The most popular place in Zurich for nightlife is the Old Town, on the left bank of the River Limmat, with many bars and cafes tucked away on the side streets such as Niederdorfstrasse and Oberdorfstrasse. New bars and clubs keep opening up in the city, especially to the west of the Hauptbahnhof in the fourth and fifth districts, around Langstrasse and Escher-Wyss-Platz. The majority of bars and clubs close around 0200 but some stay open until 0300 or 0400. The minimum drinking age is 18 years. Very few clubs have a dress code.

Information on club nights and performances (as well as theatres, concerts and opera) is listed in Züri Tipp, published in Friday's Tages Anzeiger (website: www.zueritipp.ch).
 
Bars: Quite a few of the city's best bars serve food or have a restaurant attached. Kaufleuten, Pelikanstrasse 18, is a popular bar with a hip restaurant. Upmarket and hyper-trendy Café Bar Odéon, Limmatquai 2, attracts the beautiful people and those who think they are. BaBaLu, Schmidgasse 6, is an eclectic place, sometimes hosting interesting live music. The Jules Verne Panorama Bar, on the 11th floor between the Brasserie Lipp and the Urania Observatory, Uraniastrasse 9, is always crowded but offers wonderful views over the city. The Ziegel oh Lac bar and restaurant, in the Rote Fabrik arts centre, Seestrasse 407, has waterside seating in summer and reasonably priced food.

Clubs: In Switzerland 'nightclubs' refer to venues with erotic floorshows and/or lap or table dancing. 'Discos' or 'dance clubs' refer to clubs with music for dancing. Many of the new clubs are located in Langstrasse/Zurich West, the former red light and industrial district, and now being redeveloped as the heart of young Zurich. Excellent clubs with bars and restaurants include Labor, Schiffbaustrasse 3 (website: www.laborbar.ch), and Supermarket, Geroldstrasse 17 (tel: (website: www.supermarket.li). Many of the older established clubs are part of larger arts and entertainment complexes with restaurants or cafes. In Rote Fabrik, Seestrasse 395 (website: www.rotefabrik.ch/musikbuero), 5km (3 miles) south of the centre, are the Klubraum and the Aktionshalle; a wide range of dance music is played, as well as live acts. X-tra, Limmatstrasse 118 (website: www.x-tra.ch), features DJs and live bands and attracts a young, trendy crowd. Kanzlei, Kanzleistrasse 56, near Helvetiaplatz (website: www.kanzlei.ch), plays house, hip hop and drum'n'bass. For techno and alternative dance music, Rohstofflager, Duttweilerstrasse, Ecke Pfingsweicerstrasse (website: www.rohstofflager.ch), is a good bet, as is the newish Dynamo, part of the Jungendkulturhaus, Wasserwerkstrasse 21 (website: www.dynamo.ch), which also features live concerts, usually of punk music. Tonimolkerei, Förrlibuckstrasse 109 (www.tonimolkerei.com), remains one of the coolest clubs in town, housed in an old, disused dairy, with a massive bar and dance music to suit all tastes.

Live Music: Large rock concerts are usually held in Hallenstadion, Wallisellenstrasse 45 (website: www.hallenstadion.ch), in the Oerlikon district. The Volkshaus, Stauffacherstrasse 60 (website: www.volkshaus.ch), also houses big music events. For top-flight jazz in a striking setting, there is Moods Jazz Club, Schiffbaustrasse 6 (website: www.moods.ch), which is part of the major cultural centre in the former Sulzer shipbuilding works. The building also has a restaurant and theatre. JazzBaragge, Waldmannstrasse 12 (website: www.jazzbaragge.ch), attracts many jazz fans with its Wednesday jam evenings. The Casa Bar, Münstergasse 30, Zürich's longest-running jazz venue, offers nightly entertainment. The chic Hotel Bar Widder, Widdergasse 6 (website: www.widderhotel.ch), features well-known jazz artists with regular concerts on Tuesdays from March to May and from October to January.