[fkexpat]

Hey guys, I've been a long time reader of this forum. I absolutely love the wealth of information present here. I was hoping some of you could answer this question for me. What cities outside of North America do some bars/pubs and clubs stay open for 24 hours. I realize that at 8 am the bar scene won't be as lively, but which cities have places where you can still stay out?

[BoiBoi]

Berlin. You can party hard 24/7, no shit.

[Deb Auchery]

Why do you want to party that late? In Serbia people go to clubs between 12 and 3,and there are late night places open after that until like 7am

[Lumiere]

London.

Most tourists will complain that the pubs close at 11pm or midnight but if you know London well (which I do) there are places where you can drink totally legally 24 hours per day.

You just have to know where they are.

[thegmanifesto]

(06-15-2012 08:10 AM)Lumiere Wrote:  

London.

Most tourists will complain that the pubs close at 11pm or midnight but if you know London well (which I do) there are places where you can drink totally legally 24 hours per day.

You just have to know where they are.

Bust out a list.

[Caligula]

(06-15-2012 08:10 AM)Lumiere Wrote:  

London.

Most tourists will complain that the pubs close at 11pm or midnight but if you know London well (which I do) there are places where you can drink totally legally 24 hours per day.

You just have to know where they are.

Bust out a list!

Here are the two late-night places I know:

Trisha's (The Hideout) on Greek Street in Soho is a cool old-school Italian place with pictures of the pope, Italian football teams, mobsters and boxers on the walls. Crowd spans dapper Italian chaps playing cards to a more hipsterish crowd. Age-wise it's mostly late twenties and up. It used to be open late a lot, but recently when I've popped by at night it has been closed. Last time I went you had to stick your hand inside the mail slot on the door to ring the hidden buzzer that was located inside. You have to be a member or be known to the staff. Or just be very smooth.

Another place that's often open late (ie. 5-6am) is Efe's in Hackney. It's a Turkish social club with pool tables and slot machines. Draws an interesting mix of local hipsters and Turkish locals who come to play cards. They usually have Eastern European hotties behind the bar.

[AlphaTravel]

Those sounds like interesting places Caligula. With Englands 24hr drinking laws there must be plenty of places in London.

Bangkok has 24hr bars and late opening clubs though it's limited. Not everywhere stays open late, it's select venues. There are plenty of bars in the tourist areas that never close and a handful of clubs catering mostly to tourists and pros that stay open till 5-7am and one i know thats open till mid day. Haven't heard of any open 24hrs.

Sao Paulo is another place that has a 24hr bar scene and clubs that open late, around 10am-ish but not sure about any 24hr clubs. I'd often come out a club early morning and go off to another bar / boteco.

[Caligula]

(06-15-2012 01:17 PM)AlphaTravel Wrote:  

Those sounds like interesting places Caligula. With Englands 24hr drinking laws there must be plenty of places in London.

The problem in London is that the 24 hour licensing laws give local councils discretion over whether to grant the licenses. This was a cop-out by the government to make the legislation go down better.

Local residents campaign hard against extension of licensing hours in their neighbourhoods. People who like to party don't have the most effective lobby in local politics. The killjoys are better organised and have the motivation and resources to fight the licenses. Local politicians usually buckle under this pressure.

Last I heard Kensington & Chelsea had not granted a single 24 hour license. Further East places like Aquarium and Fabric have the late license, but they're the exception and only open late on weekends.

Met one bar owner who applied for an extension repeatedly. In the end he gave up because he was spending thousands of pounds on every application and in his mind the council had no intention of granting him the license regardless of how well-managed his bar was and how many times he applied.