Nightlife Sydney: Wild Kings Cross, chic bars & rocking pubs

The nightlife in Sydney has a lot to offer just like the rest of the city. Whether trendy nightclubs, cozy bars, rocking pubs or hip live concerts, the nightlife of this city of millions can basically please everyone. Despite the heavier crowds on weekends, it's also great to party on the other days of the week. Actually, all parts of the city have numerous pubs where you can spend a nice evening with live music. However, if you really want to hit the town, the CBD, Kings Cross, Darling Harbour and Darlinghurst are the best places to go, as these are where most of the nightclubs are located. If you are already visiting the world metropolis, you should not miss the nightlife in Sydney as an actual sight under any circumstances.

Things to know about nightlife in Sydney

Since there is always something different going on in the nightlife of Australia's largest city, it makes sense to find out in advance about the changing events or special events. Information about current events, concerts and parties can be found, for example, in Time Out. The world metropolis has the largest selection of nightclubs in Australia, specializing in the most popular music genres of electro, pop, R&B and modern rock. However, Sydneysiders are also very fond of live concerts, which is why many hotels and pubs throughout the city regularly hire bands. The main venues for live concerts are listed in the Museums, Arts & Culture article under the Music section. In and near the city center, the choice of nightclubs and bars is the widest. However, the inner suburbs also offer a good range of options for a varied and exuberant evening.

The role of neighborhoods in nightlife

Since most of the nightlife takes place within a radius of about 4 kilometers, it's not a big problem to change locations during the evening, even if you have to go to the neighboring district to do so. With the highest proportion of bars and nightclubs, the Central Business District is at the top of the city's boroughs in terms of nightlife. There are also many pubs in Circular Quay and The Rocks that cater to a variety of styles and price ranges. The best thing to do here is to take a walk to see which of the many venues you like best. An absolute highlight of Sydney's nightlife is a visit to Kings Cross, the red-light district. Red lighting, several striptease stores, adult stores, women waiting for customers on the side of the road and a lot of drunk people can be found here in the evening. In any case, it is a great place to go out, because the selection of bars and discos along Darlinghurst Road is also very large.

But also the long Oxford Street in the Darlinghurst district turns into a party mile at nightfall, which makes the nightlife in Sydney attractive especially for the gay scene. Indeed, many of the pubs and nightclubs located here specialize in a same-sex crowd. Oxford Street in the Paddington district is also home to more trendy stores, clubs and pubs. Bondi Beach on the east coast of the city also has a couple of pubs and regular live performances by various bands. For a visit to a disco, however, the more southerly Coogee is a good choice. In the west of the city center, the Home, Australia's largest nightclub, and the bars at Cockle Bay in Darling Harbour are hot spots. In addition, you can start the evening in the neighboring district of Pyrmont in the Star City Casino. Crown Street in Surry Hills, Point Road in Glebe, Darling Street in Balmain and King Street in Newtown are other places to go for a nice night out in a stylish bar or alternative pub. In the north, both Manly and Newport have a club and pubs with live music. Otherwise, in terms of nightlife Sydney would be Cronulla in the south and Parramatta in the west to supplement.

LGBT scene

Sydney has a distinct gay and lesbian scene, centered not only at night on lively Oxford Street in Darlinghurst (see Sydney gay scene). One of the flashiest events is the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (see Events Sydney), celebrated every February in this very street. Oxford Street's bars and nightclubs attract gay and lesbian as well as straight audiences. Also the Red Rattler Theatre in Marrickville is well known for its special events, parties and queer nights. Since men dominate the scene and there is no club for same-sex women only, certain bars occasionally organize lesbian nights. There is also quite a large lesbian scene in the Inner West suburbs, with Newtown and Enmore being particularly noteworthy. Numerous websites inform about current events, parties and news about the LGBT scene of the city.