Dijon is an important university city as well as one of France's main conference centres, so nightspots and cultural centres at both ends of the range are worth exploring. Place Émile Zola and rue Berbisey are good places to start a night out. The English/Irish theme pubs are predictably popular, but there are plenty of alternatives.L'An-Fer Centre Dauphine, rue Bossuet. By universal acknowledgement, the best club this side of Paris, attracting big-name DJs. Gets going after midnight. Tues–Sat. Au Vieux Léon 52 rue Jeannin. Tiny, noisy, friendly little bar that's positively jumping with students. Decorated like an old-fashioned French café on acid. Le Brighton 33 rue Auguste-Comte. English pub with 200 different kinds of beer, and dancing. Daily till around 3am or later. Le Cappuccino 132 rue Berbisey. Speciality beers in a youthful, slightly bohemian bar. Daily till around 1.30am. Le Chez Nous just behind rue Quentin. Tucked down a tiny alleyway just off rue Quentin, a genuine community bar with a proudly alternative ethos and a genuine atmosphere. Strip lighting, mismatched old tables, exhibitions, impromptu performances and conversations. Opening times and days vary, but usually daily till around 1am. Le Crockodil 88 rue Berbisey. Pub-cum-café characterized by distressed chic. A good place for an afternoon coffee leading into an early evening drink. Mon–Sat till 2am. Messire Bar 3 rue Jules Mercier. Very Seventies bar, tucked away in a side street in the old town. Open till late night every night. Le Privé Ave Garibaldi. Large, traditional disco and pick-up joint, just off Place de la République. Two rooms: one mainstream Euro-house, the other more retro. Wed–Sat till 5am. Pub Kilkenny 1 rue Auguste-Perdrix. Noisy, popular Irish bar: draught Guinness and week-night Irish bands. Daily till 3am. Le Quentin rue Quentin. Café-bar on the southeast corner of the market square that's popular for its cheap bottles of wine, drunk early evening as an aperitif mixed with sirop de violettes – or any of a host of other sirop flavours. Rhumerie la Jamaïque 14 place de la République. Popular with a trendy late-twenties/early-thirties crowd for its pricey cocktails and rock-opera decor. Daily except Sun 3pm–3am. L'Univers 47 rue Berbisey. Popular, central pub-bar with frequent blues, jazz and rock concerts in the cellar. Open till midnight and later.
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