Jerusalem Nightlife

Despite the lack of licensing laws, Jerusalem has never been known for its wild nightlife and if you're looking to dance the night away your best bet would be to follow the example of many Jerusalemites and take a sherut the 60km (37 miles) to Tel Aviv. The nightclubs that do exist in Jerusalem tend to be located in the Talpiot area. East Jerusalem is particularly empty after dark. There's a big overlap between bars, clubs and live music venues - several of the most popular places are all three at once.

The legal drinking age is 18-years. Up-to-date listings for club nights can be found in the Friday supplement of the Jerusalem Post (website: www.jpost.com).

Bars: Most of the city's best or most popular bars are located in the city centre (west Jerusalem). Tzoof Bar, 15 Hebron Road, with its arched entrances, brick walls and floor and ambient lighting, summons up the Old City, and serves a mix of drinks including cocktails. It sometimes has stand-up comedy and live jazz. Dublin, 4 Shammai St, is a crowded warehouse-style bar with DJs playing loud and upbeat dance music till late. The city's liveliest area is Nahalat Shiv'ah, between Jaffa Street and King George V Street; its pedestrianised lanes are a focal point for bars, cafes, pubs and restaurants.

Clubs: Most clubs are located in the Zion Square/Nahalat Shivah area of the city centre, and the Talpiot district. At Underground, 1 Yoel Salomon (Nahalat Shivah), there have been drinks and dancing as long as anyone can remember. With two rooms of music (one rock and one dance) it attracts Israelis and travellers alike. Bar 17, formerly Haoman 17, at 17 Haoman Street (website: www.17jerusalem.com), long considered among the best clubs in the city, is still going strong, attracting international DJs and boasting two dancefloors where you can groove the night away to a mixture of house and techno.

Live Music: For world-class classical music performances, opera, and rock concerts, it's worth travelling an hour to Tel Aviv. However, Jerusalem offers a wide selection of small, occasional music venues, including cafes, bookshops, theatres and arts centres. More than 150 orchestral performances and other concerts are put on each year at the city's principal performance venue, The Jerusalem Centre for the Performing Arts, 20 Marcus Street (website: www.jerusalem-theatre.co.il), in the charming Yemin Moshe quarter.

The Alpert Music Centre, near the Old Train Station in the city centre's pleasant Abu Tor neighbourhood (website: http://music-center.jerusalem.muni.il) hosts a big band, an orchestra and an Arab-Jewish choir. The community arts centre Barbur, 6 Shirizli Street (website: www.barbur.org), stages unusual musical performances. For live rock or blues nightly, in a packed bar setting, go downstairs at Mike's Place, 37 Jaffa Street (website: www.mikesplacebars.com), which is open into the small hours.

Yellow Submarine, 13 HaRechavim Street (website: www.yellowsubmarine.org.il), is a popular nightlife and performance venue and bar in the Talpiot area, with a wide range of live music, from hardcore to salsa to jazz.

Israel appears at first sight to be a brash, assertive society. However, to see Israelis express themselves in music and art is to realise the underlying emotional depth of this richly talented nation. It is striking that most buskers here are playing classical music. Several world-class classical music events take place in Israel, including the International Harp Contest held every three years (the next one, which will be the 17th, is scheduled for 2009). In addition, there are important classical music festivals, such as those at Kibbutz Ein Gev and the Kibbutz Kfar Blum. The Israel Festival, bringing a high-culture mix of music, drama and dance, turns Jerusalem into the world's cultural stage for three weeks in May and June.

The Jerusalem Centre for the Performing Arts, 20 Marcus Street (tel: (02) 560 5757/55; website: www.jerusalem-theatre.co.il), in the Yemin Moshe area of west Jerusalem, serves as the city's unofficial cultural centre. This venue and the Jerusalem Film Center, Hebron Road (tel: (02) 565 4333; website: www.jer-cin.org.il) (the city's trendy centre for art house films) are worth visiting in their own right, as places to absorb the buzz of creativity amongst Israel's most talented performers.

The best ticket agencies for nearly all concerts and theatre performances in Jerusalem are Bimot, 8 Shamai Street (tel: (02) 623 7000; website: www.bimot.co.ilm) and Klaim, 12 Shamai Street (tel: (02) 622 2333). Travellers to the city hoping to catch live shows can also buy tickets in person from the various box offices.

Listings for major events (with web links) can be found online at the Jerusalem municipal website (www.jerusalem.muni.il).

Classical Music: The Henry Crown Symphony Hall, 5 Chopin Street, is the home of the excellent Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (tel: (02) 566 0211; website: www.jso.co.il). The world-renowned Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (tel: (02) 645 4647 or 1 700 703 030 (tickets); website: www.ipo.co.il), under its famous director Zubin Mehta, rotates performances between its main base in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem. Visitors to Jerusalem may find obtaining tickets for its concerts in the city very difficult, as they are often sold out months ahead - so it is wise to book before your trip to Israel. Such is the level of devotion to the orchestra, the ensemble boasts almost 30,000 season ticket holders - the largest subscription public per capita in the world. When it performs in Jerusalem, concerts are at the Binyanei Hauma - Jerusalem International Convention Center, 1 Shazar Street, near the Central Bus Station (tel: (02) 655 8558; website: www.iccjer.co.ilm).

Theatre: The city's principal performance stage is the Jerusalem Theatre, 20 Marcus Street, in the Yemin Moshe district (tel: (02) 560 5755; website: www.jerusalem-theatre.co.il), with four fine auditoriums. Arguably the most innovative theatre for new drama is the Khan Theatre, 2 David Remez Square (tel: (02) 671 8281), which performs four or five plays every season. The repertory is divided between new plays from Israel and around the world, classics and adaptations. Performances are mainly in Hebrew.

Dance: Lovers of dance will have no problem finding what they want in Israel. The renowned Israel Ballet (Israel's national classical ballet company) performs mainly in its home town of Tel Aviv, with occasional productions in Jerusalem. Several professional modern dance companies, most based in Tel Aviv, perform throughout the country and abroad - best known are Inbal Dance Theater and Batsheva Dance Company, both based at the Suzanne Dellal Centre in Tel Aviv (website: www.suzannedellal.org.il). Jerusalem's own internationally acclaimed, Mechola Dance Company, 43 Emek Refaim (tel: (02) 563 6663; website: http://us.geocities.com/mehola.geo), stages vibrant, imaginative modern dance, as well as folk, ethnic and jazz dance performances.