Minneapolis and St Paul enjoy a lively nightlife scene, with plenty of live music. The Twin Cities are on the touring circuit for many big-name bands and solo artists and several local musicians have risen to fame, most notably Prince. Blues and jazz are particularly big here but everything from rock to reggae can be found most nights of the week and cover charges for music venues are often free or inexpensive.

Downtown Minneapolis is a centre for nightlife, although popular bars and music clubs are located throughout the metropolitan area. The legal drinking age is 21 years old. Bars must stop serving alcohol at 0100 but are allowed to remain open until 0300.

Entertainment and nightlife listings appear in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the St Paul Pioneer Press and the weekly free tabloid, City Pages.

Bars: Sports bars with numerous TV monitors for watching sporting events are hot in the Twin Cities and some of the biggest and most popular include America's Original Sports Bar, located in the Mall of America, Bloomington, and Champp's, 100 North Sixth Street, Minneapolis, as well as six other locations. Another is Loon Café, 500 First Avenue North, Minneapolis, with large windows that are great for surveying the Downtown scene. Rosen's Bar and Grill, 430 First Avenue North, is a popular watering hole in Downtown Minneapolis' Warehouse District. More upmarket Minneapolis watering holes include The Lounge, 411 Second Avenue North, and City Billiards, 25 North Fourth Street, a smart billiards hall. Lucia's Wine Bar, 1432 West 31st Street, is an intimate Uptown spot, with one of the best wine lists in the city.

Clubs: Myth Nightclub, 3090 Southlawn Drive in St Paul (website: www.mythnightclub.com), is a giant three-storey venue featuring plenty of bars, an enormous dance floor and a massive sound system and light show. Martini Blu at The Grand is an upscale club with a plush lounge area, a big bar and dance floor located in The Grand Hotel. Gay 90s, 408 Hennepin Avenue (website: www.gay90s.com), is a massive multi-room mixed and gay club, popular for its great house music, piano bar and drag shows. Quest, 110 North Fifth Street, is an upscale, multi-level dance club in Minneapolis' Warehouse District. It was formerly owned by Prince and still attracts big crowds. Conga Latin Bistro, 501 Hennepin Avenue East, is a hotbed of Latin pop. Infiniti Room, 601 First Avenue North, is a very trendy, slick and upscale nightspot located inside the swanky Graves 601 hotel.

Comedy: Knuckleheads, a large venue located at the Mall of America, hosts national comedy acts, as does the venerable Acme Comedy Company, 708 North First Street, Minneapolis, which also offers dinner packages. Brave New Workshop, 2605 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis (website: www.bravenewworkshop.com), is the country's longest running satirical comedy theatre and also holds improvisation nights.

Live Music: Made famous in the film Purple Rain, First Avenue, 701 First Avenue, Minneapolis (website: www.firstavenue.com), is the city's largest live music venue, booking top touring bands and artists. Another top venue, The Cabooze, 917 Cedar Avenue, Minneapolis (website: www.cabooze.com), has a huge dancefloor and nightly blues, rock and reggae acts performing. Bunkers, 716 North Washington Avenue, pulls in the crowds for live blues and R&B, while the 400 Club, 400 Cedar Avenue, at Cedar and Riverside, is a popular hangout near the university, showcasing local and national bands. The Dakota, 1021 East Bandana Boulevard, St Paul, is the leading jazz club in the Twin Cities, where local and national artists perform in a renovated railroad building. An all-round favourite is Fine Line Music Café, 318 First Avenue North, Minnepolis (website: www.finelinemusic.com), featuring blues, jazz, folk, rock and gospel music. Drop in to the Red Sea, 320 Cedar Avenue South (website: www.redseaclub.com), for world music from international musicians.