Hennessy Rooftop Bar, Mayfair Hotel, SA © Mayfair Hotel
Australia's best bars and nightlife
Skip the early bed time – there are memorable experiences to be made amid Australia’s vibrant nightlife.
Some of the best bars in Sydney and Melbourne are hidden in plain sight. Open an unmarked door in Melbourne’s Malthouse Lane to find Eau de Vie, where cocktails are served with extravagance. Walk into the Boston Sub sandwich shop on Chapel Street in Windsor and pull open the fridge door to find the secret entrance to Jungle Boy, one of Melbourne’s best tiki bars. In the middle of Sydney city, an unmarked entrance on Kent Street leads to Lobo Plantation, which stocks 150 types of artisan rum. Or, head down a Darlinghurst alley to find Shady Pines Saloon, a popular drinking den featuring plenty of whisky and cowhide rugs.
No prizes for guessing that you can catch an opera performance at the Sydney Opera House, but did you know that the Opera House also hosts cabaret, ballet, gigs, festivals and comedy? Nearby Walsh Bay is home to the Aboriginal Bangarra Dance Theatre and the Sydney Theatre Company and there are cutting-edge acts on show at Redfern’s Carriageworks. In Melbourne, the Arts Centre Melbourne is the place to see ballet, theatre and opera performances, while Her Majesty’s Theatre and the Princess Theatre host blockbuster musicals. Brisbane has the Queensland Performing Arts Centre and the Brisbane Powerhouse, while the Adelaide Festival Centre boasts an exciting program.
Australia’s rooftop bars rise above the competition. You’ll find incredible rooftop bars in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and the Gold Coast. The stylish Rooftop at QT Hotel is a favourite in Melbourne, while in Sydney the Glenmore Hotel has a relaxed vibe and terrific harbour views. Adelaide’s Hennessy Rooftop Bar offers old-school elegance, while 2KW Bar and Restaurant has one of the city’s best selections of wine. In Brisbane, MAYA has a stylish, Mexican-inspired vibe.
Summer in Sydney may be beautiful, but winter is dazzling thanks to the Vivid Sydney festival. For three weeks, the festival lights up the city with a collection of light sculptures, installations and super-sized projections. In Alice Springs each October, the Parrtjima Festival sets the desert glowing with light works created by Aboriginal artists. From Alice Springs, head to Uluru to admire the striking Field of Light, a colourful installation that features 50,000 stems of light swept by waves of contrasting colours. In Canberra, the Enlighten Festival combines creativity, culture and brightly lit city monuments.
Whether you want to boogie to live tunes or bust a move on a nightclub dance floor, Australia’s cities offer plenty of places to get your groove on. Fans of in-person gigs shouldn’t miss the likes of Brisbane’s Bigsound festival which sees a whole host of artists descend on the Queensland city for three soulful days. Melbourne is well-known for their live music venues, and local musicians give it their all at Cherry Bar and the Corner Hotel. For some DJ action, head to one of Sydney’s most popular haunts, the Imperial Hotel, an LGBTQI+ institution with live drag performances every Wednesday to Sunday.
