Beautiful scenery and cultural experiences are all very well, but sometimes we want to go on holiday purely to whoop it up and have a good time. And some cities are better than others for that – so whether it’s dancing, drinking or wild festivals you’re after, these hedonistic hotspots are where it’s easy to get the party started.
Cancun
Where: Mexico
The cameras: This Mexican shrine to hedonism didn’t even exist in the 1960s but it’s now one of the most popular party zones on the planet. The MTV cameras are almost constantly in town filming bright young things gyrating and pouring vast quantities of alcohol down their necks.
The clubs: The massive clubs are notorious for both their scale and their hedonistic vibe. The big boys are Dady O’s, The City and Coco Bongos, but there are many that work along the same principles. It’s usually a case of paying one up-front fee, then getting free drinks all night.
Often there are lavish, Vegas-lite stage shows, featuring Madonna or Michael Jackson impersonators, while the bar staff are intent on filling up glasses on an almost permanent basis.
Berlin
Where: Germany
Berlin is one of those cities where seemingly innocent little cafes can morph into dancefloors by night, and tequila flows instead of coffee. It also contains some of the most party-hard residents in the world. Rave never died here. Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg Mitte and Friedrichshain are where much of the nightlife is centred around, but each area has its own vibe.
Los Angeles
Where: USA
For a city of health freaks, the beautiful people of Los Angeles don’t half like to cane it on a weekend. Or a week night for that matter. The place to head to is the Sunset Strip, which is pounding with clubs, bars and the Hollywood set generally making drunken idiots of themselves.
Zurich
Where: Switzerland
It may seem a little odd to include the hub of the Swiss banking industry in a list of party cities, but Zurich goes off. There are hotspots in Zuri-West, Langstrasse and Niederdorfstrasse, while Zurich also hosts the Street Parade. This massive techno event is Europe’s biggest street party – even bigger than the Notting Hill Carnival.
Bangkok
Where: Thailand
The legendary Khao Sahn Road has for years been the epicentre of one giant global booze-up. Backpackers come from around the world to taste its seedy delights, and the bars and clubs stay humming until well past the witching hour. Some of the shows within them can be a little questionable, but that’s all part of the fun.
Sydney
Where: Australia
Sydney is the sort of city where you can go all day, then just keep going until the next morning. For an afternoon session, the giant beachside pubs such as the Coogee Bay Hotel or the Newport Arms are the places to be. In the evening, the Rocks is lively, but Kings Cross is the zone for all night drinking, clubbing and general debauchery.
Madrid
Where: Spain
The people of Madrid have a reputation as being night cats in Spain. They start late, but they’ll often keep going until the sun comes up. A crawl through the Malasana and Chueca areas is the perfect way to make a few new friends, indulge in bar-side tapas and give yourself a monster hangover.
London
Where: England
The joy of London is that there isn’t one particular area that the nightlife is centred on. The arty muso crowd head to Camden, the trendsetters around Shoreditch and Hoxton, and the tourists around Soho and Covent Garden. Either way, it has some of the world’s best bars and clubs – such as Fabric – and there’s always somewhere that’s going off.
Amsterdam
Where: The Netherlands
With its huge clubs, liberal laws and stag party reputation, Amsterdam is notorious for being a good-time destination. A lot of the action centres around the famous Red Light District, but there’s also a fair bit going on to the south-east near Lijnbaansgraacht and Leidseplein.
Rio de Janeiro
Where: Brazil
Brazil has a buzzing music scene right now, whether it’s samba, rock, electropop or a little bit of everything. And the bars of Rio – especially in the Lapa, Ipanema and Leblon areas – are a great place to either check out a band or dance until dawn. And then, of course, there is the Rio Carnival – arguably the world’s greatest party.
This article was originally written for AOL UK.
Copyright David Whitley
