Venues in Paris

So you’re in Paris, with your fedora perfectly pressed and your little pug dog duly accessorized, and you’re wondering which venues to venture out to first and you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed. It’s no surprise; there are a lot of venues in Paris to see, from amazing concert halls and live music venues to raucous stadiums and banging rooftop bars.

Nothing beats starting a day catching a game at Parc des Princes, where the hugely popular home soccer team Paris Saint-Germain F.C. (PSG) plays. But soccer (“football” to the rest of the world) isn’t the only game Parisians are passionate about, as thousands flock to Stade Pierre de Coubertin to watch the Paris-Levallois basketball team, and even more try and get in to Roland Garros for the French Open tennis tournament.

For the less sports-inclined, there is a fantastic assortment of theaters in Paris, including preeminent institutions like Folies-Bergère, Théâtre des Deux Anes, Comédie-Française, Odéon (Théâtre de l'Europe), Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, and the Paris National Opera House, most of which are housed inside stunning centuries-old buildings.

On the music front there is an equally alluring variety of venues to choose from, be it the Stade de France national stadium with room for up to 80,000 crazed fans, the gorgeous Olympia music hall, sports arena Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, or Le Grand Rex, which is a combination music venue, cinema, and theater with room for almost 3,000.

Of course, those looking for a more intimate musical night should check out Le Bataclan, La Fleche d'Or, Le Showcase, and La Cigalle, which collectively might play host to reggae one night, hip-hop the next, then maybe some R&B, rock, folk, you name it! And no visitor to Paris should ever overlook the massive assortment of jazz and blues venues, as well as the crazy vibrant DJ scene – especially at popular dance clubs like Le Nouveau Casino – or the prominence of famed cabaret theaters like Moulin Rouge.