Edinburgh nightlife is packed into a small space. Many of the best clubs sit on or just off one street, the Cowgate, which runs under the bridges of the Old Town, and the best cocktail bars are a ten-minute walk north in the New Town. Most pubs close by 01:00 and clubs close at 03:00. Entry is cheap for a capital: most club nights cost £5–12, and several midweek nights are free. Leith, down the tram line, adds bars and small gigs. Worth knowing: during the August festivals licensed venues can trade two hours later, so many bars run to 03:00 and some clubs to 05:00.
Ranked by popularity. Tap a card for opening hours, door tips, getting there and tickets.
For the drinks before and after. Hours, prices and the best nights are on each page.
Most of the club scene fits on one street. The Cowgate runs underneath South Bridge and George IV Bridge, and Sneaky Pete's, the Bongo Club, La Belle Angele, Cabaret Voltaire and The Mash House are all on it or a few steps off it. Changing clubs takes two minutes on foot.
The night ends at 03:00, so it starts on time. Club doors open around 23:00 and the floors fill after midnight. Most pubs stop at 01:00, so the move from bar to club happens between midnight and one. There is no metro and the tram stops around midnight, which makes the walk or the NightBus part of the plan.
August is a different city. During the Fringe, venues with a seasonal licence can trade two hours later, rooms fill up and the streets stay busy until late. Beds go quickly, so book early or come in another month.
Small rooms with serious bookings. Sneaky Pete's holds about 100 people, and the Bongo Club and Cabaret Voltaire run house, techno and bass most weekends.
Hive is open 365 days a year with free entry on its Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and most club tickets stay under £12.
The Liquid Room, La Belle Angele and The Mash House put on bands early and club nights late. The Jazz Bar has music seven days a week.
Panda & Sons was No. 34 in The World's 50 Best Bars 2025, and Bramble is on the same street, in a basement at the other end.
Sandy Bell's has hosted folk sessions since the 1940s. You can have a full night here without a dancefloor.
In August the Fringe fills every room, and many venues add two hours to their licence.
Not for you if you want huge rooms and sessions that run into the morning. Most venues hold a few hundred people and almost all of them close at 03:00.
Gigs start. The Liquid Room, La Belle Angele and The Mash House run early shows before the club nights.
Pubs and cocktail bars in the Old Town and the New Town fill up.
Club doors open on the Cowgate. The early tickets are the cheap ones.
The first NightBus services start, and the last tram leaves Newhaven just before.
Most pubs close and the clubs fill up.
Clubs close. Walk home through the Old Town or catch a NightBus, which runs until 04:30.
Five clubs within a few hundred metres of each other. Start at Sneaky Pete's and finish wherever the queue is shortest.
The Liquid Room and La Belle Angele switch from bands to DJs on the same night, so one ticket can lead into a second night out.
A barber's shop front on Queen Street hides one of the world's best bars in the basement. Go early in the evening.
Musicians gather at Sandy Bell's on Forrest Road every night. No stage, no tickets, just a corner of the pub.
The Jazz Bar runs music every day, with late sets until 03:00 on Fridays.
In August, venues can trade two hours later. Hive stays open until 05:00, and bars that normally close at 01:00 run to 03:00.
The best area to go out if you want to dance. Sneaky Pete's, the Bongo Club, La Belle Angele, Cabaret Voltaire and The Mash House are all here, below the bridges of the Old Town, with the Grassmarket's pubs at the west end.
The streets around the Royal Mile hold the Liquid Room on Victoria Street, Hive on Niddry Street, the Jazz Bar on Chambers Street and the Devil's Advocate in Advocate's Close. Sandy Bell's is on Forrest Road.
Panda & Sons and Bramble are on Queen Street, Why Not and Coco on George Street, with Rose Street's pubs in between. CC Blooms sits at the top of Leith Walk.
Summerhall, a former vet school, runs club nights in its old dissection room. People's Leisure Club opened on Lothian Street in 2025.
Slower and more local. Leith Depot has gigs on Leith Walk, and the Biscuit Factory hosts larger events. The tram runs down Leith Walk until around midnight.
Quieter streets south-west of the castle, with traditional bars such as Cloisters on Brougham Street. A good place to start a night before walking down to the Grassmarket.
Doors are relaxed by big-city standards, but you will be asked for photo ID, and some nights are 21+. Few clubs have a dress code: the Liquid Room turns away football colours and full-face coverings, and Coco on George Street has none at all. Some nights run a no-phones policy, such as the INFOLINE parties at Sneaky Pete's.
Most club nights cost £5–12. Recent examples: £8.80–11 for Off Campus at La Belle Angele, from £10 for Tierhaus at Summerhall and £5–12 for most nights at the Bongo Club. Hive's Tuesday and Wednesday nights are free, and Sneaky Pete's has sold £1 early tickets for some parties. In the bars, entry is free.
There is no metro, and the last tram leaves Newhaven at 23:56. Lothian NightBus runs 12 city routes from midnight to 04:30. A single costs £3.50, or buy a City LATE ticket for £5.50, which covers unlimited bus and NightBus journeys from 18:00 to 04:30. Contactless payment caps the fare for you. The Old Town and the New Town are close enough to walk.
| Club entry | £5–12 (€6–14) |
| Beer in a club | £5–6.50 (€6–7.50) |
| Cocktail | £10–14 (€12–16) |
| Cloakroom | £2–3 (€2.30–3.50) |
| NightBus single | £3.50 (€4) |
| Taxi across town | £10–15 (€12–17) |
| Chips or a pizza slice at 03:00 | £4–7 (€5–8) |
| Hostel bed, weekend | £30–60 (€35–70) |
A pint in a pub, a free Hive night or a £5 ticket on the Cowgate, three drinks and a £3.50 NightBus home.
A cocktail in the New Town, a £10 club ticket, four drinks, the cloakroom and a City LATE ticket.
Panda & Sons first, a headline booking, drinks until 03:00 and a taxi. In August, add the Fringe shows and the higher room rates.
£5.50 covers every Lothian bus and NightBus from 18:00 to 04:30. Two rides and it has paid for itself.
Doors check it, and some nights are 21+.
Early tickets are cheaper, and at Sneaky Pete's some parties only honour advance tickets before half past twelve.
Everything closes at the same time. Arriving at a club at 02:00 means paying full price for an hour.
Many venues are basements. The Jazz Bar is 25 steps down, and the upper rooms at The Mash House are more than 30 steps up.
The Fringe fills every bed in the city. The 2027 Fringe runs from 6 to 30 August.
In December 2002 a fire that started above La Belle Angele destroyed the club and the original Gilded Balloon. The rebuilt La Belle Angele reopened about twelve years later.
Summerhall was the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies until 2010. Tierhaus now runs club nights in its former dissection room.
Lothian is marking 100 years of night buses in the city. Today there are 12 city NightBus routes.
The folklorist Hamish Henderson drank at Sandy Bell's until his death in 2002. A bust of him sits above the bar.
At 03:00. Most pubs close at 01:00. During the August festivals and over Christmas and Hogmanay, venues with a seasonal licence can trade two hours later.
The Cowgate for clubs, the New Town for cocktail bars, the Old Town for pubs, gigs and jazz, and Leith for a slower, more local night.
Yes. Venues whose licence includes a seasonal variation can trade two extra hours during the festival period, which the licensing board proposed as 7 to 31 August in 2026. Hive, for example, runs until 05:00.
On foot or by NightBus. Lothian runs 12 city NightBus routes from midnight to 04:30, and a single costs £3.50. The last tram from Newhaven leaves at 23:56.
Usually £5–12. Several student and midweek nights are free, and headline bookings cost more.
Rarely. The Liquid Room bans football colours and full-face coverings, and Coco on George Street has no dress code at all.
See which clubs and bars are open right now, who is playing and where to get tickets. Live in four cities, with more on the way.
