Atlanta City Guide - Nightlife

Nightlife in Atlanta varies from intimate bars to live music venues and nightclubs. Dress up for intimate dinners, dress ostentatiously for the Buckhead scene and dress as way out as you dare for Little Five Points. Some bars stay open until 0400 but tend to close much earlier on Sundays. Although the legal drinking age is 21 years, many bars may admit those who are 18 and above. Drink prices start from around US$4 and vary enormously according to the establishment; draught beers are less expensive than bottled imports.

Little Five Points (west of Georgia State University) is the 'Greenwich Village' of Atlanta. A small group of live music clubs and performance theatres hosts the city's cutting-edge artists and the small plaza area is a hangout for street performers and a younger crowd. There are a few festivals throughout the year, most notably the massive Halloween festival.

Buckhead, where Peachtree and Roswell roads meet, is for the young, smart and unattached, who pack the bars, especially on Friday nights. There are several clubs, a few live music venues, and tons of bars and restaurants to suit every fancy.

Midtown stretches from Downtown to Buckhead, and Piedmont Park hosts everything from the Gay Pride Festival to the Montreux-Atlanta International Music Festival and the Dogwood Festival. Make sure to spend an evening at The New American Shakespeare Tavern, 499 Peachtree Street Northeast (tel: (404) 874 5299; website: www.shakespearetavern.com), where you can see a full-length Shakespeare play in a setting not unlike the original Globe Theatre, accompanied by a hearty pub dinner. Seating is on a first come, first serve basis. Go early if you don't want to watch from the rafters.

There is a website with weekly listings on it (website: www.accessatlanta.com) and events information is also published weekly in Creative Loafing (Thursdays). Check City Search (website: http://atlanta.citysearch.com) for recommendations and reviews.

Bars: For European chic, Bazzaar, located next to the Fox Theatre at 654 Peachtree Street Northeast fits the bill. Beluga Martini Bar, 3115 Piedmont Road, which is said to have the best Martinis in the city, has live jazz and a sophisticated clientele. Halo, 817 West Peachtree Street Northwest, a basement-level lounge is the place to socialize. If casual and boisterous is more your style, try American Pie, 5840 Rosewell Road, Sandy Springs. For a taste of Britain, sample the brews and the fare at the Prince of Wales Pub, 1144 Piedmont Avenue. Neighbor's Pub, 752C North Highland Avenue, is altogether a classier joint in the posh suburb of Virginia Highlands.

Clubs: Atlanta has hotspots for every taste. Compound, 1008 Brady Avenue (website: www.compoundatl.com), combines casual lounges, a full service bar, a large dance floor, DJ music and an open air courtyard. Free salsa lessons are given every Thursday night. Indoor waterfalls and interactive plasma, plus disco, funk and dance music make the chic Mark, 79 Poplar Street (website: www.themarkatlanta.com), the place where well-known entertainers hold their post-concert parties while the Sanctuary, 3209 Paces Ferry Place Northwest (website: www.sanctuarynightclub.com), appeals to both young and old Latin dance fans.

Live Music: Recommended in Buckhead are CJ's Landing, 270 Buckhead Avenue Northeast (website: www.cjslanding.com), for reggae on a deck, and Cafe 290, 290 Hildebrand Drive Northeast, for jazz. For blues, Fuzzy's Place, 2015 North Druid Hills Road (website: www.fuzzys.com), is a little venue with a reputation for producing the real thing. Churchill Grounds (website: www.churchillgrounds.com) is a swanky little club cuddled up next door to the Fox Theatre at 660 Peachtree Street, which has become the place to hear traditional jazz from solid local ensembles. Major concerts are held at the Philips Arena, 1 Philips Drive (tel: (404) 878 3000; website: www.philipsarena.com), or the HiFi Buys Amphitheatre, just out of town at 2002 Lakewood Way (tel: (404) 443 5090). Up-and-coming bands play at The Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre, 3110 Roswell Boulevard, Buckhead (tel: (404) 233 7699), The Cotton Club, which is actually in the basement of the Tabernacle, 152 Luckie Street (tel: (404) 659 9022), Eddie's Attic, 515 North McDonough Street, Decatur, (tel: (404) 377 4976; website: www.eddiesattic.com), the Rialto Center For the Performing Arts, 80 Forsyth Street, Downtown (tel: (404) 651 4727; website: www.rialtocenter.org) and Center Stage Theatre, 1374 West Peachtree Street, Midtown (tel: (404) 885 1163).