Music & performance — what you do

Standing room at the Staatsoper

A few euros, queued for on the night, in one of the great opera houses. Bring a scarf to tie to the rail and hold your place.

Vienna, Austria · low

Built for 6,000 in the 2nd century, rediscovered by a landslide in 1972, and used most summer evenings.

Plovdiv, Bulgaria · moderate

A village saint's day: one long table, live violin and lute, dancing in a circle, and food priced to cover the church roof.

Ikaria, Greece · low

Derelict courtyard buildings filled with salvaged furniture; Szimpla was the first and is still worth an early evening.

Budapest, Hungary · low

Musicians sit in a circle facing each other, not the room; the etiquette is quiet during tunes and buy the round.

Dublin, Ireland · low

Fifteen thousand people, no amplification, and the cheap seats on the stone steps are the ones with the acoustics.

Verona, Italy · moderate

Lights down, conversation stops, and two guitars. The venues that ask for silence are the ones worth finding.

Lisbon, Portugal · moderate

Long tables, a small band moving between them, rakija, and no fixed end time.

Belgrade, Serbia · low

Greek and Roman plays staged every July and August in the theatre they were written for, which is a different experience from reading them.

Mérida, Spain · moderate

Members' clubs that admit visitors quietly; no castanets, no stage, and the singing is the part that matters.

Seville, Spain · moderate