Whatever a good night out means to you – whether it’s boogieing ‘til dawn in a sticky-floored club or sweating out your stresses in an after-dark sauna sesh – cities across Europe each have their own individual nightlife identities, and there’s something out there for all of us.
But which cities are doing it best? Well, nightlife is part of the bedrock of , so we quizzed thousands of locals about what going out is like in their cities, and seven hubs across the continent made it onto our shiny new worldwide list.
The first of these was Madrid, which scraped into second place behind crowning champion Las Vegas, thanks to 83 percent of locals describing the nightlife scene as either ‘good’ or ‘amazing’.
We spoke to Madrid’s restaurant and bars editor Gorka Elorrieta about the city’s after-dark scene, who said: ‘Big nights out happen on Gran Vía thanks to LuLa and Fitz, while Madrid’s LGBTQ+ scene boasts legendary venues like Rick’s, weekly drag shows at former indie temple Maravillas Club, and beautiful people packing out the nights at Marta, Cariño!, and Salvaora Brown. There’s also a new kind of high-end fun in town, spearheaded by a wave of Latin American arrivals: at places like Pabblo, Rhudo and Jimmy’s you’ll find either dinner and a show, or restaurants where the food is just the warm-up before the party really kicks off.’
Paris claimed second place, and Berlin, our 2024 European champion for nightlife, came in third, with 80 percent and 72 percent of locals awarding them with positive ratings respectively. Scroll on to see each hub danced its way into our worldwide ranking.
These are the best cities in Europe for nightlife, according to
- Madrid (2)
- Paris (3)
- Berlin (5)
- Brighton (7)
- Warsaw (12)
- Amsterdam (17)
- Athens (20)
Check out ’s full list of the world’s best cities for nightlife in 2025.
Did you see four African cities have been named best in the world for nightlife?
Plus: These are officially the most beautiful outdoor cinemas in Europe.
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