This temple of Parisian swing served as the setting for the film *La La Land*, starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. In October, it will host a jazz marathon featuring 15 free concerts.

Clémentine Ponsin

 –  Journalist Publirédactionnelle

 ·  June 29, 2026

Add us as a preferred source

That scene in*La La Land*is simply unforgettable. An underground jazz club, stone vaults, a tiny dance floor where the audience and musicians brush against one another. Ryan Gosling at the piano, Emma Stone stepping into this world for the first time. Damien Chazelle didn’t invent this setting—he found it at5 rue de la Huchette, in the 5tharrondissement.

Le Caveau de la Huchette doesn’t need Hollywood to exist, but Hollywood has done it a great service. Since the film’s release in 2016: six Oscars, $440 million at the global box office, and a renaissance for the club. An entire new generation is now walking through the doors of this medieval cellar to relive the legendary scene.

Le Caveau de la Huchette: A Wellspring of Inspiration for Jazz

The history of the Caveau de la Huchette reads like a Gothic novel.The building dates back to^{the 16th}century, and legend has it that the Rosicrucians and the Knights Templar held secret meetings there before a Masonic lodge took up residence in 1772. The French Revolution added a darker chapter: the cellars became a place of trial where the condemned were executed on the spot. A well still exists, right beneath the dancers’ feet.

After the Revolution, the building was converted into a music venue featuring French chanson stars like Léo Ferré and Georges Brassens.In 1949, the Caveau officially became a jazz club, and the genre’s biggest names began performing under its vaulted ceilings: Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Art Blakey, Sidney Bechet, and Claude Bolling. Legend even has it that the Caveau inspired a certain Alan Sytner, a student in Paris at the time, who returned home to Liverpool and opened a club he called The Cavern, where the Beatles made their debut.

Even today, nothing has changed. The same vaulted ceilings, the same red benches, the same tiny stage. It is precisely this authenticity that Damien Chazelle sought out when filming*La La Land*, and it is what you’ll find there in October during the Jazz sur Seine festival.

Jazz sur Seine 2026:^15thedition

For the past fifteen years,Jazz sur Seinehas been expanding its influence throughout the entire city: its neighborhood clubs, cellars, community venues, and off-the-beaten-path spots frequented only by those in the know… From October 9 to 24, 2026,25 venues across the Île-de-France regionwill be transformed into jazz stages to host 180 concertsand450 artists, ranging from big names to emerging talents on the French and international scenes.

October 13: 15 free concerts in a single night

The festival’s highlight is theJazz Marathon on Tuesday, October 13. The concept is simple: in a single evening,15 mini-concertsbring together the best of today’s jazz scene—from up-and-comers to headliners and young artists—for a marathon-style night withfree admission. No tickets to buy. The mission of Paris Jazz Club, the organization that has been orchestrating the festival for fifteen years, has always been the same: to make jazz accessible to those who have never dared to step inside a club.

Must-see concerts at Jazz sur Seine