulevards include two
National de Chaillot stages lively best talent in the world can be notable architectural landmarks:
pro ductions of mainstream heard here on any evening, the 2,800-seat Le Grand Rex,
European classics. The Théâtre especially throughout October with its Baroque decor, and the
National de la Colline specializes during the jazz festival. All the Max Linder Panorama, which
in contemporary drama. Among great jazz musicians have was refurbished in the 1980s.
the most important of the performed at New Morning, The largest screen in France is
indep endents is the Comédie which also hosts African, Brazilian, the La Géode flagship in the
des Champs-Elysées, while for and other sounds. For Dixieland, 19th arrondissement. On the Left

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