When Cape Town dims her lights after dinner, it’s time for the real fun to start. Take your pick of the numerous nightclubs, discotheques , wine-bars, music pubs, cocktail lounges and restaurants. The Waterfront, Sea Point, Camps Bay, Observatory and lower Cape Town buzz until the early hours.

Restaurants and pubs along the Waterfront afford magnificent views of the Atlantic Ocean, the City Bowl and Table Mountain, and are the passport to Cape Town’s busy nightlife. Sip Latte’s at Balducci or the Mug and Bean, or eat at any one of the many fine restaurants on the strip. Enjoy fine dining on the water's edge, listening to the most melodic of man's creations - Jazz.

The Green Dolphin at the Waterfront is one of Cape Town's leading jazz venues. Others are West End in Athlone, Café Sirens in Claremont, or Dizzy Jazz Café – "The Vibe on the Drive" - where you’ll find live music every night, and a bunch of Camps Bay locals enjoying a drink till the wee hours. Camps Bay also offers delicious sea food at the Ocean Blue Restaurant, spectacular sunset over Camps Bay beach at Baraza and several other atmospheric restaurants and bars. La Med, on Clifton 4th Beach, is a favourite Sunday night venue.

There is little distinction between clubs and pubs in Cape Town, with drinking and dancing often taking place at the same venue. City Bowl is the nightlife centre of Cape Town and the activity is centred around the lower end of Long and Loop streets. In these streets you can spend an entire evening strolling around and sampling the nightlife.

For a more mellow evening, try out Kennedy’s Cigar Bar, or East City Café, reminiscent of an exclusive 1920’s cigar lounge, with the cigars and bourbons to prove it. In Kloof Road, there’s Cafe Dharma, the oh-so-chic Bardelli and the Blue Plate for fine cuisine. Head for the Bronx or Cruz on Main Road, Green Point Cape Town’s three best gay clubs. Long and Bree streets are jam-packed with pubs and café’s.

Cape Town has lots of movie houses, based in major malls and shopping centres. These now often include ‘art films’, as does the Labia Theatre near the Mount Nelson Hotel. For live entertainment of the arty sort, treat yourself to a night at the Nico Theatre, the Baxter, Maynardville, Spier or Theatre on the Bay. These venues combine food or drink with jazz, cabaret, Shakespeare, musicals… Whatever your taste, you’ll find the perfect rendezvous spot.

In January, The Coon Carnival is Cape Towns major New Year event. It has its origins in the late 18th century, when the slaves were allowed their one day off a year on January 1. It consists of dancers, musicians, parades, marches, competitions and street festivals, for the whole month of January. Down at the Waterfront, in the Agfa Amphitheatre, you can often catch free rock or jazz performances and sometimes hear the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra, which also plays at the Grand Hall on Thursdays and Sundays at 8pm.