Cinemas
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Cinéma Lucernaire

L'Arlequin 76 rue de Rennes, 6^e. Owned by Jacques Tati in the 1950s, then by the Soviet Union as the Cosmos cinema until 1990, L'Arlequin has now been renovated and is once again the cinephile's palace in the Latin Quarter. There are special screenings of classics every Sunday at 11am, followed by debates in the café opposite. M° St-Sulpice.

L'Entrepôt 7–9 rue Francis-de-Pressensé, 14^ewww.lentrepot.fr. One of the best alternative Paris cinemas, which has been keeping ciné-addicts happy for years with its three screens dedicated to the obscure, the subversive and the brilliant, as well as its bookshop and bar-restaurant. M° Pernety.

L'Escurial Panorama 11 bd de Port-Royal, 13^e. Combining plush seats, big screen, and more art than commerce in its programming policy, this cinema is likely to be showing a French classic on the small screen and the latest offering from a big-name director – French, Japanese or American – on the panoramic screen (never dubbed). M° Gobelins.

Forum des Images 2 Grande Galerie, Porte St-Eustache, Forum des Halles, 1^er www.forumdesimages.net. This venue screens several films or videos daily, but also has a large library of newsreel footage, film clips, adverts, documentaries, etc – all connected with Paris – that you can access yourself from a computer terminal. You can make your choice via a Paris place name, an actor, a director, a date, and so on; there are instructions in English at the desk, and a friendly librarian to help you out. 5.50 for two hours research, plus any films shown that day. RER Châtelet-Les Halles. Tues–Sun 1–9pm, Thurs till 10pm.

Gaumont Grand Écran Italie 30 pl d'Italie, 13^e. Three screens, including the 24-metre-wide grand écran. Big-draw movies inevitably, with all foreign titles dubbed. M° Place-d'Italie.

Grand Action and Action Écoles 5 & 23 rue des Écoles, 5^e (M° Cardinal-Lemoine/Maubert-Mutualité); Action Christine Odéon, 4 rue Christine, 6^e (M° Odéon/St-Michel). The Action chain specializes in new prints of old classics and screens contemporary films from around the world. A carnet of ten tickets costs 40.

Le Grand Rex 1 bd Poissonnière, 2^e. Just as outrageous as La Pagode, but in the kitsch line, with a Metropolis-style tower blazing its neon name, 2750 seats and a ceiling of stars and Moorish city skyline. The ultimate Thirties public movie-seeing experience, though you're most likely to be watching a blockbuster and, if foreign, it'll be dubbed. M° Bonne-Nouvelle.

Le Latina 20 rue du Temple, 4^e. Specializes in Latin American, Portuguese, Italian and Spanish films, as well as food, art and tango, salsa and flamenco sessions in its restaurant and gallery spaces. M° Hôtel-de-Ville.

Lucernaire Forum 53 rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs, 6^e. An art complex with three screening rooms, two theatres, an art gallery, bar and restaurant. Shows old arty movies and undubbed current films from around the world. M° Notre-Dame-des-Champs/Vavin.

Max Linder Panorama 24 bd Poissonnière, 9^e. Opposite Le Grand Rex, and with almost as big a screen, this Art Deco cinema always shows films in the original and has state-of-the-art sound. M° Bonne-Nouvelle.

MK2 Quai de la Seine 14 quai de la Seine, 19^e. On the banks of the Bassin de la Villette. Part of the MK2 chain but distinctive in style – it's covered in famous cinematic quotes and has a varied art-house repertoire. M° Jaurès/Stalingrad.

La Pagode 57bis rue de Babylone, 7^e. The most beautiful of the city's cinemas, transplanted from Japan at the turn of the last century to be a rich Parisienne's party place. The wall panels of the Grande Salle auditorium are embroidered in silk; golden dragons and elephants hold up the candelabra; and a battle between Japanese and Chinese warriors rages on the ceiling. Financial problems have made its future uncertain but at the time of writing it was due to keep going; check Pariscope for details. M° François-Xavier.

Reflet Medicis Logos, Quartier Latin and Le Champo 3 rue Champollion, 9 rue Champollion and 51 rue des Écoles, 5^e. A cluster of inventive, scruffy little cinemas, tirelessly offering up rare screenings and classics, including frequent retrospective cycles covering great directors, both French and international (always in v.o). The small cinema café Le Reflet, on the other side of the street, is a little-known cult classic in itself. M° Cluny-La-Sorbonne/Odéon.

Le Studio 28 10 rue de Tholozé, 18^e. In its early days, after one of the first showings of Buñuel's L'Age d'Or, this was done over by extreme right-wing Catholics who destroyed the screen and the paintings by Dalí and Ernst in the foyer. The cinema still hosts avant-garde premières, followed occasionally by discussions with the director, as well as regular festivals. M° Blanche/Abbesses.

Le Studio des Cinéastes – Les Ursulines 10 rue des Ursulines, 5^e. The Blue Angel had its world première here and avant-garde movies are still premièred here, often followed by in-house debates with the directors and actors. M° Censier-Daubenton.