Whether you want to hit the dance floor while world-famous DJs spin, watch wildly creative entertainers perform everything from cabaret and jazz to acrobatics, magic and poetry, or enjoy beer freshly made in a brewery, New York City’s Bars and Nightclubs have it all. Here are some of the best.
Le Bain, Standard High Line Hotel
For serious nightclubbing with world-famous DJs, stunning views from the top floor of the Meatpacking District’s Standard High Line Hotel, Le Bain discotheque and bar is the place to be. Wednesday nights at Le Bain, the Dance Dance Dance party takes place with guest DJs. Longtime New York City nightlife impresario Erich Conrad brings his party, Zig Zag, to Le Bain on Thursday nights. Of course, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at Le Bain are also ultra-hot. The dance floor has a plunge pool, and there’s a crêperie on the rooftop should all that dancing make you hungry.
Club Cumming
Award-winning stage, television, and film actor and singer Alan Cumming has delivered impressive performances in plays like Hamlet, Bent, and Cabaret. Cumming’s East Village nightclub, Club Cumming, is full of delightful, equally impressive and sometimes offbeat surprises. Featuring everything from cabaret and DJs to special nights with names like Scream Along with Billy and Knit at Night. (Yes, you can knit at night in this nightclub.) Patrons can also sometimes catch impromptu performances by celebrity entertainers who might decide to sing a song or two at this friendly, lively neighborhood club and bar.
Marquee NYC
If you’re a fan of house music, Marquee NYC is the nightclub for you. With sister clubs in Sydney and Las Vegas, this high-energy nightspot features musicians and DJs like Steve Aoki, Andrew Rayel and Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano playing underground and commercial house music on weekends.
The Blue Note
If you like jazz, a trip to New York City isn’t complete without a night at the iconic Greenwich Village jazz club, the Blue Note. Performers at the Blue Note, which opened in 1981, have included jazz greats such as Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, and more recently, the Joshua Redman Quartet, Jools Holland, Chick Corea, Rachell Ferrell, and the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.
House of Yes
This upbeat Brooklyn club is known for its creative dance party events and variety shows featuring performers such as acrobats, poets and magicians. Top DJs play music including funk, disco and house, and there are also roller disco nights for those who like to strap on skates and dance. When you get hungry, you can grab a bite at House of Yes’s Queen of Falafel shop.
Circa Brewing Company
If you want to keep things simple and are in the mood for beer, pizza, and a cool, industrial atmosphere, head to Brooklyn’s Circa Brewing Company. You can enjoy fresh brews made on site in this 6,000-square-foot fully functioning brewery, as well as beer-infused cocktails, wood-burning pizzas, grilled meat, and vegetable plates, surrounded by the tanks and machinery of the brewery.
There are some high times to be had in the Big Apple. Fly to New York, drink up and dance your trouble away. The city never sleeps and neither should you.