There's a fair amount of nightlife and cultural events in Avignon: the Opéra , on place de l'Horloge (tel 04.90.82.23.44), mounts a good range of productions; Le Chêne Noir, 8bis rue Ste-Catherine (tel 04.90.86.58.11), is a theatre company worth seeing, with mime, musicals or Molière on offer; and plenty of classical concerts are performed in churches, usually for free.

 

For live music , AJMI Jazz Club , La Manutention, rue Escalier-Ste-Anne (tel 04.90.86.08.61), hosts live jazz every Thursday night and features major acts and some adventurous new groups. Le Bistroquet , quartier du Mouton on Île de la Berthelasse, is a rock bar with live gigs except in June, and the restaurant La Tache d'Encre has some good live sounds on Friday and Saturday nights. Gay venues include L'Esclave Bar , 12 rue du Limas (daily 10.30pm-5am; shows Wed & Sun), a bar and disco popular with gay men, and The Cage , a club in the gare routière building, with a gay and lesbian clientele. To find out what's on, get hold of the tourist office's free bi-monthly calendar Rendez-Vous . They may also have the weekly arts, events and music magazine César (also free), which is otherwise found in arts centres.