Let me tell you a little thing about me. Give me a good beat and a little bit of room and I suddenly think I am the distant relative of Shakira. I’m known to whip my hair, shake my hips and always be the one begging to stay for one more song. For myself, part of an ideal destination means finding a place to let my hair down and let the music do the rest.
That being said, this one goes out to every person who just read that paragraph and thought “yup that’s me.” So bring out the dancing shoes and get ready to pack them! Today we’re talking about the best European cities to break it down on the dance floor. This guide will tell you which European cities naturally expect you to dance until the sun comes up.
1. Belgrade, Serbia
I know some of you weren’t expecting this one, BUT, let me tell you, Belgrade is where it’s at! Their wild, sweat filled, all night party scene is starting to get people’s attentions. Let me explain why. Once the nice weather hits people line up to hit their famous river barges. These barges are essentially night clubs on boats that line the Sava river. Each one has a different vibe, plays different music, and looks completely different so there really is something for everyone. Not to mention the secret hangar building raves, street festivals and park concerts are sure to get you moving.
About an hour away from Belgrade, near Novi Sad, every year in early July, Serbia hosts Exit Festival. This 3 day festival bumps all kinds of music like Rock music, Electronica, Electronic dance music, Heavy metal, Hip hop music, Reggae, Punk rock and Drum and bass. Plus, they have it in a giant 300 year old fortress, I mean HOW COOL IS THAT?!
2. Berlin, Germany
Berlin is an easy pick when it comes to this list. There are places to show off your best dance move all over the city. From massive multi floor warehouses, to small clubs where you need a special password to get in, Berlin has it all. The city is essentially a European NYC. So for those of you that have enjoyed the big apple nightlife you know this means a damn good time. It also probably means you’ll wake up with a wicked hangover and a ridiculous bar tab you don’t remember charging. But hey, when in Berlin right?!
3. Barcelona, Spain
Dancing until the sun comes up just kind of happens in Spain because nobody starts partying before 12am. Seriously, for those of you that have never been to Spain let me explain the beauty of it. Siestas aka mid afternoon naps are a way of life here and the sun doesn’t set until nearly 10 o’clock. Between that and the fact that sangria is readily available (WOOT WOOT) it’s easy to see why Barcelona is always a good idea.
The music scene in Barcelona is one of the most eclectic in the world. I mean, if you take a walk down the street you can see what a diverse city it is. The music certainly caters to that. You can find clubs playing hard rock, salsa, house, flamenco, ANYTHING. Need me to really sell you on this city? Well some of the most famous clubs are located directly on the beach so this means you can literally walk out of the club and hang on the beach for a little. Not to mention you can score a beer on the beach from the random solicitors for half of what you would pay in the club. Chug that and get back to dancing folks.
4. Hvar, Croatia
Ohhh Croatia, how I love you. Mostly because you combine my two favorite things in the most perfect way, lazy beach bum living and dancing until I can see the morning. Here’s how it pretty much works for most people on Hvar. You wake up, go relax on the beach for most of the day, indulge in some seafood, nap and party until the morning. Rinse and repeat. Sounds like a dream right? Well it’s real folks.
Hvar is small enough where you can pretty much walk to all of the best places to get down all night. BUT here’s the thing. most bars in Hvar close at 2 am. HOWEVER, I promised to tell you where to dance the night away and here it is. So once the bars close, you can hop on a FREE water taxi (if it’s free then it’s for me amiright?!?!) and make your way to Carpe Diem island. That’s right, you need to take a water taxi to get to this club, that just so happens to be on its own island. The Croats are just geniuses in my opinion. Pay the entrance fee, romp around the island, indulge in the pizza bar, find someone cute to kiss on the beach during sunrise, but most importantly dance like nobody is watching at this Avatar-inspired island dance club oasis.
5. Krakow, Poland
NOBODY EVERY BELIEVES ME WHEN I TELL THEM THAT KRAKOW IS CRAZZZYYY. The conversation typically starts off with me saying “Oh man, you HAVE to go to Krakow, always the wildest time for me.” To which by this point people look at me like I have 5 heads and respond with “Poland….really?” REALLY. The Poles are NO JOKE and have some of the coolest clubs to prove it. If you walk through the city center at 1 o’clock am you will have at least 5 different clubs to choose from AT LEAST. Plus, half of the clubs in the city are underground with tunnels that lead to dark, loud rooms and different music. Does it get much better than that? I don’t think so.
So live it up guys! Dance like nobody is watching and show that dance floor who’s boss. Know of some great places/cities to go dancing?!? Let a girl know in the comments!
Voyaging Vagabond 