New York City Nightlife: Places and Districts to Go Out in New York City
- New York City Information
- Eating & drinking in New York City
- Night life in New York City
- Getting around in New York City
- Things to do in New York City
- Where to stay in New York City
- New York City street map
New York, so the cliché goes, is 'the city that never sleeps'. As with so many things about a place in which fact and fiction are intermingled, this is only partly true. Although no other city on the planet is as lively after dark, sleep it does – at least for a couple of hours a night!
Over to the west of the island, the Meatpacking District is the definition of cool. Sipping Bellinis here might make you feel like a slick city fashionista or advertizing executive but, unless you actually are one, your budget won’t stretch very far!
Similarly, louche Chelsea hangouts abound on Tenth Avenue where you can enjoy a couple of drinks and watch the beautiful people gather. Soho, meanwhile, may not be the scruffy artists’ haunt it once was, but it’s still got a few great neighborhood bars.
North of Little Italy, NoLita has a relaxed vibe and, a little further still to the north, the Village (East and West) is probably the best area for bars. With its proximity to New York University, the West Village has dozens of places that attract a lively student clientele.
When it comes to clubbing, finding a venue is made that much harder by them opening and closing with perplexing regularity. However, with New York’s rich nightlife heritage, it’s never too hard to stumble upon some of the best house and hip-hop music out there.
The world-famous jazz clubs of Blue Note and Village Vanguard may host some of
the biggest names in jazz music, but they are also prohibitively expensive. The West Village has a handful of much less pricey options and there's also a few choice venues in alternative Harlem, a little further uptown.
For other live music (particularly rock), the Lower East Side and the historically bohemian East Village are the best places to head. Top quality stand-up performances are also not hard to come by thanks to New York's reputation for comedy, particularly Downtown.
A night out in New York is like everything else in this beguilingly contradictory city; with smoky jazz clubs, teenage discos, pulsating dance clubs, gay bars, lively salsa joints and elegant hotel piano bars, it's nightlife ultimately stands alone when it comes to sheer choice and vibrancy.
