Almaty Entertainment

  1. Abay State Opera & Ballet Theatre

    Almaty's top cultural venue; three or four performances a week at . Classics like Swan Lake, La Bohème, and Carmen are a few of the regular shows. Also look out for Kazakh operas such as Abay and Abylay Khan .

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  2. Auezov Kazakh Drama Theatre

    Elegant example of Soviet architecture with almost nightly drama performances.

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  3. Crystal

    An 'elite' New York-style club popular with the Range Rover crowd, Crystal has DJs playing mostly European and American house and R&B (in separate rooms). The entrance is on Timiryazev. Downstairs is Nice Bar (292 38 25; Volodarskogo 29), with sink-into sofas and velvet-curtained private alcoves.

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  4. Cuba

    This Mexican/Russian restaurant is Almaty's Latin music hotspot with live bands whipping up a great atmosphere from to Thursday and midnight to Friday and Saturday. For Friday and Saturday you need to book a table by about .

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  5. Da Freak

    The best electronic club in town, Freak has two dance floors, the country's top DJs and sometimes guests from Moscow or Western Europe. The clientele is mostly a cool, 20ish, local crowd but there's a smattering of international 20s-to-35s in there too. The entrance is round the back of the Zhuldyz restaurant in Panfilov Park.

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  6. Dublin Pub

    A smaller, wood-panelled Irish pub on a quiet street near Respublika alanghy. It has assorted international food and the terrace is nice in summer.

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  7. Gas

    Another popular electronic haunt with DJs; no sportswear in this shiny glass-and-steel environment.

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  8. Guinness Pub

    Popular pub near the Hotel Kazakhstan, with the famous Irish stout on tap, as well as pool tables, food and live music most nights.

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  9. Kazkontsert Hall

    Classical, jazz and other concerts.

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  10. Kinoteatr Tsezar

    The Kinoteatr Tsezar shows arthouse movies for much of the year.

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  12. Mad Murphy's

    This Irish pub is the most consistently popular expat haunt for a stout, pub grub, darts, pool and football on big screens.

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  13. Members Bar

    Cocktail-lounge-style jazz music. Resident artist at the time of writing, Geraldine Hunt, puts on a fine show from Tuesday to Saturday.

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  14. Mostafterpartyclub

    This late club is big with a nouveau-riche and expat crowd. There's deep tech and tribal on the big dance floor, plus an oriental-style hookah room and a lounge-bar also with DJs. On Fridays and Saturdays retro 80s sessions start at ; the afterparty begins at .

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  15. Nice Bar

    Downstairs in Crystal is Nice Bar, with sink-into sofas and velvet-curtained private alcoves.

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  16. Palace of the Republic

    Stages assorted musical events including pop concerts.

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  17. Petroleum

    Upstairs from Gas, this flashy DJ dance club pumps out hip hop and techno to an older crowd including foreign business chaps and local working girls. This is a place where you may want to dress up.

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  18. Real Club

    This is consistently the most popular gay club but it changes locations a lot. Has shows at Friday and Saturday nights.

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  19. San Siro

    Almaty's temple of TV football - they have different soccer matches on different screens and can even show you a programme of upcoming games. They serve a good range of food too.

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  20. Shtab

    Tiny local beer bar opposite Hotel Ambassador, with half a dozen tables and a big selection of local and foreign draft beers including Kazakhstan's best, Shymkentskoe.

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  21. Soho

    Expats and local friends and colleagues pack Soho every night for tankards of beer, international food and crowded dancing to the excellent resident rock/blues band. It's got a sort of urban/global theme, with lots of pictures of New York mixed in with flags for every nationality - one place that never lacks atmosphere.

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  23. State Philharmonia

    A range of performances including symphony, chamber, jazz, organ and traditional music.

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  24. Stereo

    Successful new club on a lane between Abay and Kurmanghazy: house/chill-out in one room with Soviet-style décor, soul/funk/R&B in the other.

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  25. Tinkoff

    This trendy, modern, three-floor bar/restaurant brews its own draught beer in six varieties, and the open roof terrace is great in summer. The 2nd-floor, with ceiling-to-floor windows, serves sausages, shashlyk and pizzas (around T800 to around T1600 ) and has occasional live music.

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  26. Vogue

    Fashionable pre-club bar with décor inspired by Vogue magazine - old-gold drapes, grapefruit-toned couches.

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  27. XXX

    Friendly, mostly lesbian club out in the west of the city, 6km beyond the Central Stadium.

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