Any large city in Germany I’d say. Never felt or got ripped off ordering drinks from the bar. All fairly priced, and you can just get beer and drink on the streets/park/garden, no problem. Transport runs all night.
I love Cologne.
It’s great to wake up next morning with some money still in my wallet.
Lots of people talking about Germany but it wouldn’t be my first pick for a summer vacation, I’d much rather go party in Spain or France in summer. But it depends on what kind of party you like, and if you care about having a beach nearby or not.
Anything low Mediterranean. The weather’s awesome and it’s probably cheaper for the most part. Just be careful of the shit quality drinks and burglars (including taxi tariffs)
Look towards overlooked cities and find A LOT more interesting culture and less beaten paths there:
Ljubljana/Slovenia: beautiful city, great culture scene, affordable and smallish-cozy
Belgrade/Serbia (depending on political developments atm): absolutely bonkers and fantastic nightlife, great young scene, beautiful city in parts, interesting history and awesome bar & food scene as well
Antwerp/Belgium: again beautiful, great culture and very accessible city, reasonably affordable and lots of gastro, bars, restaurants, club – absolutely underrated
Sofia/Bulgaria and Tirana/Albania have much going for it, though the nightlife is not exactly that obviously exciting, but its there to explore. Albania is going strong for some time now as a great summer destination for its beautiful beaches. Croatia in general was *the* summer & nightlife destination for ages with a ton of mostly electronic music festivals strung along the coast – it’s still great but certainly very crowded during summer season and became rather expensive.
In you’re thinking Spain, look beyond Barcelona please. It’s expensive, overcrowded and over. Madrid, San Sebastián and Valencia are much, much better options.
In general, get your sights off the usual suspects, Berlin is nowhere near the vibe it had, it’s still bang-on full of nightlife but it’s pretentiously trying to market it’s heyday that’s been over for at least 15 years already. London is still London but it’s ridiculously expensive and stressfully aggressive – and I’ve lived there quite some time and was deeply in love with it. Same goes for Barcelona, Amsterdam, Rome, Prague and any of the big shots…overtourism taking its toll. I know, redirecting people towards less touristy places increases tourism on that end but as a traveller, you’ll find those overlooked places offering a lot more relaxed vibes, left field culture and surprises along the way.
As a musician and party dude for many years the best city in Europe is Porto. Another amazing city is Budapest if you are not black lol. Many amazing cities and places but best one is definitely OPO.
The outdoor clubs are incredible, the beach clubs and bars are fun, there is Paceville which is your typical drink until you pass out venue. Then there are beaches where to rest the hungover, everything within a 30 minute drive.
But if you are into hiphop and rap, then Barcelona.
If I have to pick a Spanish city, probably Barcelona. Madrid has better nightlife, but no beach to spend the day at the morning after.
Most people will say Berlin and that’s definitely true, but I’ll also say Prague 🇨🇿 Plenty of bars and clubs, different styles of music and also cheaper than Germany 🙂
Well depends what you are looking for. Ive had a blast in Paris, Prague, Regensburg, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Geneva, Barcelona, Gdansk and Riga. So you have to be more specific😅
Maybe not the best but quite unique is my city, Groningen, famous for not having a closing time, meaning many bars stay open as long as they like, which is often until morning when the market salesmen are already busy setting up their stalls. And being a student city, the bars are completely packed every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. A lot of fesfivals in city in summer too.
Look. Could give you a long list but if you’re serious about nightlife there’s really only one place (globally) and nothing else compares even remotely… Berlin!
Pros:
Unmatched vibes
Craziest clubs
Daytime partying (not messing up your sleep cycle)
Queer
Cons:
It’s a rabbit hole you can easily fall into and not make it out again.
It really depends on the (music) scene and vibe you’re looking for. Most cities are quite diverse in what they offer, but the best they have to offer is usually anchored in a specific niche
Ghent is the ideal town for young people in Belgium.
You’ll always find something cool to do even late at night.
Plus, from 18 July 2025 to 27 July 2025 you can enjoy the Gentse Feesten (Ghent Festivities).
It’s literally a giant and varied party all over Ghent. Day and night.
There will be a large number of festivals and music events.
Not the best moment to discover the city, but the best moment to enjoy nightlife in Ghent.
Anyone saying London clearly hasn’t been out there. It’s nightlife is dire compared to other British cities. Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle & Birmingham are all amazing.
Depends on what kind of nightlife you want – if you want clubs, go for the famous ones – Berlin, Amsterdam and so on. For cool different kinds of events, concerts and other gigs and a banger bar hopping city I cast my vote for Copenhagen. More expensive, but definitely worth it.
Comments
Depends, but as a German and Technofan—-> Berlin, without a question.
Any large city in Germany I’d say. Never felt or got ripped off ordering drinks from the bar. All fairly priced, and you can just get beer and drink on the streets/park/garden, no problem. Transport runs all night.
I love Cologne.
It’s great to wake up next morning with some money still in my wallet.
Frankfurt is also awesome. No matter if you’re into Techno, Metal or Hip-Hop, you’ll always find a place to to hang out.
Just avoid Gibson Club & Pearly Gates, as well as the Main-Trainstation at night lol
Lots of people talking about Germany but it wouldn’t be my first pick for a summer vacation, I’d much rather go party in Spain or France in summer. But it depends on what kind of party you like, and if you care about having a beach nearby or not.
Prague – free, cheap-ish, quality substances available, german-like techno scene.
Berlin – speaks for itself
Amsterdam – good but very crowded/touristy
London – if you can bankroll it
Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, London, and of course the islands of Ibiza and Mykonos
Budapest is a cracker. Decent weather in summer too.
Anything low Mediterranean. The weather’s awesome and it’s probably cheaper for the most part. Just be careful of the shit quality drinks and burglars (including taxi tariffs)
I really enjoyed Budapest and surprisingly, Belgrade. Lots to do and it’s a very different culture from my home The Netherlands.
Look towards overlooked cities and find A LOT more interesting culture and less beaten paths there:
Ljubljana/Slovenia: beautiful city, great culture scene, affordable and smallish-cozy
Belgrade/Serbia (depending on political developments atm): absolutely bonkers and fantastic nightlife, great young scene, beautiful city in parts, interesting history and awesome bar & food scene as well
Antwerp/Belgium: again beautiful, great culture and very accessible city, reasonably affordable and lots of gastro, bars, restaurants, club – absolutely underrated
Sofia/Bulgaria and Tirana/Albania have much going for it, though the nightlife is not exactly that obviously exciting, but its there to explore. Albania is going strong for some time now as a great summer destination for its beautiful beaches. Croatia in general was *the* summer & nightlife destination for ages with a ton of mostly electronic music festivals strung along the coast – it’s still great but certainly very crowded during summer season and became rather expensive.
In you’re thinking Spain, look beyond Barcelona please. It’s expensive, overcrowded and over. Madrid, San Sebastián and Valencia are much, much better options.
In general, get your sights off the usual suspects, Berlin is nowhere near the vibe it had, it’s still bang-on full of nightlife but it’s pretentiously trying to market it’s heyday that’s been over for at least 15 years already. London is still London but it’s ridiculously expensive and stressfully aggressive – and I’ve lived there quite some time and was deeply in love with it. Same goes for Barcelona, Amsterdam, Rome, Prague and any of the big shots…overtourism taking its toll. I know, redirecting people towards less touristy places increases tourism on that end but as a traveller, you’ll find those overlooked places offering a lot more relaxed vibes, left field culture and surprises along the way.
Budapest, Belgrade, Berlin, Copenhagen,Mykonos, ibiza, island Pag and generally speaking coast of croatia is getting hot.
As a musician and party dude for many years the best city in Europe is Porto. Another amazing city is Budapest if you are not black lol. Many amazing cities and places but best one is definitely OPO.
Malta, the whole country.
The outdoor clubs are incredible, the beach clubs and bars are fun, there is Paceville which is your typical drink until you pass out venue. Then there are beaches where to rest the hungover, everything within a 30 minute drive.
But if you are into hiphop and rap, then Barcelona.
If I have to pick a Spanish city, probably Barcelona. Madrid has better nightlife, but no beach to spend the day at the morning after.
Budapest, Barcelona, Berlin, Belgrade. All party capitals starts with a "B", thats the sign 😀
Berlin hands down. Especially in the summer. Not a single city comes even close.
Most people will say Berlin and that’s definitely true, but I’ll also say Prague 🇨🇿 Plenty of bars and clubs, different styles of music and also cheaper than Germany 🙂
Madrid, Ibiza, Paris, Berlin if you like techno music and London if you like weird shit
Lisbon – Warm weather, Beach, Reasonable (ish) and great party town
London
Berlin
Amsterdam
Antwerp (or Gent or Brugge)
Prague
Budapest
Bologna
Barcelona
Madrid
… each for different reasons.
Goto https://nl.ra.co/
And check where your preferred artists play – and just pick some of the smaller cities – fun guaranteed.
My recommendations: Tblisi, Ljubljana, Tel Aviv, San Sebastian, Leipzig, Ghent, Barcelona+Ibiza but stay away from the tourist areas
On the other hand, overrated or no nightlife: whole of France, whole of Italy, Berlin, Amsterdam, London, Mykonos
Well depends what you are looking for. Ive had a blast in Paris, Prague, Regensburg, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Geneva, Barcelona, Gdansk and Riga. So you have to be more specific😅
Edinburgh is great. And I’m assuming you’re also from the US – Scottish people will be a lot nicer to you than mainland Europeans will
Maybe not the best but quite unique is my city, Groningen, famous for not having a closing time, meaning many bars stay open as long as they like, which is often until morning when the market salesmen are already busy setting up their stalls. And being a student city, the bars are completely packed every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. A lot of fesfivals in city in summer too.
Afaik Tbilisi has pretty decent techno scene.
Also, before the war Kyiv had way better nightlife than London when I live.
This really depends on what kind of “partying” you enjoy. That varies from culture to culture.
I’m biased but Berlin. There are a ton of subcultures and groups represented here. You’re into something – you can find it here.
Antwerp is pretty good. Nightlife still feels 2010s
Look. Could give you a long list but if you’re serious about nightlife there’s really only one place (globally) and nothing else compares even remotely… Berlin!
Pros:
Unmatched vibes
Craziest clubs
Daytime partying (not messing up your sleep cycle)
Queer
Cons:
It’s a rabbit hole you can easily fall into and not make it out again.
It really depends on the (music) scene and vibe you’re looking for. Most cities are quite diverse in what they offer, but the best they have to offer is usually anchored in a specific niche
Ghent is the ideal town for young people in Belgium.
You’ll always find something cool to do even late at night.
Plus, from 18 July 2025 to 27 July 2025 you can enjoy the Gentse Feesten (Ghent Festivities).
It’s literally a giant and varied party all over Ghent. Day and night.
There will be a large number of festivals and music events.
Not the best moment to discover the city, but the best moment to enjoy nightlife in Ghent.
Anyone saying London clearly hasn’t been out there. It’s nightlife is dire compared to other British cities. Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle & Birmingham are all amazing.
if you want to be different and experience midnight sun then Reykjavík. It be expensive though.
What people usually do is pregame at home, buy alcohol at the airport or Vínbúðin
Depends on what kind of nightlife you want – if you want clubs, go for the famous ones – Berlin, Amsterdam and so on. For cool different kinds of events, concerts and other gigs and a banger bar hopping city I cast my vote for Copenhagen. More expensive, but definitely worth it.
Screw all the boring places that everyone and their dog have been to, go to Sarandë, you won’t regret it