La Dynamo

La Dynamo is everything you'd expect from France's first purpose-built jazz venue, except in one aspect: it's situated out in the suburb of Pantin, far from the madding crowds of Saint-Germain jazzophiles and Belleville hipsters. But it plays its comparative remoteness to its strength, offering a truly diverse programme of largely experimental and fusion-oriented jazz that few inner-city venues would dare to try out on their more conservative audiences. The concert hall is run in partnership with the Banlieues Bleues association, whose efforts to promote musical activity in the Parisian suburbs have attracted the attention of Miles Davis, Max Roach and others. Housed in a former jute fibre factory – an imposing reminder of the eastern suburbs' industrial past – La Dynamo boasts state-of-the-art acoustics, and plays host to the annual Festival Banlieues Bleues. A gem.