Aix-en-Provence Nightlife

An alternative pub with a shop downstairs, where you can buy
clothes and accessories. They have different theme nights with
for example metal, electro, goth...
Nice bartender as well!

Dress Code: Not really, but everyone who goes here is more or less dressed in black...

Now I'm not into your fancy teas. I am a regular milk and sugar geezer, and the best teas is Barry's (an Irish brand). But I was well impressed with the exotic brews down at this place, which, based on a succesful cafe in Marseille, is becoming the popular cool spot for chilled out Aixois.

It's a 'Salon de the oriental', and does not look much from the outside. You have to really look for it too, going past the Place de l'Hotel de Ville to the hidden rue Campra. You must take off your shoes, as is courtesy, and go downstairs and find a nice spot, where you sit on the floor and peruse the large menu of teas. I chose a blue one, as blue is my favourite colour. And I must say it was really nice! I went there with my fiancee and a French friend of ours. We just sat and chatted for hours, and the atmosphere was friendly and ambient. You have to check this place out. But I hear that more will open in Marseille, so it is bound to become more popular.

At the upper end of the cours Mirabeau a baker's shop is open every single day of the year and 24 hours a day.
Places like these are rare in France and I like it to be rare.
Plus the fact it is a baker's... I don't know, it's like the heart of the town beating at all times.
You can always buy a little pastry or quiche for a quick bite.

Bar Sextius is located on Cours Sextius between the Rotunde and Thermes. Every night of the week it is a great place to drink a pastis at a reasonable price and every Tuesday night is reggae night. The people are 'tranquil' and the wine is not bad either. I lived in Aix for seven months and Bar Sextius was always a universal meeting point to begin the night.

There are opportunities to see plays in Aix, but I would like to recommend that if you wish to see one in English, go down to the Faculte des Lettres in May every year when students of english put on a play in the english language.

In 2002, I directed a cast of 17 in a production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by CS Lewis. It was great fun, and children loved it. Here is a picture of the Queen of Narnia, flanked by her minions the Wolves, and her Dwarf.

The play in 2003 was A Midsummer Night's Scream, based on Shakespeare (you don't say!) but actually based in Parc Jourdan, around the many fairies that really do hang out there...

The red clover, just off the place of the Marie is a great spot, if you are an ex-pat, trying to make friends. Being an Irish pub, it is always crowded with people, both inside and outside. HOwever beer is expensive here, its a cheaper alternative to drink wine! THis pub is always chock-a-block with students and foreigners working in and around Aix. However be warned, as in most french pubs there is only one toilet!and when the pub is packed this does not lead to an ideal situation! not to worry around the corner is what the locals call "little venice", basically its an alleyway where people shoot of to have a pee when the q is too long!
Another excellent pub in Aix is O'Sullivan's, found at the bottom of Rue Espariat. This is an English pub and alos a good place to meet people. Its a quiter sort of pub though and only worth a visit at the weekends

So you want to go to the pub!
Well, follow me. A lot of students go to the Red Clover, in rue Verrerie, an 'Irish' pub which can get a bit too crowded. It is not cheap for a beer in Aix, so stick to wine if you're on a budget - it's dirt cheap in France.
A bit further down is the Manoir, which plays music and has lots of mediaeval armoury on the walls - but this place is full of sleazebags, so you might not want to go there.
Nearby, just off Place Richelme, is the small Brigande. They sell a lot of Belgian beer here (which is good for me, a Belgophile!), and are friendly. Like the Red Clover, it has but one toilet for all, but isn't as busy as the Clover. By the way, if you are caught in that queue in the Clover for the loo, don't forget you can just leave the pub, pee against a wall nearby, then come back. This is France.
Near Cours Mirabeau is the Queens Head, an 'English' pub which I like, but isn't loved by many. It gets popular, and crowded, and isn't cheap. I never went too often though. The photo shows me there on the night before my birthday.
However, I did go to O'Sullivans a lot. It's near the Rotonde, up rue Espariat. They are very friendly in there, there is waiter or bar service and seats outside.
Finally, in rue Bedarrides nearby, there is the small Loch Ness, not open every night however. They do some very nice Belgian beers in here, and I recommend the Kwak!Voilà!

If you want to catch a film, there are three cinemas here in Aix, two of which - the Renoir (in Cours Mirabeau) and the Mazarin (in the quartier Mazarin) - show films in VO (original language), sometimes big movies, though they pride themselves on arthouse films. You cannot tell; for example, they showed Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, but not Star Wars or Spiderman. These were shown, in French only (dubbed), at the bigger, luxurious Cezanne. If you can stand the atrocity of dubbed films, then this place is actually a pretty good cinema.
You can find out about listings on posters all over town, or pick up leaflets from the cinema.
Check out Anakin!!!