Lads holiday in a city

How about Berlin or Hamburg? Both German cities are connected also by night train to Stockholm.

Other options can be the Baltic states across Baltic Sea from Sweden.

Also Aarhus (DK), Amsterdam, Gdansk, Barcelona or Edinburgh might be a good match.

Yes! BERLIN! No place better for the lads.

Berlin comes to mind right away. And also Budapest.

Berlin for sure. Not Munich. Amsterdam or Copenhagen would be good. Rekyavik might be fun, but a bit pricey.

I’ve always imagined Berlin to feel a little bit unsafe, not sure why and it’s only a judgement - I’ve never been before. I’ll look into it!

Reykivik is a place I’d seen last night and heard good stuff about, is the nightclub scene good there?

Berlin and Prague for sure. Budapest? What many dont realize is that a substantial part of the city closes at mindnight each night. Makes it less than ideal for the stated purpose. And pot is legal in Germany (with limitations). In Hungary it carries the same penality as heroin.

As a Munich resident, I love the city of course, and there's plenty to do for you.

But... as well I'm in favor of you going to Berlin first.

Just like in Munich, you have to be careful in Berlin too. Yes, Berlin is bigger, but it's certainly not that much more dangerous than Munich.

It's obviously nowhere near Scandinavia, but I'd encourage young people to visit Naples. The place is a huge kick in the shorts, in all the best ways.

Any specific reasons why Naples by any chance?

I've been going away on lad's holidays for years and even now, in my late forties, myself and a small group of friends go away every year for a city break however we're more focused on good food, wine and beer rather than clubbing.

Lisbon has a fantastic nightlife scene which is perfect for young people and my two sons have taken my advice to visit on board and are due to visit themselves.

Munich is great for a summer visit and spending time in the beer gardens but it doesn't have much of a club scene. There are a lot of bars catering for students however and there is a lively district where they tend to congregate.

Berlin is quite spread out and it's difficult to visit different bars easily and we found some of the door staff quite strict when it came to allowing entry to groups of men. It does however have tons to offer in terms of museums and sights.

Sofia is great for nightlife, particularly in the warmer months. It's a compact city and easy to get around and view the sights.

Budapest is much like Sofia and both benefit from being cheaper than more Western cities.

Warsaw also has a thriving nightlife and an excellent beer scene. It also has a number of excellent museums.

Prague and Krakow have too many stag and hen parties for my liking.

Tallinn is a great little city, very historic but equally very forward thinking and modern and there are a number of excellent bars and clubs.

Thanks for all of the info there, really does get me into doing a lot of research!

Are most of these places considered relatively safe?

Berlin if you want the same but much bigger. Reykjavik if you want the same but much smaller. Your countrymen went clubbing there in the 90's and loved it. Berlin I found unstable, for political reasons to do with the past, was my assessment. Fighting broke out on the streets during a demonstration near an inner city S-bahn stop. It felt like a sliver of the Russian revolution. At the moment The Federal Republic of Germany seems unstable again, if it ever was otherwise, which could of course be said about more than a few other western countries now. Letting that influence decisions can prove to be wise. The only other time flaring violence has affected me was on the streets of San Francisco.

Freddie Mercury experienced the Munich night clubs, while living in that city, as is evidenced by the music video Living On My Own.

If you want cheap and redicilously plentiful debauchery nothing beats Bucharest old town. It's not that things stay open late, it's that they never close. Safe? Sure, pretty much.

If you want to do the theater, opera, classical concert or church organ concert, and go to bed at 1am then Budapest .... boooring!

For slick, modern permissive and very agreeable local population and tourists, I am told Berlin. Safe? Absolutely.

Are most of these places considered relatively safe?

Yes, absolutely. Whilst no-one can ever rule out witnessing a fight I have never felt unsafe in any of those places I listed or those that I haven't. The only place I've ever felt unsafe was the US.

There is of course the ever present threat of terrorism but it's not something I ever consider when travelling.

but it doesn't have much of a club scene

Uhhh this is not true for Munich. Of course not as cool as in Berlin but still :-) That's why I voted for Berlin as well.

Freddie Mercury experienced the Munich night clubs, while living in that city, as is evidenced by the music video Living On My Own.

Freddie was very active in the gay scene in Munich for many years. Unfortunately, that's not portrayed quite accurately in the Queen film. A member of his close circle of friends and some who were active in the scene back then tell completely different stories. And anyone my not-so-young age, of course, knows a few people who were there.

But whatever. Sounds like grandma is telling the stories from the past.

The video you're referring to was filmed in the Paradiso dance bar. It still exists today (looks different inside now and *changed name), but it's not at all part of the club scene, as we probably understand the definition of a club here. It calls itself a club, and it's kind of cool and fun. In a broader sense, it's still part of the gay scene today, but it's frequented by a mixed party crowd.

By the way, there's even a guided tour in Munich dedicated to Freddie. And the city of Munich dedicated a street to him, which made me personally very happy.

*EDIT: I had completely forgotten that the name of the establishment had also changed :-)

Interesting…. never given Bucharest much thought.

Been doing some scandanavia research and I’ve seen a list that someone has done based on nightlife, ranking the top 10:

10 - Uppsala
9 - Helsingborg
8 - Aalborg
7 - Bergen
6 - Tromso
5 - Aarhus
4 - Oslo
3 - Stockholm
2 - Gothenburg
1 - Copenhagen

Anyone got any thoughts on this list that I found? And how they would compare to the likes of munch, Berlin, Bucharest, Prague, etc that had already been mentioned on here?

Bucharest: https://youtu.be/FvjRNfn0y3k?si=RVeR0zXCJVrT0nAx

Good God! Uppsala now! What are them lads up to now... I thought to myself... diving deeper and deeper into Scandinavia? Well, as this is my planetary home ground a reply comes forth forthwith. 1-5 are capitals and big cities. You will get what you are looking for there. 6-10 are smaller, much smaller, but they do have places to go and find people to... talk to, and all the rest of it. Uppsala, an easy commute from the capital (39 min), is an old university town with some major historical sites and a vibrant and substantial student population, where students can visit the 10-15 club houses/"student nations", spread out all over town, where many pubs and clubs are hosted. You'll need to buy a temporary membership card. Helsingborg and Aalborg are somewhere in between. Not small, not large. Aarhus is a second city which seems well worth visiting, and you can never go wrong with Copenhagen.

Perhaps you should have a look at Malmö too, as it is our prominent third city, has a relaxed atmosphere, and is an easy commute from Copenhagen (36 min), though I have never tried the scene there myself.

Travelling lads discovering the world's many pleasures must be helped in every which way and afforded every consideration.

The nightclub scene in Reykjavik its very popular! Most of them do not close until around 4am. The famous hot dog stand closes about an hour after the bars close as that is when they get the most business;)

Thanks again for the detailed responses, much appreciated.

I’ve got a lot of research now on my hands, it’s a good job that i have a long time!

Mignon; How gladdening to hear that Munich has honoured Mercury! Warms the cockles of the heart. The song finally brought him to the toppermost of the poppermost. On his own. Sometimes a body gets what he deserves. I just had to have a listen. Always up in the clouds in a dreamworld...

@ Cherryplanter

I'm completely with you. I love his voice till today.

Yes, the truth is, it's a small street, and it's not even close to the places that can be associated with him. But let's not complain about everything like a typical German, just be happy :-)

Here's an interview with a friend from back then - Peter Ambacher:
https://www.munich.travel/en/topics/arts-culture/interview-peter-ambacher

Sorry to say but the listed destinations are far behind the top European nightlife locations. I cannot support this list from my background.

Best Scandinavian parties are either event based such as Roskilde Festival or private parties of people / clubs / companies with money. Also national holidays, Midsummer and Russefeiring are well celebrated.

MarkK, that provides no insight and no help.

Well, the "British boys coming to Hamburg for the club scene" is such an extreme trope in Hamburg that you would stand out more if you were NOT doing the nightlife. Make of that what you will, but young British men have been coming to Hamburg for the express purpose of partying for awhile. They all seem to love it.