Top 10 nightspots in the world

by Martha Edwards on

We each travel for different reasons, but for some travellers, a spectacular nightlife is a major draw to certain destinations. Which is why concierge.com sent a team of reporters out to find the 10 best nightspots in the world (man! I want that job … ) Here’s the list they came up with:

  1. Rooftop Cinema, Melbourne, Australia
  2. Cafe Cairo – Hamilton, Bermuda
  3. Melody Bar – Toronto, Canada
  4. Bar Yellow, Santiago, Chile
  5. Q Bar, Beijing, China
  6. Glamour Bar, Shanghai, China
  7. Monsoon, Shanghai, China
  8. 15cent15, Paris, France
  9. Cibeles, Mexico City, Mexico
  10. Terrasse, Renault, Mexico City, Mexico

Been to any of these places? Yeah, me neither, and I’ll probably never make it since I’m more of a fan of small, out-of-the-way, holes in the wall. But some of them sound kind of cool. To read about the picks more in-depth, click here.

The longest bar in the world: Dusseldorf’s Altstadt

by Grant Martin on

In traveling to Eastern Europe last week, I had a fairly substantial layover in Düsseldorf, Germany. Figuring I could make it into the city and back during those nine hours, I checked a few of my favorite internet resources and discovered that Düsseldorf is home to the self-proclaimed longest bar in the world. Thus being the studious Gadling researcher that I am, I decided to investigate.

Altstadt can be reached with a few train transfers (unless the union is striking) from the airport in about 45 minutes. Once you exit the subway you’ll see a swarm of people walking in one general direction. Follow them — they’re headed towards the beer. “The longest bar in the world” is a series of several blocks of brick pedestrian walkways, connected and curving through the old city. Scattered among them you’ll find your typical food joints, although most of the bars serve standard German fare; I was able to get “barbecued meats” and a huge wheat beer for about 12E (tip: that small fillet of meat that looks like a liver cut in half actually is liver).

Make sure you stop by the Barrique Düsseldorf Altstadt, where you can purchase liquor by the liter out of giant glass globes and peruse the limoncello and grappa collection.

To get to Altstadt from the airport, take a commuter train to the Dusseldorf HBF, then transfer to the Heinrich-Heine-Allee metro stop. You’ll know where to go once you reach the surface.

Cliff Barnes: Stockholm’s Nightlife Done Right

by Grant Martin on

Next time you find yourself in Stockholm, consider visiting one of my favorite bars in the world: Cliff Barnes.

Now, I’ve been to a lot of bars in my day and I’m generally a person who’s fonder of the the quieter, lounge types of establishments. Sure, I’ve been dragged to a few clubs, but dancing really isn’t my forte.

Cliff Barnes is set up as a ski-lodge-esque sort of of drinking hall, with large dark tables, wooden trim and exotic wallpaper. When we got there at about 10:30, the line had just started and we could see the happy Swedes dining about their business within. Declining to check our coats on the way in, we were told by the bouncers “No, really. It’ll get hot in there.”

And hot it got. Milling about and enjoying the landscape at 11PM, the lights suddenly dropped and Also Sprach Zarathustra came on over the speakers. Followed by a five second pause. Followed by In The Navy. You get the picture. Not your average dance music by far, and therefore, outstanding. As you can probably guess, it didn’t take long for the happy Swedes and Americans alike to get on the tables and start swinging things around.

We later learned that Cliff Barnes was a recurring member of the telly show Dallas. A perfect name for a perfect bar.

Norrtullsgatan 45, 11345 Stockholm.

Another Reason why you Should (or Should Not) go to Prague

by Grant Martin on

These days, the word on Prague is out. Back in the nineties it used to be a beautiful Bohemian destination where you could get a good deal on accommodation, beer and souvenir fur hats against the backdrop of a magnificent castle overlooking the city. These perks still apply, its just that everyone knows about it, and they’re all here doing the same thing.

Of particular notice are the volume of young Westerners running around at night. You don’t see them much during the day, but once the sun goes down the percentage of Czech spoken on the street is slowly overtaken with British and American English.

With good reason. Considering the strength of the Pound Sterling and Euro over the Czech Crown, Westerners can drink an evening full of beer here for the same price that they could get a round in the UK. And drink they do. This chap was screaming like a lunatic before he came around the corner, saw us, and immediately went to sleep. Perhaps an apt metaphor for the current state of Prague.

Army of Björk in Brooklyn

by Adrienne Wilson on

Just as I start to believe I am a die-hard Björk fan some quirky costume party comes along knocking my theory out-of-whack. For instance, on Wednesday, January 31 the Stain bar on Grand Street in Brooklyn is having an Army of Björk costume party where fans or anyone game to dressing up like the eclectic Icelandic artist can do so and be accepted with open arms. In addition to frosty weather they’ll be offering warm wine (glogg) and enough people dressed up as swans and so forth to gawk and watch all night long.

For all the real fanatics out there planning on attending, please do share a photo after the event.

via Gridskipper