World Travel Guide

City Guide  - New York  - Nightlife
Nightlife

The frenetic pace of life in New York carries on into the night with hundreds of nightclubs, jazz haunts, discotheques and bars scattered throughout the city.

While the overall nightlife scene is diverse, entertainment is centred on favoured playgrounds. Home to Broadway, the once louche Times Square is enjoying a renaissance with popular restaurants, bars and cinemas attracting a huge crowd. The central Village from Sixth Avenue to Broadway is famous for its coffee bars that stay open late, music clubs and lively street scene. SoHo is the hip capital with its chic and wild nightclubs attracting artists, models and media types while the gay scene is centred around the bars of the West Village which also offers a lively mix of jazz clubs. More upmarket tastes are catered for in the sophisticated lounges, clubs and cocktail bars in the Upper East and Upper West Sides.

Entrance fees (cash only) to some of the smarter nightclubs can be pricey and the hippest clubs employ strict dress codes; only allowing the cool and the beautiful to break through the velvet ropes. Normal club closing time is 0400, although many are open all night. An ever-changing crop of 'after-hours' places offer entertainment until sunrise, however, alcohol cannot legally be served between 0400 and 0800 (after 2400 Sunday). It should also be noted that the minimum drinking age is 21.

Bars:
New York's media crowd can be found at Elaine's, 1703 Second Avenue, between 88th and 89th Streets, one of Upper East Side's trendiest spots. A stream of beautiful people flow into SoHo's celebrated Merc Bar, 151 Mercer Street. ESPN Zone, 1472 Broadway, is a sports-themed dining and entertainment experience featuring American grill food, interactive attractions, and 200 televisions. Hotel bars have traditionally been watering holes in New York. Try the CS Lounge, Washington Square Hotel, for a cosy secluded literary-feel evening.

Casinos:
Gambling is illegal in New York State.

Clubs:
One of the best places to view the Manhattan club elite in action is at Roxy, 515 West 18th Street, which attracts an eclectic glamorous mixed gay and straight crowd. Jet 19, 19 Cleveland Place, between Spring and Kenmare Streets, is one of Little Italy's swankiest clubs.

A gentler evening can be had at the long established and hugely popular Nell's, 256 West 14th Street. It's loungelike 'home from home' atmosphere attracts a thirty-something crowd. The latest hotpots and reviews of new hip and chic venues are listed in The New York Times and Village Voice.

Comedy:
New York's leading comedy venues featuring top-line comedians include Carolines on Broadway, 1626 Broadway; The Comedy Cellar, 117 McDougal Street; and Gotham Comedy Club, 34 West 22nd Street, dubbed the 'best comedy club in Manhattan'.

Live music:
New York is home to numerous jazz clubs, including 27 Standard, 116 East 27th Street, an upmarket restaurant and jazz club serving new American cuisine, and Broadway Blues, a sexy blues/jazz bar at the Amsterdam Court Hotel, 226 West 50th Street.



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