Manchester · Nightlife

25 Swan Street in the Northern Quarter, M4 5JZ. A charity-run venue programming jazz, folk, world and left-field acts, with the Copper Bar out front.

The Gay Village along the Rochdale Canal, out late every night of the week and the busiest strip in the city centre at the weekend.

Basement bars, roof terraces and record-shop-adjacent pubs within four blocks of each other. Start on Thomas Street.

The city's club scene still runs out of industrial buildings on the edge of the centre, usually as seasonal series rather than permanent venues. Check listings before you travel.

Metrolink stops well before the clubs do. Budget for a taxi back, and book it rather than hailing one on Deansgate at three.