How do I find out about concerts and other events in Paris, and not just at the last minute? There are wonderful resources for telling you what is going on each week, for you last minute planners out there:
A couple in Parc de la Villette who didn’t get tickets in time and had to organize their own concert
- Pariscope is a small magazine that comes out every Wednesday. You can purchase it at any news kiosk or tabac. It will cost you 40 Eurocent and is jam-packed with information on every possible show, event and more that Paris has to offer in the upcoming week. But unfortunately, the information comes out a bit too last minute to take advantage of opportunity. There is also an online version, but it’s not quite as complete.
- There is a blog with a similar name to mine (Paris Weekends) that give suggestions for events for the coming weekend, but again, not so far in advance: the post for each weekend is usually available on the Thursday or Friday.
- Hip Paris Blog has a wonderful monthly post on recommended events in that coming month. Here is the October post.
But what about concerts, the opera and other events for which tickets sell out far in advance? Here is where I would start:
- Time Out Paris: Best for the medium-term (or last minute) planners, it gives you information (in English too) on upcoming events, the “in” venues, and other ideas for locals and tourists.
- The FNAC website. They have all sorts of shows, concerts and sporting events, and there is an English version of the site.
- Digitrick is similar to the FNAC site, with tickets for numerous venues, including some cabaret theaters.
You can also visit the websites of Paris’s venues directly. Here are some of the major ones – but there are many, many more!
- The National Opera of Paris has a site for performances in Palais Garnier and in Opera Bastille that is also in English. Palais Garnier houses ballet, regular (and not too expensive) classical music concerts and sometimes opera. Garnier is an amazing building so anything you can see there would be worthwhile (see my post on Garnier here!) The official new home of the opera is at Bastille, in a more modern opera house.
- The Théâtre du Châtelet (2 rue Edouard Colonne in the 1st arr.) is one of Paris’s premier theaters. Its site is also in English, which is quite fitting for their current (October 24th – Jan 1st) production of West Side Story.
- Théâtre des Champs-Elysées (15 avenue Montaigne, 8th arr.) offers opera, concerts, dance and theater.
- The Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier (21 rue du Vieux-Colombier, 6th arr.) is home to the Comédie-Française, a state-owned theater group with its own troupe of actors. It’s about as Frenchie-French as you’re going to get.
- Salle Pleyel (252 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in the 8th arr.) houses the National Orchestra and other various concerts, mostly classical.
- The Cité de la musique (Parc de la Villette in the 19th arr.) offers a number of concerts each year, as well as exhibits and other events.
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Which is your favorite site for finding out about upcoming events in Paris?
