Nightlife walks: bar streets and city nights in 4K

About nightlife walks

Every city has a neighbourhood that wakes up when the rest of town goes to bed. These walks follow the crowds into it: the neon canal of Dotonbori in Osaka and the scramble crossing of Shibuya in Tokyo, the club streets of Hongdae in Seoul, Beer Street in Hanoi, Khao San Road in Bangkok and the riverside bars of Clarke Quay in Singapore.

In Europe you can wander the bar-lined lanes of Bairro Alto in Lisbon, the pubs of Temple Bar in Dublin, Soho on a Saturday night, the party streets of Düsseldorf’s Altstadt, Istiklal Street in Istanbul, Trastevere in Rome, the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona, Budapest, Bucharest after midnight, Stockholm at three in the morning, Moscow after dark and the old streets of Naples, Athens and Tbilisi. In the Americas there is live music on Bourbon Street, Broadway in Nashville and Sixth Street in Austin, the lights of Fremont Street in Las Vegas and samba in the streets of Lapa in Rio. Watch them to feel a night out from your sofa, or to see what a nightlife area is really like before you book a hotel next to it.

Questions

What is a nightlife walk?

It is a walking video filmed after dark in the part of a city where people go out: a bar street, an old-town quarter, a strip of music venues or a neon shopping district. The camera moves through the street at walking pace with the real sound of the place, so you see the crowds, the lights and how busy it gets, without a presenter or a party vlog.

Can these videos help me choose where to stay?

Yes, that is one of the best uses for them. A nightlife district is great to visit and can be loud to sleep in, and photos on a booking page do not show that. Watch the walk to see how crowded and noisy the street is late at night, then decide whether you want a room in the middle of it or a short walk away. For many of these cities we also have a where-to-stay guide that compares the lively areas with the quieter ones.

Which nights are these places busiest?

In most cities the going-out districts peak on Friday and Saturday nights, and several of the walks here were filmed on a Saturday for that reason. Summer evenings are usually busier than winter ones, and some streets with live music are lively most nights of the week. Each card says when the walk was filmed whenever the creator shared it.

Are the videos suitable for everyone?

They show ordinary public streets: people walking, eating, queuing and listening to music. We leave out red-light streets and videos that focus on individuals rather than on the place. They are still real nights out, so expect crowds, loud music and, in some cities, people drinking in the street.

What does “Dark right now” mean?

The clock on each card shows the local time in that city at this moment. Choose “Dark right now” to see only the places where it is night as you read this, a simple way to pick a walk that matches what is actually happening there.