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The German port city came top in a new survey of the world’s best cities for nightlife, with Berlin and Copenhagen close behind. London scored dismally on quality, safety and ease of travel

Hamburg is the world’s best city for a night out, according to a survey exploring how local residents feel about nightlife in their hometown. Londoners, however, are far less enamoured with their city’s after-dark experience: the UK capital made it to just number 26 on the list.

The survey, commissioned by Hostelworld, consisted of 4,100 interviews with residents in 41 cities around the world. It asked residents to rate the nightlife in their hometown based on five categories: quality, openness and friendliness of the locals, ease of travel, safety, and cost.

Hamburg came first overall, getting the highest score for both openness and friendliness and ease of getting around. The city’s nightlife scene has a strong mix of underground clubbing, classy cocktail bars and cheap drinking venues, with the St Pauli district attracting thousands of people for a night out each weekend.

Copenhagen came second, scoring highest when it came to safety but missing out on the top spot because of high costs. The city’s redeveloped meatpacking district in Vesterbro has become the most popular neighbourhood for nightlife:with lots of bars and clubs within walking distance of each other in spaces left by former meat businesses. A beer, however, costs an average of £5.



Berlin came third overall, with locals being the most happy when it comes to the price of partying. The city’s nightlife is famously low-cost: a beer can cost around £2.50 and entry to even the biggest clubs is rarely more than £10-£12 for hours of partying.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Queues for London’s Fabric, which reopened last year after a review into the drug-related deaths of two people. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

Residents of London were far more critical of their city’s nightlife, coming bottom when it came to affordability. The category where London performs best is “openness and friendliness”, where it came 19th. The city ranked 22nd for quality of nightlife, 26thfor getting around and 28th for sense of safety.

The state of nightlife in the UK capital has been subject of debate over the past two years, coming to a peak last autumn after the closure of renowned Farringdon club Fabric and the ensuing campaign to get it reopened.

In November 2016, London appointed its first nighttsar, Amy Lamé, who was tasked with advocating for the city’s nightlife scene following growing despondence from residents over club closures. The same month, London finally launched the night tube, and mayor Sadiq Khan has stated his ambition to make London a 24-hour city.