New York City Going Out

New York nightlife is legendary. Bars are generally open for service by mid-morning, and they aren’t required to close until at least 4am. But there’s no reason to stop then—the party continues at the many bars and clubs with after-hours licenses. The subway runs all night, so it’s all too easy to participate in the never-sleeping of this city. Bear in mind that New York nightlife starts late; a hip bar might not fill up before 11pm, and nightclubs don’t get going until much later—on the weekends, don’t bother showing up before 1 or 2am.

Downtown neighborhoods like SoHo, Chelsea, Greenwich Village, the East Village, and the Lower East Side have the highest density of nightlife spots, but no Manhattan neighborhood lacks its share. A good way to save money—and hang out with a cool, youthful crowd—is to head to up-and-coming neighborhoods outside Manhattan like Williamsburg and Park Slope in Brooklyn. Smoking in virtually all enclosed spaces is banned in the city, so expect to see crowds of chimneys clustered at the entry to most nightspots.