Cape Town is a party town, especially in summer, when tens of thousands of tourists (foreign and local) descend upon the city. But even during winter, the action never stops. The city has also become an international mecca for DJs, running huge rave, trance and ambient parties - often held in stunning locations on beaches or in forests. The city is also firmly entrenched on the international rock music touring circuit.

Much of the nightlife activity is concentrated on a handful of popular city streets and suburbs. Long Street and Kloof Street in the city centre are alive with restaurants, live music clubs, bars, coffee shops and the occasional strip club. On the outskirts of the city centre, the De Waterkant/Green Point area has a string of gay and gay-friendly clubs and restaurants, while the V&A Waterfront is simply awash with nightlife hotspots popular with both tourists and locals. The Camps Bay beachfront brings LA-style outfits, trendy restaurants and some stunning sunsets over the ocean. Heading towards the southern suburbs, Lower Main Road in the suburb of Observatory is another gay-friendly area and the territory of Cape Town's students, offering up a more Bohemian and laid-back style of entertainment. This is the place for local alternative music, slightly seedy pool halls, philosophy, poetry, stand-up comedy and vegetarian food. On the N1 highway, north of the city centre, the Century City development combines a state-of-the-art amusement park with scores of restaurants, several sound stages and the Dockside multi-level club and live music venue. The seaside suburbs of Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek and Simon's Town, although traditionally family orientated and ‘dry', are becoming increasingly trendy for nightlife beyond the city limits - although this is largely centred upon restaurants.

There are no strict licensing hours in Cape Town and many clubs stay open until the small hours and even sunrise. The dress code is almost always as casual as you wish, although shorts and trainers are not appreciated in some venues and a ‘no effort no entry' rule is sometimes enforced. Admission prices to clubs and raves range from R20 to R200 - many are free before 2300. The legal drinking age is 18 years, although some pubs demand a 21- or even 25-year age limit for entrance. Alcohol is usually cheap for foreigners.

The Friday editions of the Cape Times and The Cape Argus newspapers, as well as the weekly Mail & Guardian, all have arts and entertainment sections. Information on Cape Town's club scene is available online (www.clubbersguide.co.za).

Bars: In the city centre, the Long Street Café, 259 Long Street, is one of the trendiest haunts in town, while Tank in the impossibly hot Cape Quarter in Waterkant Street, is where Cape Town's media and modelling community strut their stuff and sip fantastic summer cocktails, and a DJ entertains on Friday nights. The equally trendy Café Camissa, 80 Kloof Street, features live music, stand-up comedy and poetry readings. A great pre-club treat for Capetonians is a trip to Jo-burg, 218 Long Street, a contemporary bar brimming with urban chic.

The V&A Waterfront has dozens of bars and cafes, many with beautiful sea and mountain views. Paulaner Braühaus and Restaurant, Shop 18/19, Clock Tower Square, brings a staggering array of German beers to this trendy brewery-restaurant with a menu of German fare like bratwürste and apple strudel. Alba Lounge, Pierhead Building, nearby caters to a trendier drinking crowd. Situated on the water's edge of the international yacht marina, the Bascule Whisky Bar and Wine Cellar, in the Cape Grace hotel, West Quay (overlooking the Alfred Basin), is an atmospheric, nautically themed hideaway, with over 400 whiskies on offer (the largest collection south of the equator).

Lower Main Road, in the arty district of Observatory, has Cool Runnings, a laid-back but crowded Caribbean-themed bar with a balcony, and Obz Café, where the terminally hip serve up cocktails to beautiful bohemians. Despite facing east rather than the setting sun, the informal bar at the Brass Bell, Main Road, St James, has long been a favourite with tippling locals and refugees from the ‘dry' Fish Hoek. The Kalk Bay area is exploding into nightlife and earning itself a bohemian and arty reputation with quirky venues.

One of the best venues in which to watch the sun go down is La Med, at the Glen Country Club, Victoria Road in Clifton. Bikinis are optional. Another trendy sundowner spot favoured by those who have had a trying day sunbathing on the fabulous beach below is the Clifton Beach House, 72 The Ridge, Fourth Beach, Clifton or Baraza and Sunset Beach Bar, both located on the ‘strip' along Victoria Road, Camps Bay. But for the best view in town, enjoy the sunset from Table Mountain Bistro (see Key Attractions).

Clubs: There are scores of clubs in Cape Town, varying from your average disco playing standard dance fare to deeply alternative clubs where bouncers assess dress, body piercings and language before deciding whether or not patrons make the grade. Rhodes House, 60 Queen Victoria Street, Gardens (www.rhodeshouse.com), housed in the former mansion of imperialist Cecil John Rhodes, is packed with beautiful people gliding between the elegant lounges and dance floor. The Purple Turtle, corner of Long Street and Shortmarket Street, offers a mixed bag of alternative music, theme nights and live music. Ignite, Victoria Road, Camps Bay is one of the most popular night spots on Camps Bay's trendy restaurant strip, while the Buena Vista Social Club, 81 Main Road, Green Point, is full of funky Latino sights, sounds and tastes. Located in Cape Town's ‘gay village' of De Waterkant in Green Point, Bronx Action Bar, 35 Somerset Road (www.bronx.co.za), and Cruz, 21B Somerset Road are Cape Town's most popular gay clubs. Also in Green Point, Pulse, 23 Somerset Road, Opium, 6 Dixon Street, De Waterkant, and Blush Lounge, 43 Somerset Road, are spacious clubs with sophisticated décor, while Chrome, 6 Pepper Street, is the city centre's most upmarket and lavish club. The Dockside complex, Century City Boulevard, Century City, is the largest club in the southern hemisphere and hosts regular dance parties.

Comedy: Laughter is the best medicine and has helped South Africa over the apartheid years, both politically and emotionally. The Cape Comedy Collective Circuit provides the laughs at a variety of venues, including the Baxter Theatre Centre, Main Road, Rondebosch (www.baxter.co.za), which also hosts regular shows of South Africa's finest comic talent, such as Capetonians Pieter Dirk Uys and Marc Lottering. The ever-popular Theatresports (www.theatresports.co.za), Cape Town's longest running show, takes place every week at Kalk Bay Theatre (www.kbt.co.za), Main Road, Kalk Bay. A rowdy crowd and often quite silly comedy can be enjoyed at The Grouse, Main Road, Rondebosch, every Wednesday. On Broadway (www.onbroadway.co.za), 88 Shortmarket Street, is an extremely popular dinner and cabaret venue. The Cape Town International Comedy Festival (www.comedyfestival.co.za) is held annually in September at a number of venues across the city.

Live Music: Live music fans would do well to check the local press and listings magazines for details of live music events, as many take place in obscure venues and on an irregular basis. A popular spot for hectic rock, goth noise, local stars and alternative sounds is Mercury Live & Lounge, 43 De Villiers Street, District Six (Zonnebloem), (www.mercuryl.co.za). Marco's African Place, 15 Rose Lane, Bo-Kaap (www.marcosafricanplace.co.za), is one of the first of a growing number of authentic urban African venues and is a popular spot for Cape Town's rich and famous, who come to enjoy the indigenous cuisine, stylish bar and nightly live music from the best of the local jazz bands. Mama Afrika, 178 Long Street, also provides great local food and live music in a rowdy atmosphere. The Drum Café, 32 Glynn Street, Gardens (www.drumcafe.co.za), provides African sounds with interactive Djembe drumming. Cape Town excels at jazz and for regular live performances, The Green Dolphin, Shop 2A, Alfred Mall, at the V&A Waterfront (www.greendolphin.co.za), is Cape Town's premier jazz venue. Other swinging venues include Dizzy Jazz Café, 39 The Drive, Camps Bay; Hanover Street Nightclub, GrandWest Casino, Goodwood (www.suninternational.co.za) and Kennedy's Cigar Bar, 251 Long Street (www.kennedys.co.za). For a good live-band line-up and studenty atmosphere, The Independent Armchair Theatre, 135 Lower Main Road, Observatory (www.armchairtheatre.co.za), is another good option for live local talent.

Big-name concerts featuring international artists are usually held at the Bellville Velodrome, Carl Cronjé Drive, Bellville. They used to be held at the Greenpoint Stadium, Fritz Sonnenberg Road, off the Western Boulevard (M6), Green Point, but it has been dismantled to make way for a new stadium for the FIFA 2010 Football World Cup, which in the future is a likely venue for large scale rock concerts. Local stars often shine at the Baxter Theatre Centre, Main Road, Rondebosch (www.baxter.co.za), and Dockside complex, Century City.