La Friche Belle de Mai occupies the buildings of an old tobacco factory east of the Saint-Charles station, converted from 1992 onward into one of France's largest independent cultural complexes. The 45,000 square metres now contain artist studios, dance and theatre rehearsal spaces, two cinema screens, a contemporary art gallery (Tour-Panorama), a radio station, a skate park, a kindergarten and a long-running bar-restaurant. Around 70 organisations work on site.
For a visitor, the appeal is partly the always-changing programme of exhibitions and performances (consult their what's-on listing before going) and partly the place itself: rough concrete halls, graffitied walls, the rooftop terrace with views back across the city, the courtyard packed in summer with food trucks, free concerts and pétanque. It is a 15-minute walk uphill from Saint-Charles station or the Cinq Avenues metro stop. Quietest in the daytime; livelier from late afternoon.