Major concert venues
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Palais des Congrès

Events at any of the performance spaces listed below will be well advertised on billboards and posters throughout the city. Tickets can be obtained at the halls themselves, though it's easier to get them through agents like FNAC or Virgin Megastore.

Olympia 28 bd des Capucines, 9^e tel 01.47.42.25.49, www.olympiahall.com. Recently renovated old-style music hall hosting well-known international rock and pop acts, with a good programme of domestic stars as well. M° Madeleine/Opéra.

Palais des Congrès pl de la Porte-Maillot, 17^e tel 01.40.68.00.05, www.palaisdescongres-paris.com. Opera, ballet, orchestral music, trade fairs, and middle-of-the-road superstars. M° Porte-Maillot.

Palais Omnisports de Bercy 8 bd de Bercy, 12^e tel 08.92.69.23.00, www.bercy.fr. Opera, cycle racing, Bruce Springsteen, ice hockey, and Citroën launches – a multipurpose stadium, with seats that give vertigo to the most level-headed. M° Bercy.

Palais des Sports Porte de Versailles, 15^e tel 01.48.28.40.10, www.palaisdessports.com. Another vast auditorium, ideal for stadium rock and giant French musicals. M° Porte-de-Versailles.

Stade de France St-Denis tel 08.92.70.09.00, www.stadefrance.fr. One-hundred-thousand capacity stadium, purpose-built for France's hosting of the 1998 Football World Cup and doubling up for use by stadium-rockers. RER B La-Plaine-Stade-de-France/RER D Stade-de-France-St-Denis.

Zenith Parc de la Villette, 211 av Jean-Jaurès, 20^e tel 01.42.08.60.00, www.le-zenith.com/paris. Seating for 6000 in a giant tent designed exclusively for rock and pop concerts, with a good programme including relatively forward-looking acts like Coldplay and Morcheeba. Head for the concrete column with a descending red aeroplane. M° Porte-de-Pantin.