Club entertainment in Italy
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A
Max’s Bar
Max is a gay Rome institution, and its unthreatening, welcoming vibe, backed by a hip-wiggling soundtrack of commercial house, is what has endeared it to so many men for so long.
reviewed
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Da Giancarlo
Watch a mixed crowd (dreadlocked, suited, you name it) go right off after hours, with plenty of swaying (to the music, the fumo (pot) and the booze) and lots of laughs. An institution of the best kind - and recommmended by many as the proper way to end a real night out. Grungy, grotty and great.
Be prepared to explain that you're not a member of ARCI (Associazione Ricreativa e Culturale Italiana) at the door - but flash your driving licence from home and you're fine.
reviewed
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B
Piccolo Mondo
This teensy disco and bar is a bit of a throwback but perfectly all right in its own fashion. It pulls a strangely mixed crowd of foreigners and locals in search of that late night frisson. Many Venetians would deny ever setting foot in the place, but wander by late at night and you'll find a handful. Otherwise, it's anything from loud young North American students to late-night loungers on the pull. Drinks cost around €10.
reviewed
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C
Goa
Goa is Rome’s serious super-club, with international names (recent guests include 2ManyDJs), a dressed-to-the-nines crowd prancing like peacocks, and heavies on the door. The night to pick, though, is Thursday, when top Italian DJ Claudio Coccoluto ushers in the best of Europe’s electronic music DJs. Goa also hosts a lesbian night, Venus Rising (www.venusrising.it), on the last Sunday of the month.
reviewed
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D
Fanfulla 101
Hidden behind an unmarked workshop door, this is an underground cultural centre, a book-lined old hall that’s all vintage chic and left-leaning punters. The look is bohemian, arty beards are plentiful, and drinks are dirt cheap. There are regular live indie, jazz, reggae and rock gigs, plus jam sessions, particularly from Monday to Thursday. Tuesday is the night for art-house films, documentaries and poetry readings.
reviewed
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E
Il Muretto
An army of DJs spins mostly house music at one of the hippest summer dance locales set inland from Jesolo and the beach (you will need a car or taxi to get here). Word gets around about events being held here; flyers can be seen floating around bars from Venice to Padua. Club-hoppers will find other hot spots located on the same road, but those who party late at Muretto get to watch dawn arrive through the open roof.
reviewed
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F
Akab
This eclectic former workshop has an underground cellar, an upper floor, a garden and a classically whimsical door policy. On Saturday the two levels get jiggy with R&B and house, while Friday nights Akab goes back to its roots with live music, usually local cover bands. Tuesdays it’s L’Etrika, a must for house and electronica fans, with some big names. Entrance is €15 (one free drink).
reviewed
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G
La Maison
Chandeliers and long, low banquettes provide a sexy backdrop for a see-and-be-seen crowd, who flirt and frolic to a soundtrack of poppy tunes and commercial house. It’s smooth, mainstream and exclusive, yet more fun than you might expect. Entrance is free, if you can get past the door police, but drinks are €10 to €15 a throw. It gets busy by 2am.
reviewed
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H
La Cuba
This place opened in 1997, and has been considered one of Palermo's most fashionable clubs and bars ever since. A difficult place to pigeonhole, La Cuba serves wine and cocktails, as well as food, and hosts parties and live music throughout the year. It has a fantastic outdoor space in the garden of Villa Sperlinga, backed by the villa's dreamy pink domes.
reviewed
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I
Metaverso
The smallest, friendliest place on the Monte Testaccio strip, cellar-club Metaverso packs in a cool, alternative crowd, and plays mostly hip-hop and electronica, with the occasional foray into out-there stuff like acid house. Projections of old movies in the arched interior make it doubly hip. Admission is around €5 and drinks are cheap.
reviewed
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J
Skyline
Gay bar-club Skyline is a popular spot for cruising and carousing, and the bright-walled warren gets very busy. There are bar areas, a video room, bustling dark areas and cubicles. Mondays is the popular ‘naked party’ night, and the second Saturday of the month is ‘sexy night’ when anything goes.
reviewed
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K
Pachuka
The most reliable of the Lido's summertime dance spots, this place right on the beach works year-round as a snack bar and pizzeria, but summer weekend nights it cranks up as a bit of a beachside dance club, too. A shuttle bus operates from midnight to 04:00 every 20 minutes between the club and the Lido vaporetto stop.
reviewed
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L
Shu
The mothership has landed. Two monumental gold arms support a green ceiling with a matrix of circuitry that keeps you hoping George Clinton might just come and save you (from the commercial house, from yourself). Come early for aperitivo with a happy, unpretentious crowd or get ready to queue later on.
reviewed
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M
Nuova Idea
Go club-hopping without leaving this many-splendoured nightlife theme park, one of Milan’s premier gay clubs since 1975. One room features ballroom dancing, the next cages with greased-up gogo dancers. At the centre of it all, celebrated transvestites put Fashion Week runway shows to shame.
reviewed
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N
Distillerie Clandestine
One of Rome’s umbrella venues, this funky place hauls in the hipsters. As well as a restaurant, there’s a ship-shaped American bar with what look like light sabres suspended above it, a designer club that focuses on dance and house, and even a so-last-century smoking room.
reviewed
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Estasi's
Three kilometres south of town towards Palau you soon meet a turn-off to the right for Buoncammino. A quick jaunt down this road brings you to Santa Teresa's late-nightlife hub. The area's only club, the noisy, outdoor Estasi's, opens on Friday and Saturday night in the summer season.
reviewed
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O
Galleria dei Serpenti
A kooky, hidden-away place in Monti, this is a hip gallery-club that hosts some nights to remember, from the monthly mod mashup the Right Track (vinyltastic, featuring northern soul and boogaloo) to in-the-know electronica sessions. Check listings to see what’s coming up.
reviewed
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P
Armani Privé
In the basement of the Armani superstore, this club has a subtle Japanese-Modernist aesthetic, the calm of which you’ll need after the hysteria of getting in and clocking the drink prices. Boobs, botox and blonde hair (or a dinner booking at Nobu) will help with the door police.
reviewed
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Q
Jammin'
Disco bunnies rejoice! Jammin' is the club along the Murazzi strip for serious butt-shaking, hip-wiggling and move-busting. Recharge your batteries at the bar if you must, but remember - the dancefloor awaits... In summer there's a jumping outdoor dance area.
reviewed
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R
Piper Club
Keeping Rome in the groove since 1965, Piper has worked through its midlife crisis and is starting to rediscover its mojo as the life and soul. As well as hosting some unfeasibly funky nights, it attracts big-name gigs (think Peaches, Babyshambles, the Fratellis).
reviewed
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Supperclub
Is it a bar? Is it a restaurant? Is it a cabaret joint? No, it's the Supperclub! Resembling its cousin in Amsterdam, but with less reefer, here you recline on white divans, eat a violin-serenaded dinner, and then strut your designer-clad stuff in the disco.
reviewed
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Rising Love
For those who like their electronica, techno, funky groove and house, this white industrial space will tick all your boxes. Guest DJs such as DJ Falcon (Daft Punk), plus local talent, get the crowd rocking, and there are regular one-off nights.
reviewed
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U
Alpheus
Alpheus has four halls hosting an eclectic array of sounds – from Argentine tango to Goldie – with plenty of live gigs. Saturday is the popular ‘Gorgeous, I am’ gay night, with lots of go-go dancers and guest DJs.
reviewed
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V
Caffè Letterario
Garage-turned-cultural centre Caffè Letterario combines designer looks, bookshop, gallery, performance space and lounge bar. There are regular live gigs from indie folk to Indian dance. Check the website for upcoming events.
reviewed
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W
Hangar
A gay landmark for more than 20 years, Hangar is friendly and welcoming, and attracts locals and out-of-towners, especially at weekends and on Monday nights for the weekly porn screenings. Feeling frisky? Head to the dark room.
reviewed
