Best European Cities To Visit If You Enjoy A Lively Nightlife Scene

For anyone outside of it, traveling to Europe is a pretty big deal. The continent is home to so many different cultures, languages, and breath-taking sights and while there are plenty of travelers who specifically come for one or all of those reasons, a completely different breed of traveler takes a Euro trip to party like they never have before. Luckily, there are many European cities that not only have an electrifying nightlife scene, but their party cultures are so strong that they have become world famous for what they do under a star-lit sky.

Before indulging in everything Europe has to offer in the way of more wild nighttime activities, you may want to do a little research on its many countries and their customs or regulations on things like alcohol consumption. For example, participating in a "little headbutt" in the Netherlands all but ensures a blacked-out night, and toasting with water in Spain is considered a bad omen that could lead to bad sex later that night.

Potential sex curses aside, Europe is a historical, culture-filled continent with old countries that really know how to party. Whether you're planning a trip around exploring one city's nightlife scene or intend on backpacking through Europe on a club-hoping adventure, these 12 cities should be on your radar for a sleepless night full of music and dancing.

If your ideal night out on the town includes clubbing and house music, visiting Ibiza is pretty much a no-brainer. The Mediterranean island off the coast of Spain is famous for its nightlife, with songs and films centered around the wild nights it offers visitors. The best time – or, honestly, only time – to go to Ibiza for the ultimate club and party experience is during the summer. Not only is that the peak time for the island, but a lot of clubs aren't even open outside of the summer months.

Some of the most popular and famous DJs are in Ibiza during the summer and they naturally can be found at the hottest clubs on the island. There are more popular clubs in Ibiza than there are days in a week, so you won't be able to hit them all in a typical vacation period, though you can narrow your options down significantly. Hï Ibiza, as the number one club in the world, seems to be a running favorite where both partiers and famed DJs alike flock to. If you're looking for a smaller, more intimate club, Amnesia is a good bet.

A trip to Ibiza is like no other, and each time you return is a completely new experience. Drop in for a night or stay for a week, any party here is one worth attending – but don't get to check out the beaches when the morning comes, because they are out of this world as well.

While there are family-friendly things to do in Amsterdam, the city has been known as the weed capital of the world for quite some time, a trait that has had Americans flocking to the city for some lax-lawed fun. Even if you aren't particularly close friends with Mary Jane, Amsterdam is also considered the party capital of the Netherlands, so there's really always something to do at night.

Since the city gives its people more personal freedom in its laws, Americans tend to consider Amsterdam an exotic and fun place to get wild and let loose. The Red Light District, for example, is a popular destination for tourists — and not just for obvious reasons. The Red Light District is actually very close to a lot of cultural and important historical attractions. Of course, the district does hit a little differently at night with establishments like The Old Sailor cafe-bar and the Bananenbar offering two very different vibes.

A much less infamous area of Amsterdam is Leidseplein, where the nightlife is vibrant and very much alive. Tourists as well as locals like to party in Leidseplein and participating in a pub crawl there will allow you to explore the various bars and clubs packed together closely in the area and get supplied with enough drinks to make it likely you won't remember them in the morning.

Berlin is a fantastic place to visit if you're interested in a nightlife scene that will not only include tourists like yourself but will largely see locals joining in on the fun in large numbers. For this reason, the city has a wide range of club and bar scenes and travelers of any taste and comfort level will find somewhere they can be their true and genuine selves.

There are thousands of bars and clubs in Berlin, which means that anyone from an avid partier to travelers who like a low-key hole-in-the-wall bar will find their own place to fit in with other visitors and locals. For the former, districts like Friedrichshain and Wrangelstrasse on the eastern side of Berlin offer great club scenes. Where Wrangelstrasse has a more diverse collection of clubs and bars, Friedrichshain is for the punky alternative clubbers who want to dance to hyperactive techno and electronic music.

Travelers looking for a more under-the-radar bar scene should explore the Mitte district. The district contains various landmarks and attractions, so you'd be killing two birds with one stone by pub crawling here. Prater Biergarten in Prenzlauer Berg is a great spot to check out if you like beer. The beer garden has impressively been around since the early 1800s and is famous for being Berlin's oldest beer garden, making for not only a great night of drinking outdoors but a historical one as well.

Serbia isn't the first place Americans think of when considering which countries really know how to party, but not considering the southeastern European country would be a mistake. Actually, the country's capital city of Belgrade is well known in Europe for its nightlife – so much so that the bars and clubs adapt to different times of the year and stay busy year-round.

One of the coolest aspects of the party scene in Belgrade is that popular clubs and venues actually change locations depending on the season. If you're visiting the city during the colder months, you can expect to pretty much dance indoors for the duration of your night. The summer brings with it a move to the river – well, technically on the river – where popular clubs have floating rafts called splavs that feature various genres of music and dancers.

The nightlife in Belgrade can be described as simply eclectic, as clubs and bars are found in buildings that once housed skateparks and meat-drying warehouses. A lot of establishments in Belgrade have themes or concepts as well, so everyone can find their perfect match when it comes to vibes. No matter when or where you decide to go in Belgrade, remember to make a reservation, or your night won't turn out nearly as expected.

If your idea of the perfect party destination looks like a never-ending party, then Barcelona may be the way to go. The clubs tend to die down around six in the morning, which is just in time to catch the sunrise over the water outside of a beachfront venue. Getting a few hours of shut-eye before starting out your next day in Barcelona with a booze-filled brunch to kickstart the party is a popular way to experience the city.

Capping off the night with the sun coming up over the water sounds great, but you need to make sure you work that into your night by making sure your last club is a beach club, of which Barcelona has many. Opium is a long-standing favorite when it comes to beach spots. Another option is to take your party onto a boat for a booze cruise.

Drinks can get pretty pricey when clubbing in Barcelona, so it's wise to make use of the massive quantity of bars throughout the city. The bar scene takes patrons away from the waterfront and into the Gothic Quarter, the heart of the old city. L'Ascensor offers an ideal experience for travelers who want to really feel the history of the city while also indulging in the nightlife scene, as the cocktail bar has authentic architecture complete with entering through an antique elevator.

A trip to Király Street could cure any party itch, as the street in Budapest is at the heart of the city and is well known for being the place to peruse casually during the day and let loose at night. The street is in the old Jewish Quarter of the city, where gorgeous architecture is evidence of just how much history is in the area.

Budapest is different from a lot of other cities in that it has a wide variety of ruin bars. These unique bars – located within the Jewish Quarter — are the best way to recycle that we've ever seen and it's not uncommon for the establishments to take whatever discarded material they can find and utilize them. Even if the aesthetic isn't your thing, you can still get a drink all while taking in the way old artifacts and buildings get put to good use again.

UdvarRom is the place to go if you'd like an affordable ruin bar experience, but if you have richer tastes and still want to check out one of Budapest's niche bars then Mazel Tov is the way to go. If instead, you want to purely go off of vibes, then Szimpla Kert should be at the top of your list for ruin bars to visit. The eclectic bar is worth a visit even if just to look around inside it – no one would blame you if you stayed for a beer or two, though!

Krakow has so much to offer travelers, especially if you're a history buff. The city is hundreds of years old and is so rich in history and experiences that it was said to be the home of an ancient dragon. Even historians need to let loose from time to time, though, and now the city is famous for its nightlife.

Boat parties and bar crawls are popular here, giving travelers a memorable and unique experience while in the cultural powerhouse of a city. Old Town is a great district to go for an interesting night at the clubs, though it is a bit more pricey than the rest of the city – not to fret, though, as drinking in Krakow comes with a smaller price tag than the majority of other cities with a healthy nightlife scene.

Alternatively, Kazimierz is a great place for pub crawling, or even staying close to one or two bars that are nestled in between other quirky businesses in the quarter. Propaganda Pub and Alchemia are both winners, but just taking a stroll through the area will give you plenty of ideas on how these and other bars here stand out from bars elsewhere – their atmospheres and visual creativity are both impressive and otherworldly.

If you're going all the way to Europe to party, chances are you want to experience plenty of culture and unique experiences while you do it. Riga is perfect for the eclectic traveler, as they don't just have bars and clubs, they have cultural experiences centered on alcohol. You could spend a week partying in Riga and have very different experiences every single night.

Some of the best bars are tied up in being other things as well. Guaja is a bar that also acts as a kind of time capsule, as it appears stuck in the time in the '70s. Roks Cepur is another bar that kind of just feels as if time doesn't have any hold on it. The pub also acts as a restaurant and record store, and local lovers of music patronize the bar in order to sit and enjoy a drink while also discussing music with one another.

Paris might be the obvious destination when planning a trip to France, but the iconic sights and romantic air is no match for Nice's coastal party vibes – especially if you're looking for an exciting nightlife scene. Besides being right on the Mediterranean Sea, the draws of Nice include a much more affordable night out than France's capital.

Even though Nice costs less than Paris if you're out on the town for a night of fun, it is not cheap in fun and unique bars. There are a wide range of experiences you could have in Nice while enjoying yourself all night from hidden gems that like to keep it low-key to clubs that keep the music bumped up and energy high.

If you do want to go the cheap route, Villa Hostels is likely perfect for you, as it is kind to the wallet and has a happy hour on top of its affordable drinks. Wayne's Bar and Bulldog Pub are great choices for anyone wanting a traditional pub with little to no frills, and High Club is for travelers who like to dance – they've got three dance floors and popular, well known DJs come through.

Madrid has a fantastic nightlife, especially if you enjoy live music, because you can find some playing somewhere every single night in Madrid. It's relatively easy to find free or affordably musical entertainment, but you could be hard pressed to pinpoint just where to hear your favorite style of music. La Coquette typically books live jazz and blues artists for its patrons while Wurlitzer Ballroomis known for playing mostly rock genres with some others scattered about.

If you are more of a clubbing person, don't worry because Madrid is all over the club scene as well. The city is home to Kapital, which is a seven story club with each floor featuring a different type of music. You can also check out Medias Puri, an inconspicuous disco club that puts on pretty spectacular live shows. It is located in the basement of an old theater and has three separate dance floors that differ by what genre music they are prepared for.

A supreme party city, Lisbon is one of the best places in Europe for a bachelor party. Not only is it a decently affordable city to have an active nightlife in, but the city's various clubs and bars offer different ways to have a lovely night out. Another high point of Lisbon's party scene is that day parties are very much a thing, which makes it very easy to extend your revelries of the night into the sun-filled next day.

There are a number of clubs in the city that are well known, like LuxFrágil. It's relatively hard to get into LuxFrágil, but may be worth trying. The club sets a stage for many world renowned DJs and has a superior view of both the Tagus River and Lisbon's stunning cityscape. Conversely, Musicbox isn't very well known and they kind of seem to like it that way. The club is located under a bridge with very little signage to let you know where it is. To find the club you'll have to do some due diligence, but the accomplishment and reward of bringing your party into a semi-secret club is very worth it.

If you're headed to England for a good time, London is the obvious answer, so we won't bore you with it here. Instead of heading to the tried and true option, though, making a visit to Newcastle may have its perks. For one thing, it's more affordable to go out and have a round of drinks in Newcastle, but it's also relatively young in terms of who resides there – possibly due to it being a University city. Stag parties are very common in the city so don't be surprised if you run into a few groups celebrating an upcoming marriage.

Newcastle has a number of neighborhoods and areas that have bustling nightlife scenes. The Diamond Strip is for those who have some money to throw around. You're more likely to spot a celebrity hitting the bars here than anywhere else in the city. On the other hand, the Bigg Market is chill and cheap – don't take that to mean it isn't a good time, because you can have just as much if not more fun here.

The Gate is another place groups like to go for a night out. It's a complex that has pretty much everything you would need for an epic night of drinking, including experiences like ax throwing, a dinner theater, and an escape room as well as a casino. Since you can craft a full experience in the complex, The Gate is perfect for stag and hen parties.