London, like New York City, is a 24-hour town. Transportation runs all hours of the night, and there are places open every hour of the day and evening. Be certain to pick up a Time Out magazine for shows, comedy, music, readings, film, and theatre. And make plans to eat earlier; London’s best restaurants often close before midnight.

Bars and Pubs

If it’s a regular old pub you’re after, take a walk down the street. London is teeming with pubs and local bars, and you’ll find one on every corner. But if you want atmosphere and class, you may have to look a little harder.

Try Claridge’s Bar for history and society. Once the hotel of foreign royalty, Claridge’s is now the fashionable place to go for cocktails, champagne, and caviar. The atmosphere is chic and elegant, and you’ll be brushing shoulders with some of London’s elite.

One of the most beautiful hotel lobby bars is the Lobby Bar at One Aldwych Hotel, in the heart of the West End. Original contemporary sculptures and chic surroundings make this hotel bar one of the destinations for a grand night out.

The Oxo Tower Bar is famous for its stunning eighth-floor view and its selective admission policy; dress the part if you want to be accepted here.

There are dozens of bars and pubs and nightclubs to take advantage of in London; just keep your eyes open!

Shows

If you’re not into the pub scene but want entertainment, London is a good place to find it. It’s the center of some of the newest rock music in Europe, as well as a great place to go for comedy and theatre. Though many of the live theatre shows aren’t open after midnight, the comedy clubs are; you can catch some of the best in downtown London.

Start with some music. If you do a pub-crawl through London, you’re going to find dozens of new and established acts every night. Start with Tin Pan Alley and the 12 Bar Club; in the heart of London’s musical district, you’ll find multiple bands most nights of the week; the club hosts two bars and serves food.

The 100 Club on Oxford Street is musically important and musically active; it’s been putting on music since 1942, and has hosted such important bands in their early gigging days as The Rolling Stones and The Kinks; you can still find cutting-edge music here from rock to swing to blues.

Borderline, a small venue is used by a surprising number of name bands, from REM to everyone’s favorite fake Spinal Tap. They also find some of the best new musical acts in Europe, and were voted Timeout Venue and Promoter of the Year in 2001.

For great comedy acts, try Bound and Gagged, a two-hundred-seat club that offers the best comedy acts in London; or you could try the Comedy Store, the smoky atmosphere of Downstairs at The King’s Head, or Jongleurs. Up the Creek hosts well known acts as well as new comedians.

Haunted London

If you’d rather scream than laugh, London is one of the most haunted cities in Europe. Just walking down the street can be spooky in some districts. Try a walk near the Tower of London, trying to spot the headless Anne Boleyn’s ghost riding in on her carriage; or Westminster Abbey, where a ghostly Benedictine Monk is often spotted hovering some distance above the ground.

At Hampton Court Palace, Jane Seymour, Henry VIII’s third wife, died giving birth to Edward VI. Every October 12, the anniversary of her death, she is supposed to be seen clothed in white, floating up the stairs into the Silver Stick Gallery; Catherine Howard, one of her successors in the wifely procession, has been seen running screaming across this Gallery, and it was so intense in the 19th century that the Gallery was forced to close for several years.

At the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, many actors have seen a tall man in a grey cloak.

You should take at least one walk through central London at night; every city looks different at night, and with neon and streetlights, London is no exception. It’s a shame that gaslights are no longer around, but you can still enjoy deliciously spook atmosphere in the darker streets, and glamour around Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. Stay on the main roads, though; just like any other large city, London has its predators.