The City of Light truly heats up after dark. So, if you want to paint the town rouge after dutifully pounding the parquet in museums all day, there's a dazzling array of options to partake of. Whether you're a jazz fiend or a dance freak, a patron of the arts or a lounge lizard seeking refuge in a bar where the model count is high, Paris provides ample destinations for nocturnal creatures. From opulent opera houses to low-key bars, dance floors in 17th-century cellars, or just the light-splintered Seine, you can find it all in Paris after dark. The hottest nightspots are near Menilmontant and Parmentier, the Bastille, and the Marais. By comparison, the Left Bank is definitely a minor happening scene. The Champs-Élysées is making a comeback, especially with stylish singles bars on its side streets, though the clientele on the main drag itself remains predominantly foreign. Midweek, people are usually home after closing hours, around 2 AM, but weekends mean late-night partying. Take note: the last métro runs between 12:30 and 1 AM (you can take a cab, though they can be hard to find between midnight and 2 AM on weekends); you may just have to stay out until the métro starts running again at 5:30 AM.

Without a doubt, Paris has been one of the 20th century's greatest capitals of the arts. In 1909, Sergey Diaghilev arrived in the city with his Ballets Russes. In the '20s, Josephine Baker charmed audiences at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. And in the '40s, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir wrote masterpieces at the Café de Flore. Nowadays, despite lavish government subsidies, the city's artistic life doesn't have the avant-garde edge it once did, but Parisians are still proud of being intellectual and passionate about all things cultural. The city has an impressive number of venues and regularly attracts international theater, dance, and opera companies. In addition, the phenomenal number of movie theaters makes Paris a cinephile's heaven.

The music and theater season runs September to June; in summer, most productions are found at festivals elsewhere in France. There is, however, an excellent festival in Paris during July and August called Paris-Quartier d'Eté, which attracts international stars of dance, classical music, and jazz. Detailed entertainment listings can be found in the weekly magazines Pariscope (which has an English-language section), L'Officiel des Spectacles,Zurban, and Figaroscope (a supplement to Le Figaro newspaper). Tickets can be purchased at the theater itself (try to get them in advance, as many of the more popular performances sell out quickly).