Florence
This vast defensive 16th-century fort is an atmospheric venue for concerts and performing arts, trade fairs, exhibitions and conferences today. Open-air…
Must-see entertainment in Mediterranean Europe
Trieste
One of Trieste's iconic alternative cooperative venues, Tetris has an impressive line-up of international and local live acts and DJs, with electronica…
Pavia
Pavia's beautiful baroque theatre was conceived by one of the greatest stage designers of the 18th century, Antonio Galli Bibiena. It's bell-shaped…
Alanya
This rollicking, friendly Turkish bar features live 'protest and folk music' and is a top spot for an acoustic-fuelled night of rakı (aniseed brandy) and…
Athens
Every summer this company of 75 singers and dancers performs Greek folk dances, showing off the rich variety of regional costume and musical traditions…
Southern Rome
Caffè Letterario is an intellectual hang-out housed in the funky, somewhat underground, post-industrial space of a former garage. It combines designer…
Girona
On the north end of the historic centre, this intimate, low-lit space makes a great setting for well-mixed cocktails and live jazz. There's live music…
Valencia
For many, Wah Wah remains Valencia’s hottest venue for live music, especially for underground and international indie, though classic Spanish garage and…
Palma de Mallorca
One of Palma's best live music/DJ venues, the New Lisbon Cafe's curved wooden bar is thronged three-deep on the more popular nights. Expect jazz-funk,…
Alanya
Music and decent beer are the draws at this slick, multistorey venue by the harbour. The main action is on the 6th floor with soft chill-out music early…
Western Valencia
This popular, long-established venue puts on bands and solo acts, usually between Thursday and Saturday. Entry, depending on the band of the day, is €5 to…
Gazi, Keramikos & Metaxourgio
At this respected arts complex, you’ll find largely mainstream music and a trendy 30-something crowd. A ground-level theatre hosts live performances and…
San Giovanni & Testaccio
The hulking ruins of this vast 3rd-century baths complex set the memorable stage for the Teatro dell'Opera's summer performance season.
Syntagma & Plaka
This historical open-air cinema showed its first film in 1903. Set in the verdant Zappeion, it's a little quieter than others.
Athens
The cinephile's outdoor cinema, running obscure international films (sometimes a tricky subtitle situation) and black-and-white favourites.
Syracuse
Syracuse's beloved puppet theatre hosts regular evening performances; see its website for a calendar.
Costa del Sol
A great venue for live music five nights a week, this popular club recently reopened in spacious brand-new digs in Torremolinos. It hosts regular jam…
Triana
True, the music is often more folkloric than flamenco, but this Triana institution is the antithesis of a showbiz flamenco tablao (choreographed show),…
Rome
A trip to Rome’s impressive Stadio Olimpico offers an unforgettable insight into Rome’s sporting heart. Throughout the football season (late August to May…
Chueca
El Junco has established itself on the Madrid nightlife scene by appealing as much to jazz aficionados as to clubbers. Its secret is high-quality live…
Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Santa Maria Novella
This strikingly modern theatre with glittering contemporary geometric facade sits on the green edge of city park Parco delle Cascine. Its three…
Venice
A separate entity to Palazzo Grassi, Teatrino Palazzo Grassi has a 225-seat auditorium that hosts a wide range of cultural events, from live concerts to…
Corso Magenta & Sant'Ambrogio
This enormous baroque theatre is one of the oldest in Milan, although it hosts the avant-garde theatre company, Manifatture Teatrali Milanesi. They put on…
Milan
This refurbished 'palace' cinema complex has an impressive technical spec with 2K and 4K projectors and an Atmos sound system throughout. In addition to…
Duomo & San Babila
Built in 1868, this miniature theatre modelled on La Scala was built for the purpose of staging puppet shows in Milanese dialect. In danger of dereliction…
Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe Verdi
Milan
Housed in a former Lateran convent, Milan’s most prestigious musical conservatory and high school has nurtured some of the country’s best conductors and…
Vatican City, Borgo & Prati
Intimate, underground and hard to find – look for the discreet black door near the corner – Rome's most celebrated jazz club draws top Italian and…
San Lorenzo & San Marco
Revisit 300 years of Florentine history in one hour with this dynamic English-speaking, two-person performance that has been captivating audiences since…
La Macarena & Alameda de Hércules
This mellow bar is an evergreen favourite for jazz and blues, staged most nights. Drinks are reasonably priced and its tiny interior – you could easily…
Catedral & Barrio de Santa Cruz
Ensconced in an 18th-century town house, this is a tiny flamenco venue (no food or drinks served). Its two evening shows are intimate affairs with three…
L'Eixample & Southern Valencia
The unblinking heavy-lidded eye of the Hemisfèric is at once planetarium, IMAX cinema and laser show. Sessions are roughly hourly, with a break at…
Venice
This pretty 17th-century theatre was built over the ruins of Marco Polo's palazzo (mansion). It now shares a classical music, opera and ballet program…
La Macarena & Alameda de Hércules
The iconic Fun Club has been entertaining the nocturnal Alameda de Hércules crowd since the late 1980s. It still packs them in, drawing a young, energetic…
Gazi, Keramikos & Metaxourgio
A variety of events are scheduled throughout the year at the city’s old gasworks, an impressively restored 1862 complex of furnaces and industrial…
Barcelona
The National Theatre of Catalonia hosts a wide range of performances, including dramas, comedies, musicals and dance in this ultra-neoclassical theatre…
El Centro & El Arenal
Home to Seville's Royal Symphony Orchestra, this modern theatre, inaugurated in 1991, stages a rich program of classical music concerts, opera and ballet…
Chueca
They keep it simple at Thundercat – it's rock, as classic as they can find it, with live gigs beginning after midnight and rolling on through the night…
Athens
Loud, raunchy, funny, just plain quirky: eclectic and popular bar Faust hosts it all on its small stage. Some events are free, others ticketed. The place…
Catedral & Barrio de Santa Cruz
A beautiful patio in an old Sephardic Jewish mansion in Santa Cruz is home to La Casa del Flamenco. Shows, performed on a stage hemmed in by seating on…
