Has anyone been there? (In case you don't know it's a socking great old cinema that's now used as a concert venue).

I'm going there to see the boy Plant and the girl Krauss and have never been there.

Is it any good? What the area around there like for eating and drinking? Any tips?

Yes, went to see Belle and Sebastian there a few years ago. It's quite big, definitely atmospheric, but I'm not a big fan of "sit-down" gigs so it's not my favourite Paris venue. Still, everyone gets a good view of the stage.

There are lots of big chain pubs/restaurants around the Grands Boulevards area (Corcoran's, TGI Fridays, Indiana Café, etc.) - also on the corner of rue du faubourg Montmartre and Bd Poissonière there's a crêpe stand that is supposedly the best in Paris. Don't know if it's true as haven't tried their crepes but there's always a big queue.

Hi, We stayed just off Blvd De Bonne Nouvelle in Rue de L'Echiquier and passed the grand old GRAND REX cinema twice a day at least. I can hardly imagine the 2,800 seats! Wish we had gone in just to see the Baroque interior.

We ate at a restaurant quite near and had a very mediocre meal - it closed down 2 days later and has re-opened as a place that specialises in seafood I think.
Our best meal in the area was a tiny Chinese restaurant just up Rue Thorell. You can see their pretty lights blinking from the Boulevard corner. ( Right near the Rex.) Never been in a Chinese restaurant so spotlessly clean!

It was the venue itself that inspired the trip. I can easily go to to Wembley, but that is a rather tortuous ordeal - or I can jump on the train and make a long weekend of it in Paris.

The venue looks fabulous, certainly a lot more atmospheric than the shed at Wembley:



http://www.legrandrex.com/

Enjoy ! The area is somewhat, How can I put this? Lifeless??

Lifeless? Maybe you don't like the restaurants or what you had, but I don't know how anyone can call that area lifeless, it's very busy. There are lot of tourists around there on the main boulevards (some reasonable tourist hotels are there, and some cater to tour groups). The Hard Rock Cafe is very near there, also, which attracts some. I have been walking around the area some for shopping and other purposes (historical, Chopin lived around there for one thing, as well as other kinds of artists in the 19th century), and I've stayed not too far away a couple times -- so I've been by the Rex enough and have shopped and dined in the area.

I can't name any special place to eat or drink, I really just go to places that are convenient when I'm hungry. I've had just ordinary cafe meals around there, nothing super, nothing that much worse than normal. There are plenty of restaurants and cafes right nearby the Rex.

How nice to see him excited about something than, what is it?? some sport or other.

I'm bumping this as I'm going on tuesday 13th and wondered if anyone had anything to add.