L'Arlequin, Art cinema in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, 6th arrondissement, France

L'Arlequin is an art cinema in the sixth arrondissement with three screening rooms and around 595 seats total. It programs independent and international films throughout the year for diverse audiences.

Opened in December 1934 as the Cinéma-Lux, it was later renamed Lux-Rennes. Jacques Tati took over the cinema in 1962 and renamed it L'Arlequin in 1964, commissioning new decoration by Georges Peynet and holding the first screening of the colour version of Jour de fête. From 1978 to 1993 it operated as Le Cosmos, showing Soviet films, before reverting to L'Arlequin in 1993.

The cinema regularly presents French and international films and hosts meetings with filmmakers and actors after screenings. This tradition creates a space where film enthusiasts can engage directly with the people behind the movies.

The cinema sits at 76 rue de Rennes in the 6th arrondissement, served by metro line 4 at Saint-Sulpice. The main auditorium is in the basement, reached from the street-level entrance under the canopy. Since 1998 the venue has been equipped to welcome visually and hearing-impaired spectators.

The cinema's name comes from the Harlequin character of commedia dell'arte, but the facade shows no diamond-pattern glass: photographs show a pale stone front with a projecting canopy bearing the white inscription "L'ARLEQUIN", four gold-framed glass doors and five vertical film-poster panels. A second, lower sign band in blue and white also reads L'ARLEQUIN.