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Beguilingly simple place with a large bar, comfortable seating, louche, 70s-inspired décor, dance floor and some of the best DJs from Portugal and around Europe.
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Bazaar
The hottest place in Porto at writing, with high-quality house and hundreds of pretty 20- and 30-somethings in the their shiny best spread out over three, minimalist, white-washed levels.
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Boys 'R' Us
Long-standing favourite with pumping pop and electronica and raucous drag shows downstairs. Upstairs is a quieter lounge. It's usually best from to .
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Café A Brasileira
This Beaux Arts treasure is looking a little battered but it's still great to linger amid its bowed windows and Corinthian columns.
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Café Guarany
With sunny, tiled interior, marble-top tables, and Afro-Brazilian mural, this classy affair has attracted business and literary elite since the 1930s. Regularly has live music and serves full meals.
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Café na Praça
Kick off the night at this attractive café on the ground floor of a small mall near the Torre de Clérigos.
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Caos Galeria Bar
Candle-lit and done up in shades of grey, this place is the hippest central place and regularly holds after-hours parties featuring chilled-out electronica.
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Cinema Centro Comercial Cidade do Porto
There are no cinemas in the centre, but you can head by metro to the multiscreen Cinema Centro Comercial Cidade do Porto.
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Clube Mau-Mau
Formerly Porto's hottest club, this cavernous industrial space offers standard R&B and house most nights but still attracts top guest DJs from time to time. Also provides late-night grub.
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Era uma Vez no Porto
Part tearoom, part nightclub, part experimental art gallery and part vintage clothing shop, this place in an airy riverfront townhouse feels as if you've entered a private party with a cash bar.
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Estado Novo
The Estado Novo's airy, whitewashed interior with slick lighting and rocking sound system attracts teens on some nights, their moms and dads on others. Worth finding out what's on their docket.
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Gaia's Esplanade
Just across the river from the gritty Ribeira waterfront, Gaia's esplanade is trendier (though also more mainstream). A string of identical looking chrome-and-glass bars and nightclubs are surrounded by open-air decks and designer fountains. Poke around until you find your scene.
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Hard Club
Above the waterfront in an old tannery back, this industrial-inspired club hosts the cream of visiting international and home-grown DJs, plus boasts cool roof-top terrace.
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Indústria
Done up with silver-and-velvet wallpaper and bean-bag chairs, this retro basement club serves up funk, house and, above, all electronica to a crowd that generally skews very young. Take the bus and get off at the Molhe stop.
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Moinho de Vento
Small but spiffy bar-disco with dark room and drag and go-go boys. Usually starts hopping after .
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Pop
Dress up and show off in what looks like a nouveau-riche dining room of glass and chandeliers. Caters to a multi-generational crowd, with oldies to please the oldies as well as hipper DJs for the kids.
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Pride Bar
Newest hotspot with live music, drag shows and go-go boys. Open very late.
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Restaurante Mal Cozinhado
Porto has no fado tradition of its own, but you can enjoy the Lisbon or Coimbra version of 'Portugal blues' at The food isn't the main attraction - and in any case is grossly overpriced - but there's a minimum charge, equivalent to a light meal or several drinks.
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Restaurante O Fado
Porto has no fado tradition of its own, but you can enjoy the Lisbon or Coimbra version of 'Portugal blues' into the wee hours at smoky atmospheric haunt Restaurante O Fado .
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Ribeirinha
This intimate, no-frills bar specialises in live rock and metal, but sometimes features DJs spinning reggae and house.
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Ryan's Irish Pub
Generous drams of whisky with its good ol' Irish tunes. And of course, English is spoken. Follow the Guinness signs.
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Solar do Vinho do Porto
The city's swankiest place for a spot of port, it's set in a 19th-century house near the Palácio de Cristal, with a fussy but delightful garden and stunning views of the Douro. Hundreds of ports are available.
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Swing
Near Boavista, this is Porto's oldest and unrepentantly old-school (OK, kitsch) disco, attracting a sociable, mixed gay-and-straight crowd with crowd-pleasing '80s, dance pop, house, and disco. Open Sundays.
