TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

First question is: what sort of scene are you looking for? Clubs change all the time, so if I mention any specifics, they may be totally different now.

London - pick up that week's "Time Out" magazine. Make sure it's that week's! Some newsstands carry the old one. I believe it's published every Thursday. If you want something more off-the-beaten-path, pick up flyers at hip record stores. If a big name is DJing at a club (i.e. Fatboy Slim, Groove Armada) make sure you buy advance tickets on the web, otherwise you'll never get in. Ministry of Sound is industry standard *yawn*, Fabric and Turnmills can be really good - if very crowded - and The Cross and Cargo tend to be more interesting.

Dublin - There are loads of clubs around the Temple Bar area. Walk around and you'll be handed flyers. For the most part, they're pretty cheesedick, but when the booze is flowing, you won't care. There are some cooler places around Grafton Street. The first night you're there, go on the "Backpackers Pub Crawl," and you'll get a feel for what's around town - they'll take you to a few good spots.

Paris - getting into clubs in Paris is a notoriously snotty process, but don't let that hold you back. Get dressed up and hit up famous places like l'Enfer (around Montparnasse) or Queen (near Champs Elysées, if I remember correctly). If more laid back is your style, check out DJ bars in the Bastille area like club Wax (hard to find, just follow the hip looking people to 15 Rue Daval) or Sans Sanz. For non-stop after hours partying, the clubs in the seedy Pigalled district (near Le Moulin Rouge) will have you going 'til well past dawn. For more, do a Google search on Paris & "les bons plans" to find club listings. Better yet, hang out at a hip bar (I like Le Fleche D'Or in Bastille) and chum up to some locals and find out what's good. You may not get into some places w/o a local in tow.

Amsterdam - I was pretty unimpressed by Amsterdam nightlife, but there are pockets to be found here/there. There's a great live venue called Melkweg that has some clubbing nights. Same goes for Paradiso (paradiso.nl), which has some stompin' dance nights - all inside an old church. My favorite, I can't remember its name, but it was just south of the main drag of the Red Light District - a bar that's part of a boutique hotel, it's small and has a living room vibe, so you feel like you're at someone's super-cool house party. It's just south of a freaky looking gay club called the Cockring, on the opposite side of the street - if that's a helpful landmark.

Barcelona - La Paloma is the classic there - I believe that's the one everyone goes to in L'auberge Espagnole. Of course, there are tons of others - some with big name DJ's dropping in (and big cover charges) - as well as great little ones full of locals. I'd steer clear of most of the tourist traps along the beach, but when you're hammered enough, there's fun to be hand. If you go on the pub crawl that starts at TravelBar, they'll take you to some of them. I prefer the locals vibe - hit up the trendy Eixample neighborhood for NY/LA/SF-style clubbing with less pretensiousness... Or go to a tiny place like 'Pop Bar' and get swung around the dancefloor by locals who will samba/salsa to ANYTHING.

As with the first couple of comments - just look for flyers at record stores to find out what's going on the week you're there. You're bound to stumble into something really cool. On my birthday in London, I found a flyer for an LA goth/industrial club I used to go to, and they happened to be having a one-off night in SoHo - went there for old time's sake and ended up having one of the best nights out.