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After Hours Around the World
Farhad Heydari June 11, 2008
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When Martha’s Vineyard resident John Bugbee sojourned in Europe a couple of years ago, he was astounded by the scenes of conviviality and waves of well-mannered partygoers greeting him after-hours as he whistle-stopped his way from Amsterdam and Hamburg to Berlin. “It was like these cities had an entirely different dimension after dark,” says the 34-year-old town administrator of Tisbury, one of six municipalities on Martha’s Vineyard. “Whether it was public squares or private clubs, they just kept on going, most until daybreak. It was like nothing I’d ever seen.”
Bugbee isn’t alone. Every year, thousands of Americans, repressed by a slew of outdated and restrictive puritanical laws, head for Europe as well as parts of Asia and South America to partake in a bit of that Xanadu that insomniacs elsewhere take for granted. And while there are no statistics to track the numbers of hedonism-seeking travelers—be they dutiful public servants or private bankers—anecdotal evidence culled from interviews with reticent club owners and diehard night owls suggests that despite the plummeting dollar and sky-high airfares, plenty of Americans are heading overseas for the late-night bacchanalia.
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It’s hardly surprising. For one thing, attitudes toward drinking are far more relaxed, especially in Europe where revelers are often free to indulge even on public transport. (Although London announced plans to restrict consumption, but not conveyance, of alcohol on the Tube starting in June, 2008.) They then gather for harmless and responsible festivities—in squares, along riverfronts, on pedestrian-only quarters or in beach clubs set up along waterways. For those who wish to enjoy their evenings in more refined and exclusive surroundings, bars and clubs offer service until three or four in the morning, while the ranks of members’ clubs rollick until daybreak (legally or otherwise).
“In Paris or in Hamburg, clubs don’t get going until at least one o’clock in the morning, and then stay busy until seven when everyone goes to breakfast,” says Romain Burnot, Belvedere Vodka’s nightclubs liaison, referring to the many Parisian brasseries that operate 24-hours.
In Hamburg, the harborside Fish Auction Hall has been a institution since 1703. There, each Sunday starting at 4:30 a.m., a live cover band performs and the lager-fuelled gentry, having emerged from any of the many nightclubs lining the Reeperbahn, tuck into fresh German specialities before heading home, bleary-eyed but content. Elsewhere in Germany, Düsseldorf's chevron-shaped harbor is now a hip center for restaurants, bars and lounges that keep night owls happy.
For nearly everyone in Madrid—clubgoers and "regular" people alike—dinner starts at 10 p.m. at the earliest, and espresso is served at midnight. Despite new anti-noise laws, the party continues until the early hours of the morning. The same ethos permeates Buenos Aires, where nightclubbing legislation was tightened after a horrific fire that swept through the República Cromañón nightclub four years ago killing nearly 200 people; the clubs are now safer, and open for business again.
It’s the same story halfway around the world in steamy Singapore, where sprawling discotheques like Zouk and Ministry of Sound run contrary to the country's button-down reputation. In fact, according to Mark Wakefield, head of clubs and nightlife for concierge firm Quintessentially, one of the major factors for a good nighttime scene is geographical. “I think it’s climate-oriented. If you’ve got good weather and a populated city, and one that happens to be affluent or populated by those who are, then the demand to party is high, because people have the means to enjoy themselves.”
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That’s certainly the case across the South China Sea in Hong Kong, according to Nat King, DJ, film producer and founder of Hongkonghustle.com, where blissed-out patrons shuffle between Racks MDB, a sophisticated new billiards-club-cum-nightclub, and must-hit dancefloors of Volar, Halo and Dragon-I. That's to say nothing of the old standby, Drop, which has recently had a refurbishment. “Hong Kong's nightlife has taken off over the last few years,” says King. “You can easily expect to see the faces that dominate Hong Kong's many tabloids and fashion magazines literally rubbing shoulders with one another as they jockey for shots.”
Then there are those cities that lack the sheen of a world-class urban environment like Hong Kong, but are recasting themselves nonetheless. Zurich, for instance, is transforming itself from an often-overlooked and forgettable financial capital into a sultry must-visit metropolis.
According to Romain Burnot, starting the night in London means Cuckoo, Maddox or Amika—a trio of hot nightspots that “rock until four in the morning." But for true after-hours insomniacs, it's Raffles in Chelsea (open until 5 a.m.) or British Luxury Club, L'Equipe Anglaise and 50 Dover Street (open until 6.am.). And afterward? London’s first 24-hour upscale brassiere, Vingt-Quatre, is a cross-Channel import meant to fill the hungry stomachs of Chelsea’s party clique with staple French food.
For those who wish to party all night in more hush-hush surroundings, several of London's cutting-edge hotels are happy to oblige with a handful of specially created packages that are already recognized with well-heeled night owls. The Intercontinental's exclusive “3 a.m. to 10 a.m. exclusive experience” costs $7,000, and buys one of their four Signature Suites at the recently-opened Park Lane property and enough Belvedere vodka, mixers and soft drinks for you and nine friends.
