There are some travellers who prefer to maximise every day when on a trip, rising with the sun or soon after and hitting the pavement with a map, ready to soak up the history, culture and sights of their location. And there are others who like to get to know a city and its locals with a drink in their hand and their feet moving to a beat.
For the wild and young at heart, we have compiled a list of some of the best cities in the world in which to let your hair down.
- Dublin, Ireland
As the home of celebrated music acts such as U2, Thin Lizzy and Sinead O’Connor, Dublin is famed for its live music scene. The iconic Temple Bar area in particular strums to life at night with live music to be heard streaming from the various pubs that populate the area.
It is not the place to practice your shuffle, but an ideal city in which to enjoy a night out headlined by too much beer, stumbling into a random upstairs bar and witnessing the harmonica player of your life, and leaving with a great story to tell.
- Tel Aviv, Israel
Known as the party capital of the Middle East, Tel Aviv offers a location by the sea, a perfect Mediterranean climate, and a young, international population that combine to create a party scene full of options – which can all be enjoyed in one night. Beach bars are the perfect place to start the evening, before finding a pub, wine bar or even a gallery bar then finally heading to a club for the rest of the night.
- Belgrade, Serbia
For residents of Belgrade the nightlife scene runs at 100%, 100% of the year. In winter locals head to indoor clubs that favour house, progressive and turbo-folk music, and when those venues close their doors for the summer the city-wide party moves to the various open-air festivities on moored barges along the river.
The most notable aspect of Belgrade’s approach to partying is that everyone joins in, and the city is just as lively on a Tuesday night as it would be on a Saturday.
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The party in Rio de Janeiro is not limited to the week-long, epically-scaled Carnival that occurs once a year. Every weekend samba halls are full of writhing bodies, not to mention the millions that celebrate New Year’s Eve on Copacabana Beach every year. It is a nation that likes to party, and embraces that hospitable, fun aspect of their culture wholeheartedly 365 days per year.
- Berlin, Germany
People from all over Europe travel to Berlin on a weekly basis with the sole intention of dancing until the break of dawn and beyond. Nightclubs such as Berghain/Panorama Bar are the place to go for techno, there are themed bars and clubs galore, and in the summer the Spree River hosts open-air parties, clubs and waterside bars. Add to that the fact that drinks are reasonably priced and public transport is available round the clock, and you have the perfect recipe for an evening you are sure to forget.
- New Orleans, USA
There are many cities in the US that boast a wide range of nightlife options, but it is New Orleans unique character that makes it a special place to enjoy a drink or five. As the birthplace of jazz, New Orleans remains an ideal location to soak up some live music. In the same way that Dublin is so quintessentially linked with its pub and music scene, making it a must-have experience on any visitors’ list, a trip to New Orleans is not complete without allowing at least a few brass instruments to entertain your ear drums.
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
Whether you like to bounce to the beat at a nightclub, sip local wines at a high-class wine bar, or attempt to replicate the smooth moves of the tango, there is something for you in Buenos Aires. The locals like it late here, typically eating dinner out around 11pm before heading to their chosen drinking destination to dance away the hours until well after sunup.
- London, United Kingdom
The beauty of London is its many different boroughs, each of which offers its own unique charm that makes the city a party-goers playground, where different options can be enjoyed every night of the week. On Thursday there are rooftop bars in Shoreditch waiting, on Friday a night out jostling for space in busy Soho, on Saturday a club night at a warehouse in Hackney, and on Sunday a relaxed pub afternoon in Shepherd’s Bush complete with a huge plate of recovery food such as fish and chips.
Eager to book your next getaway? Browse our list of ‘party animal’ tours here
Author’s Bio: Courtney Gahan is a serial expat, traveller and freelance writer who has bartered with Moroccan marketeers, seen the sun rise at Angkor Wat and elbowed her way through crowds on NYE in NYC.
