I am thinking of going to either Duc des lombards or le bilboquet while I'm in Paris. Do I have to eat dinner there or can I just go for the music? Is it hard to get in these clubs? What time do I need to arrive by to get in and sit?

Check out Caveau de la Huchette on rue de la Huchette. Excellent jazz, no dinner but there is a very cheap cover charge. Don't remember how much. Went in May last year about 10:00 PM. Wasn't crowded.

I highly recommend Le Bilboquet at 13 rue St. Benoit. There's no cover and you don't have to eat dinner. Make sure you knock hard on the door, as it seems they don't keep it open and at first we thought they were closed, but they weren't. My husband is a jazz musician/composer and he loved it (I did too).

Le bilboquet sounds great, about what time do you need to arrive?

Le Franc Pinot on the Ile St. Louis. 1, quai Bourbon, 4th, tel: 01.46.33.60.64. Web page: www.jazzvalley.com/francpinot<BR><BR>This is the only jazz club I have been to in Paris so I have nothing but New Orleans to compare it to. On the small side, dinner was being served on tables on balcony overlooking the stage with a small seating area and bar. Lots of smoke but we enjoyed the music very much. I don't remember if there was a cover charge.<BR><BR>It is very interesting as you walk into a brick building looking very much like a bistro and then you are shown to a stairway leading downstairs. Very mysterious, or so I thought at the time.

Jazzy--I think it was fairly late--at least after 10 and they were still going when we left around 1.

Try the Caveau des Oubliettes on Rue Galande (in the 5th arrondissement). On Tuesdays and wednesdays there's an open jam session in the cellar from 10pm onwards. But it's small and gets crowded so arrive early! And check out the original dungeons in the cellar, as this place used to be a medieval jail (there's still a guillotine by the front door)!!!!

So doesn't anyone like the duc des lombards club?