London is the party capital of Europe. The draconian liquor laws are soon to be relaxed, and though the tubes inconveniently stop running around midnight there is a good network of night buses. Even with the old licensing laws there is a staggering variety of places with late licenses where you can party after 11 PM.
Not everyone likes a loud, smoky bar. Thankfully, nightlife in London is diverse enough that whatever your pleasure, there's always somewhere to go.
If you prefer a romantic evening at the opera, wine-soaked experimental jazz, Camden's rough indie guitar sounds, or a few cocktails in a sexy bar, our listings provide a sampling of the best the capital has to offer.
In one night, you can circle the West End, drop into half a dozen bars and in each one find a completely unique world. There's everything from Moulin Rouge-style lounge clubs, industrial microbreweries, velvet-dripping drum 'n' bass clubs, to lavish Asian-themed cocktail bars. Bars go in and out of fashion with incredible speed here. The fashion for minimalist chic design has been replaced with the extravagance and opulence of Asian designs.
If you want to savor the high life with the glitterati, you have to pay for the privilege of glamour. The price of a Bellini (with Dom Perignon, of course) in an ultraswank hotel bar will put you back £20. But then, that's London's West End. In East London, drinks aren't so expensive. Communities like Clerkenwell, Hoxton, and Shoreditch are hubs for artists, indie musicians, and fashion and media types. The raw culture of racially diverse Brixton, with its heady mix of art, poetry, and music on Coldharbour Lane, is like Harlem in the 1920s.
Once 2 AM arrives, much of the bar scene moves on to clubs, where you can dance until 9 AM. Whether you're into twisted disco, deep house, jazzy breaks, or hip-hop, the multi-dance-floor clubs will have a room to suit your musical tastes.