The late evening summer sun in Stockholm seems to stretch on forever, while the long winter nights need to be filled with fun. The result is a city committed to its nightlife. Strong jazz traditions and smart bars cater to older or smoother patrons, while the club scene (often Spanish in flavour) parties hard. The area around Stureplan is the most happening place in the city.

Admission to clubs can cost anything between SKr5 and SKr100, while a litre of beer will cost in the region of SKr70-100 and 4cl of vodka around SKr70. The minimum age for buying alcohol is 20 years - 18 years in restaurants or nightclubs. The sale of alcohol is restricted to 1200-2400 (from 1300 on Sunday), although nightclubs or the occasional favoured bar, such as Kvarnen on Södermalm, sell drinks later into the night.

Standard hours for bars and clubs are from about 0900-0200, with restaurant bars opening earlier and some clubs closing later (at around 0500). Smoking is not permitted indoors at Stockholm's restaurants, bars and pubs.

The official Stockholm tourism website, www.stockholmtown.com, is an excellent source for information on nightlife.

Bars: Highly trendy, Spy Bar, Birger Jarlsgatan 20, is an intimate and stylish place with excellent DJ entertainment. Gondolen, Stadsgården 6, serves drinks to match its unbeatable view. The Sturehof Bar, Stureplan 2, and its upstairs cousin, O-bar, are benchmarks in the style-conscious re-branding of the old Sturehof Restaurant. Café Opera, Kungsträdgården, draws an eclectic crowd of all ages and tastes to its fabulous interior, plying mainstream partygoers with cutting-edge sounds. The Grand Hotel's Cadier Bar, Södra Blasieholmshamnen 8, is the place to enjoy a classy cocktail, while the Opera Bar, Karl X11's Torg, offers quiet surroundings for a relaxing drink.

Conversely, Kvarnen, Tjärhovsgatan 4, is a beer hall with a typically rootsy Södermalm charm, open until 0300 and hugely popular. Tennstopet Bar, Dalagatan 50, is over 100 years old and another solidly traditional drinking hole. The Absolut Ice Bar in the Nordic Sea Hotel, Vastaplan 7, while not unique in the world any more, is still a special place, with its year-round temperature of -5°C (23°F). Drinks are served in hollowed-out ice cubes from a bar also made of ice. Even the walls and tables are made of ice taken from the Torne River on the border between Sweden and Finland.

Clubs: Solidaritet, Lästmakargatan 3 (website: www.solidaritetstureplan.se), is a ferociously trendy nightclub where the dancing goes on until the early hours. Lively clubbing also goes on at Blue Moon, Kungsgatan 18 (website: www.bluemoonbar.se). Pet Sounds Bar, Skånegatan 80 (website: www.petsoundsbar.se), is a trendy, but friendly restaurant and bar with a fun party atmosphere in the basement, Källaren, where there is always something special going on, whether it's live music, release parties or just excellent DJ entertainment.

Fasching Jazzclub, Kungsgatan 63 (website: www.fasching.se), has jazz, soul and Latin American sounds at the weekend. Tre Remmare, Vasagatan 17, feeds, waters and entertains night owls long after the other venues close. Köket (The Kitchen), Stureplan 2, is one of the most popular and stylish nightclubs in Stockholm with three bars and a relaxed atmosphere.

Live Music: Fasching Jazzclub (see above) and Stampen, Stora Nygatan (website: www.stampen.se), both attract excellent jazz performers. Debaser has venues at Karl Johans Torg 1 and Medborgarplatsen 8 (website: www.debaser.nu), which are among Stockholm's main places for top-notch Swedish and international live pop and rock music.

Nalen, Regeringsgatan 74 (website: www.nalen.se), is run by the Swedish Artists' and Musicians' Interest Organisation in a wonderful old building with four concert venues where you can hear pop, rock and jazz from big international stars as well as obscure Swedish bands. Globen, Globentorget 2 (website: www.globearenas.se), and Stockholms Stadion, Lidingövägen, are the venues for large-scale stadium rock.