Nightlife
Nightlife includes bars, lounges, nightclubs, and party events.
Venues
- A hotel bar is usually an upscale, rather quiet, venue for drinks in a hotel's lobby or top floor, usually with a polyglot staff. They usually have a more cosmopolitan/artificial style and more expensive drinks than a local bar.
- A dive bar is a derogatory term for a low-end bar, usually filled up by locals. These places might be a challenging but rewarding place for travellers.
- A sport bar displays sport events on TV screens.
- A nightclub is usually focused on dance and music.
- A discothèque or disco, nowadays mostly referred to as club, is a specific type of nightclub where DJs use vinyl records or CDJ players for mixing music. They can range from commercial venues with a modern interior to more subcultural, deliberately run down places in e.g. former industrial buildings. At some discothèques, only a select few get past the bumper, while at others patrons can also buy pre-sale tickets in advance.
Do
Talk
As bars and nightclubs are often frequented by younger, more globalized people, they are usually among the best places to find English-speakers. Don't expect too deep conversations late at night, though.
Buy
The revenue model of nightlife differs a lot between countries and venues. While some venues have a high cover charge (paid at entrance or at exit) others might be touted through discounts for newcomers. Some offer free entry but charge an arm and a leg for beverages.
Certain clubs sell costly membership cards, for a discount at subsequent visits.
Drink
While alcoholic beverages are one of the main attractions of nightclubs, drinks are usually more costly than they would be in a bar or restaurant.
Destinations
Often the nightlife scene grows with city size, and many large cities and capitals have some decent nightclubs. A few destinations also stand out for attracting party tourists from around the world, while others may still be an insider tip. Note that nightlife is subject to constant change and in many cities pushed back by gentrification over the years, and some places that are still famous for their legendary nightlife may in fact only celebrate a long past heyday. Destinations that have become known for their nightlife at a certain time include:
Asia
- Bali, Indoenesia
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Beirut, Lebanon
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates; together with Abu Dhabi the most liberal and cosmopolitan of the seven Emirates, and arguably in the Arab world.
- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Hong Kong
- Seoul, South Korea
- Tel Aviv is often considered the party capital of Israel
- Tokyo, Japan
Europe
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Baltic Sea ferries
- Barcelona, Spain
- Batumi, Georgia
- Belgrade, Serbia
- Berlin, Germany, is a major centre for European electronic music
- Bodrum, Turkey
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Cyprus; geographically in the Middle East, Europeans come for the climate, and Middle Eastern citizens for the relatively liberal drinking and marriage laws. Ayia Napa in particular is known as the party capital of the island.
- Dublin, Ireland
- Hamburg, Germany
- Ibiza, Spain
- London, United Kingdom
- Munich, Germany
- Paris, France
- Reykjavik, Iceland
- Riga, Latvia
- Rome, Italy
- St Petersburg, Russia
North America
- Chicago, United States
- Las Vegas, United States
- Los Angeles, United States
- Memphis, United States
- Miami, United States
- Montreal, Canada
- Nashville, United States
- New Orleans, United States
- New York City, United States
- St Louis, United States
- Vancouver, Canada
South America
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Australia & Oceania
Stay safe
Nightlife can involve some risks:
- Drunk brawls may happen especially in front of pubs and nightclubs.
- Opportunistic thieves and pickpockets can prey on distracted or drunk patrons.
- In many discothèques dealers offer illegal and potentially hazardous drugs to other patrons. Some cities and events offer drug checking services and information on hazardous drugs that are in circulation.
- The noise exposure at discothèques and concert venues can cause acute tinnitus, noise trauma and in rare cases even permanent hearing loss. To prevent this, you can use earplugs. Some discothèques also have dedicated areas where patrons can take a rest from the noise.
- The lighting systems at large concerts and discothèques are usually adjusted by professional stage technicians. Still, avoid to look directly and permanently towards certain types of stage lighting, such as laser scanners, to prevent eye damage.
- Methanol poisoning incidents have been reported from many countries in the world, such as Norway, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Russia, Greece, Turkey, India or Brazil. Poisoning by methanol-contaminated alcohol is always life threatening and requires immediate medical treatment. Not only the fraudulent adulteration of alcohol poses a risk, but also unintentionally contaminated self-distilled liquor, often produced in countries where alcohol is very expensive. Thus refuse drinking any alcoholic beverages of unclear origin.
- Clip joints are venues that prey on ignorant travellers. The scheme is usually that a local tout takes (usually male) visitors to a near-empty backstreet bar where they are let in and served drinks at a hefty cost. Never step into a premise without getting price information.