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EVERY TRUE PARTY animal should have a party bucket list. You never really know somewhere until you’ve gone out there, right? That’s the rule by which any true craic hound lives by.
In honour of that theory, here’s a list of 25 places every partyer will should let loose in at least once.
From the yachts of Saint Tropez to the raucous clubs of Ibiza and Las Vegas, these destinations will give you a party you will never forget.
With a slogan like “Keep Austin Weird,” you can expect to find a diverse crowd of young musicians, artists, and tech and business folks traveling across the city’s many bars.
For an epic bar crawl, start on Sixth Street and make your way west through the city’s eclectic bars, seeing lots of live music along the way.
Known for its prime surf waves, Kuta Beach is the top party spot in Bali, Indonesia. Hit the busy streets, late-night parties, and beach raves with thousands of backpackers and locals who flock to the Southeast Asian party circuit.
This is a great destination if you’re looking to party on a budget as cheap drinks are their specialty.
If you’re looking to party hard on a small budget, Barcelona is your place. Check out Espit Chupitos, a bar dedicated to producing quirky shots like the Harry Potter that are all only €2.
After partying all night in the city’s clubs, spend the day at the beach, where crowds of clubbers take to the sands to continue the dancing.
Lonely Planet listed Belgrade, Serbia, one of the top 10 party cities in the world thanks to its eclectic Skadarlika bar district and summer river clubs, where you can party on the Sava and Danube Rivers.
Every serious partygoer knows about the epic Burning Man festival in Black Rock City, Nevada.
The week-long festival is home to some of the most bizarre costumes, performances, and tents, where people mingle and party together all day and night in the middle of the desert.
Burning Man usually takes place in August or September.
Berlin is world-famous for its incredible nightlife scene, from its underground techno clubs to its rock and alternative venues.
No matter what time you arrive, you can always find a party happening, with the scene going all night long.
Called a “relentless, free-form party monster” by Rolling Stone, Distortion is a one-of-a-kind festival in Copenhagen that celebrates the city’s underground music and art scene.
The four-day festival, which takes place in June, comprises huge street parties, music, and a never-ending supply of Danish beer.
Last year, Dubai set the record for the biggest fireworks display during its 2014 New Year’s Eve party.
Millions of visitors come to Dubai during New Year’s Eve every year to see the incredible fireworks displays around the city. The Meydan racecourse and hotel complex hosts an epic New Year’s Eve party that lasts until 5 pm the next day.
Goa has such a crazy dance music party scene that it has created its own style of dance music called Goa trance.
Parties in Goa can last for days, with partyers dancing all day and night on the city’s bustling streets and beaches. Palolem Beach is one of the hottest spots for raving.
Amid its wild parties, Goa is known for hosting some of the world’s largest silent discos.
Ibiza, Spain
Ibiza has become known as the world’s party capital. The Mediterranean city is known for its raucous nightlife in Ibiza Town on the southern shore and Sant Antoni to the West.
Top DJs flock here from all over the world to play at the island’s hottest clubs, including Privilege, the largest club in the world, and Amnesia, famous for its foam parties.
Parties rarely stop before 6 a.m. and most clubs stay open as late as 8 am.
Istanbul, Turkey
Turkey’s hippest and most populated city, Istanbul is known for the wild shenanigans that take place in its famous Taksim Square.
It is home to one of the most diverse populations, where Americans, Europeans, Middle Easterners, and Asians travel to experience some of the world’s hottest nightclubs.
Thailand’s Full Moon Party takes places across several cities throughout the year, but Koh Phangan is hailed as one of the most memorable.
Once a month, when there’s a full moon, partyers converge on the small Thai island to drink, dance, and jump the famed rope of fire.
Las Vegas is nicknamed Sin City for a reason. Here, you can start the day partying at one of the major pool parties and eventually make your way to the clubs. Oh, and there’s some wagers to be placed if you’re into that kind of thing.
Known as the fashion capital of Italy, Milan isn’t necessarily the first place you’d think of to go partying, but the posh environment offers a Miami-style clubbing scene. There are tons of trendy bars around the city.
Plus, every night of Milan’s fashion week, you’ll find after parties happening throughout the city. Dress to impress here.
Oktoberfest in Munich is a can’t-miss celebration. The 16-day festival attracts more than 6 million people from around the world and has some of the best beer and German food.
Indulge in pints and pints of German beer while wearing a traditional Dirndl or Lederhosen. The festival usually takes place in late September to early October.
Mykonos may be a small Greek island, but it’s got a larger-than-life party scene.
Every day, parties start on the beaches in the mid-afternoon and go until the next morning. Super Paradise beach is one of the best places to party, but there are also dozens of clubs and bars around the island.
There’s a huge gay party scene here too.
New York is booming with energy morning, noon, and night.
There’s a reason it’s called “the city that never sleeps,” after all.
Here, clubs are typically open until 4 or 5 in the morning, there are 24-hour restaurants where you can grab a bite afterward, and the city’s public transportation makes spontaneous partying easy.
Croatia is a prime spot for low-cost partying, and the island of Pag is no exception. The small island has become the Ibiza of Croatia as the new hotspot for pool and beach party lovers.
Club Papaya is the place to be in summer, when waist-deep pools and DJs keep you refreshed and partying on.
In Reykjavik you’ll find a big nightlife scene with a small-town feel, where you see everything from goths and punks to ’80s-music lovers and trance fans.
Prime for bar-hopping, Reykjavik has the tradition of the “runtur,” or round tour, where you cruise from bar to bar throughout the night.
Brazil’s Carnival is considered the most famous, and Rio de Janeiro is home to the largest Carnival celebration in the country.
During Carnival, which takes place before Easter, hundreds of bands descend on the city, women don outrageous costumes, revelers party in the streets and beaches, while groups compete for the most extravagant floats and costumes in the Sambadrome parade.
Located on the French Riviera, glamorous Saint Tropez is known for its famous, fabulous, and wealthy summertime guests.
The party scene here centres on private yachts and beaches, but you can also enjoy drinks on a hidden rooftop bar while overlooking the gorgeous Mediterranean Sea.
Tel Aviv isn’t exactly New York, but the Israeli beach city has been unofficially dubbed “the city that never sleeps” for its vibrant nightlife scene.
With its beach parties and huge club scene, Tel Aviv offers around-the-clock partying. The gay-friendly city is also home to Asia’s biggest gay parade.
Neon lights, jam-packed clubs, late-night massage parlors, and scandalous fetish shows make Tokyo one of the wildest party destinations in the world.
Start the night off with karaoke, a favorite for locals, and head to the futuristic-style clubs in the late-night hours.
Valparaiso is a colorful city built into the hills on the west coast of Chile.
Here, the streets are full of colorful graffiti, the homes are painted bright colors, and the bars are full of live music, original art, and patrons who want to party. Instead of ordering premixed cocktails, bartenders in Valpo serve drinks and mixtures separately.
When you order a drink, you get about 150-350ml of alcohol and a can of soda to mix as you like.
Whistler may be known for its amazing skiing and snowboarding, but it also has some epic après-ski parties.
After hitting the slopes during the day, you can unwind with a beer while looking out at the stunning views of the mountains. Later, sip cocktails in posh lounges or go clubbing with international DJs.
Inefficient way of working. Lots of people just staying for the social life. Much prefer the German approach of shutting the office down- if you can’t do your job from 9-5 something’s wrong – go home and relax and contribute to your community.
If only all companies were like this.
Some companies work people to the point of burn out.
This happy go lucky workplace at Google etc is purely a way of keeping people in work longer and only socialising with colleagues.
Throw in the fact that they’re main targets are CS grads who might be a bit socially challenged and you have willing victims at the ready.
Software development is a very stressful and demanding job. Providing a relaxing atmosphere helps productivity.
Only stressful and demanding if badly managed. American companies think they own you so they don’t have to plan correctly, they’ll just throw more people at the problem whether it’s working until 4am or weekend work at regular rates.
These environments are fine when you’re young – the craic is great and you don’t mind working the hours if you get free drinks nights etc. however it breeds bad habits in management and workers. Just my experience.
Agreed – the American way of working is based on working long hours rather than doing your job well – its also very short term driven because of the bonus culture – it has led to biggest recession in recent memory
Modern IT is a 24hr culture. It’s not possible to do everything in the old style 9-5 workday. Software deployments and batch tasks tend to have to run outside these times. If people want a 9-5 job with handy money and promotions based on length of service etc, then IT is the wrong place to be.
“Modern IT is a 24hr culture.”
That’s not true. I work in IT, I arrive 10-15 mins late in the morning, and I am gone to catch the Luas at 5:32pm
Why not mix it up some days, and arrive 10-15mins early, and then go to catch the luas at 5.02pm. Keep people guessing
I like the cut of your jib, maybe I’ll even take it a step further and get the bus home. I’d be the talk of the office.
Anything that touches IT is like this. I just quit my job in IT recruitment, working 7:30 to 21:00 every day and then some on the weekends, take lunch at desk while working, it’s insane. Life is for living, not making other people rich mannnnnnn.
Though at 21:00 we did play some sick table tennis!
@cpm the fact that you are freely admitting to arriving late every morning and leaving at the same time each day suggests you are the work shy sort. Also you travel via public transport with the great unwashed which suggests you don’t earn enough to owe a car. I think you ought to work harder and you’ll achieve more, otherwise you’ll still be stuck at the java in your 60s.
Oh dear me, Jon! So many assumptions in such a short paragraph. Anyway, the reason I get the Luas is because it’s about 10x quicker than driving in the city centre. So maybe I’m just more efficient with my time than you are – this probably explains your 24hr work schedule.
“otherwise you’ll still be stuck at the java in your 60s.”
- let me guess, – you’re one of “those guys” who could never get their head around programming LOL
A lot of people actually choose to stay programming long into their careers, – it keeps the brain ticking over unlike a lot of other activities, and the challenge depends a lot on the complexity of the problem at hand.
Table tennis not ping pong.
Unfortunately for every Google, there are 3 places who just want to grind 10 hours a day of hard slog out of employees. ESP call centers (which aren’t it jobs). People want to work where they are valued, more likely to happen in a small business than a sprawling multi national. Not a huge shock of a survey in fairness.
Your right Paul,
Some horrible companies to work for out there.
When times are good, these companies won`t hire enough staff and people will have a high workload.
When times are bad, these companies will fire a lot of people, will then not have enough staff, people will have a higher workload, lower pay, and put in crazy hours for fear of being the next person to be fired.
Meanwhile some of the directors jump ship with payoffs close to a million quid. Not naming companies but these things happen.
Imagine the uproar if public sector workers got free haircuts, swimming pools, lounges and ping-pong tables.
Just saying.
Imagine the shock if the government that hired the public sector workers posted quarterly profits in the billions thus being able to afford the pools and nice lunches…
If IT companies are earning exorbitant profits like this doesn’t it mean we’re all overpaying for IT services?
To be honest, ill work with whoever pays me the most and offers the best T&Cs. Startups are definitely interesting but often can’t compete on wages. Young IT professionals will move around a bit.
Sitting round cuddling office dogs, playing ping pong and sitting in ‘creative spaces’ with nerds all day sounds like my idea of hell.
Office dogs sounds cool.
Don`t knock table tennis, great game.
WOOF
Some of the irish start ups are cowboy setups – people looking to make a quick buck and little interest in developing staff
Companies outside the IT sector need to take note. People perform better and you get better results if you have a fun environment and atmosphere to work in.
Lol!!! It’s not our fault we chose the right career path
I worked for two start-ups, both went out business at a moment’s notice, while the wages in start-ups with funding can be higher, the security just isn’t there, and if you have a mortgage that’s not a great thing. I’d be very happy to work for Google!
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