Entertainment

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The minimum legal drinking age for drinking alcohol (beer and wine) is 16 years of age, 18 years for stronger drinks and spirits. Bars are usually licensed until 1 am.

Cultural events: Paris offers plenty of choice and a wide variety of lively festivals. Among these are the free, city-wide Fête de la Musique (21 June), the Festival du Film de Paris (early April) and the biennial Festival d’Automne (September-December) contemporary dance event. Free concerts are held within the city’s churches, during the Festival d’Art Sacré in the weeks preceeding Chistmas. Classical concerts are listed in the monthly Le Monde de la Musique.

Live music

Live jazz is played nightly at Le Bilboquet, 13 rue St-Benoît, 6th (from around 2200 onwards), by local and international high-calibre musicians. There is no admission charge, but drinks are expensive.

A young, unsophisticated crowd is drawn to La Flèche d’Or Café, 102 bis rue de Bagnolet, 20th, a converted station turned live music venue. Concerts run from Thursday to Sunday evenings and the music ranges from rock to blues or reggae and satirical French chansons.

Chesterfield Café, 124 rue La Boétie, 8th, just off the avenue des Champs-Elysées is popular with expatriates and hosts US rock and blues bands.

Major rock concerts take place at the Palais des Congrès, place de la Porte-Maillot, 17th.

Clubs

Techno, house, garage and latino are the popular sounds and, to a lesser extent, hip hop, trip hop and drum’n’bass. Clubs open at about 23:00 and tend not to close until dawn; it is coolest to arrive around 03:00, or at least after midnight.

Special Events

Journées du Patrimoine, nationwide weekend festival; historic buildings, including the President’s residence and the Palais de l’Elysée, open their doors to the general public, 15-16 Sep 2002

Festival de l’Automne, international contemporary drama, dance and music festival, 15 Sep-31 Dec, Théâtre de la Ville, Odéon and other venues

Mondial de l’Automobile, biennial international motor show in even-numbered years, 28 Sep-13 Oct, Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles, 15th

Foire Internationale d’Art Moderne et Contemporain (FIAC, the Contemporary Art Fair), 22-28 Oct, Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles, 15th

Mois de la Photo, biennial photography exhibitions in even-numbered years, 29 Oct-26 Nov, various museums and galleries throughout Paris

Fête du Beaujolais Nouveau, first availability of the season’s Beaujolais Nouveau wine, 21 Nov, wine bars and cafés everywhere

Réveillon (New Year’s Eve), 31 Dec, crowds by the thousand along the Champs-Elysées

Salon de l’Agriculture, animal specimens from rural France displayed alongside regional produce, late Feb-early Mar 2003, Paris Expo, place de la Porte de Versailles, 15th

La Nuit des Publivores, advertisements – publicités – are fêted by 6000 people in two night-long events, mid-late Mar, Grand Rex, 1 boulevard Poisssonnière, 2nd

Festival du Film de Paris, late Mar-early Apr, Cinéma Gaumont Marignan, 27 avenue des Champs-Elysées

Le Marathon de Paris, early Apr, starts approximately 0900, avenue des Champs-Elysées, finishes avenue Foch

Foire de Paris, fair for tourism, multimedia and gastronomy, late Apr-mid-May, Paris Expo, place de la Porte de Versailles

Fête de la Musique, free concerts throughout Paris (and the rest of France), late Jun, in the streets and in venues such as Sainte-Chapelle, the Musée d’Orsay and Palais de Justice

Gay Pride March, late Jun, along République and the Bastille plus club events

Grandes Fêtes de Nuit de Versailles, son et lumière display evoking the era of Louis XIV with costumed dancers and music, Jul, Aug and Sep, gardens of Versailles

Le Cinéma en Plein Air (free outdoor film festival), mid-Jul-end Aug, Parc de la Villette, 19th

Le Tour de France, late Jul, finishes on the avenue des Champs-Elysées

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