Old Town

The Liquid Room

Is one of edinburgh's most established nightclubs, and is situated on victoria street. it plays host to both regular gigs and popular club nights. "evol", which takes place on a friday night, is a well respected indie night. for a cheaper, more student orientated indie night, try their wednesday night club "indigo".

Grassmarket

There are many famous "traditional" pubs on the Grassmarket. Beware, however: these pubs are tourist traps and tend to be very popular with visiting stag and hen parties. Real Edinburghers tend to keep clear most of the time, other than to visit Dragonfly, a trendy and well-hidden cocktail lounge just up the street on West Port, which is arguably the city's best bar. This does mean, of course, that it can often get very crowded.

Villager

Around George IV bridge you will find another selection of cool lounges including Villager, Vodka Revolution, and Bar Kohl. Villager is brought to you by the same people who own Dragonfly see above, and is consequently well worth a visit.

The Wash

On the cusp between the Old and New Towns is The Wash which is situated near the top of the Mound. Popular with a slightly older crowd than you'll find in such a student-orientated city, it is quite a lively nightspot.

The Bongo Club

Is also well worth a mention for travelers. a short hike down holyrood road towards the new scottish parliament, this is a great cafe style bar cum live music venue, with excellent club nights, especially the popular "fast punk club".

Cabaret Voltaire

On blair street is one of the city's most respected clubs, and also hosts regular gigs. club nights are eclectic and cater to all tastes.

The Pear Tree

Offers a great beer garden for summer months, and a mix of university students and residents all year round. or check out the blind poet next door.

The Jolly Judge

The Royal Mile is another tourist trap, with many pubs here just not worth the bother. However, make time to visit The Jolly Judge on James Court, just off the Lawnmarket, and Albanach, which is on the corner of Cockburn Street and the High Street.

Doctors

And sandy bells on forest road offer good ales and pub food in a relaxed atmosphere. sandy bells also has live folk music every night.

Cowgate

General debauchery can be found on the Cowgate which runs under the South and George IV bridges. Numerous clubs and bars line this street, which gets very, very crowded at weekends. Rush, which is situated on Robertson's Close just off the Western end of the Cowgate, has cheap drinks deals all the time, and is a favourite with students at the nearby halls of residence. Faith is a standard nightclub, with reasonably priced drinks, but sadly, not many other redeeming qualities. Siglo is just across from Faith, and is a similar establishment.

Opium

Opium is one of the staples of the Cowgate and a haven for those of a more alternative persuasion. The music is rock, with a jukebox downstairs and a DJ upstairs. It runs a popular rock karaoke night on Mondays. Opium has very cheap drinks details and gets very busy on the weekends.

Edinburgh's famous, quadruple award-winning live music venue has a lovely warm internal ambience and wide-ranging audience demographic. Featuring a lot more than 'jazz', there's multiple back-to-back gigs a day, seven nights a week, with acoustic, jazz, funk/soul and other good music, to 3am every night. A popular weekly feature is their Monday night 17-piece Big Band.