Avignon Entertainment

Avignon has an evening entertainment scene to match that of any large European city, with a truly eclectic mix of options available. Whether you’re a late night party goer or a middle aged opera lover, or somewhere in between the two, you’ll find the city caters for all.

There are plenty of venues aimed directly at tourists and others that have been established since before the area became a holiday destination. You won’t find the hedonistic atmosphere and the drunken crowds associated with many popular Spanish and Greek holiday resorts, yet you can still let loose or go dancing until the early hours if that’s your thing.

Nightlife

After the sun goes down, Avignon offers something for visitors of most backgrounds, with everything from sedate restaurants at one end of the scale to lively discotheques at the other. Bars of every kind can be found across the city and offer very relaxed licensing hours, meaning that it’s quite possible to find somewhere to get a beer or a good glass of wine well after midnight.

Nightclubs are equally relaxed and tend to open around 23:00, get going after midnight and close around 04:00 or 05:00. Some of the city’s liveliest nightspots can be found around Place du Palais, Place des Corps-Saints, Place de l’Horloge and the hip and trendy rue Carnot. The legal drinking age in France is 16, so those holidaying with teenage children may well wish to let them enjoy some of the fine French wine or beer available across the city’s drinking outlets. Dress codes in both bars and nightclubs are generally relaxed and unless it’s an especially upmarket venue, it’s rare that you’ll be expected to don a shirt, tie or a formal dress.

It’s also worth noting that Avignon has some 20 cinemas with venues screening both mainstream and independent movies. Pathé Cap Sud, the 10 screen multiplex on rue Pierre Seghers is the city’s biggest cinema venue and screens all the latest releases while Cinéma Utopia, at La Manutention arts centre is the place to catch foreign movies.

Theatre and music

For theatre and music, Avignon is the place to be, with its yearly festival heralded as France’s oldest and most famous cultural event. The city has around 10 permanent traditional theatre venues, which between them present the entire gamut of live theatrical genres as well as musical performances. Venues in the city include the Théâtre du Chêne Noir on rue Ste-Catherine; Théâtre du Chien qui Fume on rue des Teinturiers; Théâtre des Halles on rue Noël Biret; and Théâtre des Carmes on Place des Carmes. For music, you can catch performances at the theatres or there’s the Opéra d’Avignon, set in a classic old building dating back to 1847 and overlooking the Place de l’Horloge. The opera house has a season running from October to June and presents performances in classical and chamber music as well as theatre and ballet.

Festivals

Avignon only has one annual festival worthy of note; however, as it is a world famous event, the Festival D’Avignon is enough to put the city firmly on the map when it comes to its place as a cultural event centre.

• The Avignon Festival is the city’s annual cultural showcase, featuring theatre, dance, circus, poetry, film, exhibitions and classical and contemporary music. The courtyard of the Palais des Papes hosts the festival’s most prestigious performances, while various theatres, churches and community halls host others. While the official festival, known as the ‘In’, takes place, a fringe festival, known as the ‘Off’, also takes place on the streets and sees amateur performers showcase their talents while the public participate in a variety of carnival activities.