A recently opened three-floor club converted  from the well-known London Apprentice gay pub. The  atmosphere is homely with a mini cinema on the top floor  and pool tables and table football to keep the easily bored distracted. Music is generally funky with a lot of hip hop and drum 'n' bass.

Bagleys Studios

King's Cross Freight Depot, off York Way, N1 (0171 278 2777) King's Cross tube/rail/N73, N91 bus. Open 10pm-6am Fri; 10pm-7am Sat. Admission £8-£12.

A dank and slightly depressing warehouse club in an equally dingy area. The regular Saturday night  Freedom pounds house and garage to a sweaty, bare-chested crowd. Friday nights vary. The downstairs Bunker Bar hosts Starsky 'n' Hutch on Saturdays.

Bar Rumba

36 Shaftesbury Avenue, W1 (0171 287 2715) Piccadilly Circus tube. Open 10.30pm-3am Mon; 9pm-3am Tue, Wed; 10pm-3.30am Thur; 9pm-4am Fri; 10pm-6am  Sat; 8pm-1.30am Sun. Admission £3-£12.

A small but stylish West End venue by the Trocadero.  Open nightly, it boasts an impressive range of club nights and a marvellously eclectic music policy, from  radical jazz and jungle to salsa, garage and swing.Arrive early - it packs out with a smart, dressy crowd.  Movement, on Thursdays, spins drum 'n' bass tunes, and there's also a series of excellent breakbeat parties, on monthly Fridays.

Blue Note

1-5 Parkfield Street, N1 (0171 837 69006) Angel tube  Open 10pm-2am Mon, Tue; 10pm-3am Wed, Thur; 10pm-5am Fri-Sat; 7pm-midnight Sun. Admission £5-£10.

The Blue Note, run by the eponymous acid jazz record label, continues to pull the crowds in with its diverse and daring musical agenda.  The venue's changed and it's host to some of the best nights in London, even though it is now in Islington instead of hip Hoxton.     Watch the inimitable Goldie and friends spin rhythmic drum 'n' bass sounds at Sunday's Metalheadz - not for the faint-hearted.  Athletico, on Saturdays, is a popular trawl through everything from techno to jungle.

Browns

4 Great Queen Street, WC2  (0171 831 0802)   Holborn tube. Open 11pm-3.30am Tue-Thur;                  11pm-4am Sat, Sun.  Admission £15

At the smarter, more elitist, end of the club market,  Browns is frequented by moneyed VIPs and their groupies. The three floors could be said to represent three social ranks: a private lounge on the top, a VIP room below, and an open dancefloor on the ground floor. Week nights are generally members-only,                  while on weekends non-members can bop along  (in their strictly designated areas) to commercial house                  and garage.

Café de Paris

3 Coventry Street, W1 (0171 734 7700) Piccadilly Circus tube. Open 5pm-4am Mon-Fri; 8pm-4am  Sat. Admission £10-£20.

This spectacular 1920s ballroom has recently been lavishly restored, and now often plays host to private parties for a suave, sophisticated clientele. On public club nights celebs have been spotted enjoying                  (overpriced) cocktails at the bar.

Camden Palace

1A Camden High Street, NW1 (0171 387 0428) Camden Town tube/N5, N20, N29, N31, N134, N253, N279 bus. Open 9pm-2am Tue, Wed; 10pm-6am Fri; 10pm-8am Sat. Admission £5-£15.

The original, beautiful music hall venue has been transformed into a towering multi-level inferno of sound and light. It's always crowded and prices can be high, but the music usually delivers, with Tuesday's                  indie-rock club Feet First and Friday's house party Peach especially popular (Note: no trainers or scruffy jeans for the latter).

Chunnel Club

101 Tinworth Street, Albert Embankment, SW1 (0171 820 1702) Vauxhall tube/rail/N2, N36,              N44 bus.  Open 9pm-6am Fri, Sat. Admission £5-£10.

The vibe here is usually a good one. The dance arches may get packed, but it's usually a happy and relaxed crowd, shaking away their worries to the housey beats.

Cloud 9

67-68 Albert Embankment, SE1 (0171 735 5590) Vauxhall tube/rail/N2, N36, N44 bus. Open 10pm-6am  Fri, Sat. Admission £8-£10.

Nights are full-on at Cloud 9, particularly Saturday's Sex, Love and Motion (heavy house and techno), with drinks at pub prices. A guaranteed hardcore experience.

Club 414

414 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 (0171 924 9322) Brixton tube/rail/N2, N3, N37, N109 bus. Open                  10pm-6am Wed-Sun. Admission £5-£7.

Nights vary considerably in this two-roomed venue, but house (happy to hard), techno and trance generally head the bill. The popular Sunday hard, uplifting house session goes on into the early, early hours.

Electric Ballroom

184 Camden High Street, NW1 (0171 485 9006) Camden Town tube/N5, N20, N29, N31, N134, N253, N279 bus. Open 10.30pm-2.30am Fri, Sat. Admission £4-£7.

If you're up for an unpretentious, unashamedly silly night out with your mates you can't do much                  better than here: Saturday Night Fever hosts sing-along disco and Eighties dance faves and is free to anyone dressed in `full Seventies gear'. Friday's Full Tilt is a good-natured, long-standing goth fest.

Equinox

Leicester Square, WC2 (0171437 1446) Leicester Square tube. Open9pm-3am Mon-Thur; 9pm-4am Fri, Sat. Admission £5-£10.

Mainstream pop mania is the business in this 1,500 capacity monstrosity. Bars are everywhere, so there's no danger of dying of thirst; a laser system-enduced headache might be more of a problem.

Gardening Club

4 Covent Garden Piazza, WC2 (0171 497 3154) Covent Garden tube. Open 10pm-3.30am Mon-Thur; 10pm-6am Fri, Sat. Admission £4-£10.

Intimate arches filled with a well-up-for-it crowd getting down to mostly housey beats. The upstairs Fresh Bar is a nice spot for chilling out. The location, in the heart of Covent Garden, can't be beat.

Gass Club

49 Whitcomb Street, WC2 (0171 839 3922) Picadilly Circus tube. Open 10pm-3am Tue-Thur; 10.30pm-5am Fri, Sat. Admission £4-£15.

Open-plan West End club with a good sound system, pleasant security and sizeable dancefloor. The décor is a bit on the naff side.

Gossips

69 Dean St, W1 (0171 434 4480) Piccadilly Circus or Tottenham Court Road tube.  Open 10pm-3am Mon-Thur; 10.30pm-3.30am Fri, Sat.  Admission £4-£8.

Check out the different nightly sounds at this cavernous basement club. Goths strut their stuff at Tuesday's Malice Underground (industrial to indie). And Saturday's long-running Reggae with Rodigan spins classic reggae and lovers' tunes for a 20s/30s smart, cosmopolitan crowd.

Hanover Grand

6 Hanover Street, W1 (0171499 7977) Oxford Circus tube. Open 10pm-3.30am Wed, Thur; 10.30pm-5am Fri;                  11pm-4.30am Sat.  Admission £3-£10.

A spanking success with the glammed-up girls and boys of London, with queues to prove it. The setting, a converted hotel ballroom, is quirky; the sound system excellent.

Heaven

The Arches, Craven Street, WC2 (0171 930 2020) Charing Cross tube/rail. Open 10pm-

HQs

West Yard, Camden Lock, NW1 (0171 485 6044) Camden Town tube/N5, N20, N29, N31, N134, N253, N279 bus. Open 9pm-2am  Mon-Thur; 8pm-2am Fri, Sat; 7pm-midnight Sun. Admission £4-£5.

A small canalside venue, particularly nice in summer months when the doors are left open and the club's sounds pulse out across the Lock. The programme is fairly mainstream (especially house and garage). Live bands feature during the week.

Iceni

11 White Horse Street, W1 (0171 495 5333) Green Park tube. Open 11pm-3am Fri; 10pm-3am Sat. Admission £10-£12.

Iceni, one of London's more attractive venues, is renowned for its musical diversity, thanks largely to its five rooms spread over three floors. A glammed-up crowd congregate here on Fridays and Saturdays bopping away to everything from swing to Seventies and Eighties classics, all in one night.

LA2

157 Charing Cross Road, WC2 (0171 434 0404) Tottenham Court Road tube.  Open 11pm-3am Mon-Thur; 11pm-5am Fri, Sat. Admission £2-£8.

If Oasis, Blur and other Britpop luminaries are your thing, you could do worse than this big, in-yer-face haunt. The ever-popular Carwash, on Saturdays, is for serious disco boppers only: only the `fluffy, superstar disco-shiny' are likely to get in to dance to the classic Seventies funk and disco.

Legends

29 Old Burlington Street, W1 (0171 437 9933) Green Park tube. Open 10.30pm-3am Thur; 10.30pm-4am Fri;                  10.30pm-5am Sat. Admission £7-£15.

The design-led chrome surroundings make this a somewhat cold venue, in atmosphere as well as appearance - but the dollies and poseurs love it. Dress code: no jeans or trainers.

Limelight

136 Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2 (0171 434 0572) Leicester  Square tube. Open 10pm-3am Mon-Thur, Sun; 10pm-3.30am Fri; 9pm-3.30am Sat. Admission £5-£12.

A former church, this perfectly located venue is about as grand as you'll get. Wednesday's Planet Earth Eighties revival night, spinning everything from Blondie to Madonna, is so popular you'd be mad to get there after 11.30pm.

Madame Jo Jo's

8-10 Brewer Street, W1(0171 734 2473) Piccadilly Circus tube. Open 10pm-3am daily. Admission £3-£22.50.

Entertaining if slightly tacky venue, famous for its drag cabaret nights (Thur-Sat).  The rest of the week offers everything from comedy on Mondays to funk on Sundays.

Mars

12 Sutton Row, W1 (0171 439 4655) Tottenham Court Road tube.  Open 10pm-3am Wed, Thur; 10pm-5am Fri, Sat.  Admission £6-£10.

Mars' stark interior provides the scene for a more clued-up, discerning punter.  A changing line-up of DJs takes to the decks, spinning cutting-edge sounds to a youngish crowd. Regular house on Saturdays.

Ministry of Sound

103 Gaunt Street, SE1 (0171378 6528) Elephant & Castle tube/rail/N1, N12, N84, N109, N155, N171, N176                  bus. Open 10.30pm-6.30am Fri; midnight-9am Sat.  Admission £10-£12 Fri; from £15 Sat.

Boasting one of the capital's best sound systems, The Ministry continues to pound house and garage to a glammed-up partying crowd.  Its main down sides are that security staff are horrible, you spend half the night queuing, and the admission and drink prices are extortionate.

Notting Hill Arts Club

21 Notting Hill Gate, W11 (0171 460 4459) Notting Hill Gate tube/N31, N52 bus. Open 6pm-1am Mon-Sat. Admission £2-£5.

A laidback vibe pervades this all-white, two-roomed venue. Thursday night's Outcaste Club heralds the innovative, playing so-called `new British Asian art', from B-movies to subcontinental martial arts and acoustic musicians.

Plastic People

37-39 Oxford Street, W1 (0171 439 0464) Tottenham Court Road tube.  Open 11pm-3am Mon-Thur; 11pm-5am Fri, Sat. Admission £4-£6.

Pokey but amiable and unpretentious dance haunt with a true underground vibe, enhanced by starkly basic facilities. Caters for those who like their music hard and loud.

Smithfields

334-338 Farringdon Street, EC1 (0171 236 8112) Farringdon tube/rail/N35, N38, N43, N243 bus. Open 10.30pm-2.30am Wed-Thur, Sat; 10.30pm-late Fri. Admission £3-£7.

A labyrinthine space, unusual both for its no-house policy and ability to attract a host of top names from each musical genre. Friday's Freaky Dancing is particularly eclectic with four floors offering hip hop, drum 'n' bass, and `bittersweet symphonies'.

Subterania

12 Acklam Road, W10 (0181 960 4590) Ladbroke Grove tube/N23, N52 bus. Open 8pm-2am Mon-Thur; 10pm-3am Fri, Sat; 7pm-midnight Sun. Admission £5-£12.

The DJs are excellent (with funky weekend sessions), the west London cosmopolitan crowd are good-looking; the sound system, alas, isn't brilliant, and the bouncers are unbelievably arrogant. Brave all this for Friday's trendy Rotation, and you're in for a party-down treat.

SW1

191 Victoria Street, SW1 (0171 630 8980) Victoria tube/rail. Open 10pm-6am Fri, Sat. Admission £6-£12.

An Edwardian dance hall with traditional oak panelling on two floors. At weekends the place is crammed with an older, more sussed, crowd: Friday's Rampage (no jeans, trainers or hats) plays R 'n' B, rap, ragga and jungle, with underground garage in the back room.

The Aquarium

256 Old Street, EC1 (0171 729 9779) Old Street tube/ rail/N243 bus. Open 10pm-4am Fri, Sat; 9am-6pm,                  7pm-midnight, Sun. Admission £7-£15.

Garage and house music dominate the evenings at this kitsch hangout. The main attraction is the swimming pool, which hints at saucy antics, but seems to attract types you would much rather see with their clothes on, or not at all.

The Arches

53 Southwark Street, SE1 (0171 207 2980) London Bridge tube/rail/N21, N35, N47, N70 bus. Open 10pm-3am Fri, Sat. Admission £5-£8.

With its fascinating design, The Arches somehow manages to be both stylish and seedy. Swing those flares at Friday's Seventies night (Starsky 'n' Hutch) or dress in disco gear for Saturday's Eighties night (Groove Train).

The Astoria (LA1)

157 Charing Cross Road, WC2 (0171 434 0403) Tottenham Court Road tube. Open 9pm-2am Mon-Sat. Admission £3-£10.

Mainly a gig venue, but also featuring regular nights such as Friday's Up West (10.30pm-4am) - a weekly trawl through the best and worst of pop, disco and dance faves from the Seventies to the Nineties.

The Colosseum

1 Nine Elms Lane, SW8 (0171 720 9200) Vauxhall tube/rail/N2, N36, N44 bus. Open 10pm-6am Fri, Sat. Admission £8-£12.

A mixed, up-for-it crowd of party people enjoy house, garage and glam handbag on Friday, and can chill out in the cinema room when it all gets too much. The more stompin' Strawberry Sundae on Saturday plays tough UK underground garage (a ballsy, speeded-up version of the soulful American sound) and house. UK garage can be sampled here on Sundays at Twice as Nice (no trainers or baseball caps). Not a place for a quiet drink.

The Cross

King's Cross Freight Depot, off York Way, N1 (0171 837 0828)  King's Cross tube/rail/N73, N91 bus. Open 10pm-6am Fri, Sat. Admission £10-£15.

Despite its insalubrious-verging-on-dodgy location,

The Emporium

62 Kingly Street, W1 (0171 734 3190) Oxford Circus tube. Open 9pm-4am Wed; 9pm-6am Fri, Sat. Admission £10-£15.

The Emporium is right up there with Browns in the starspotting charts. Aside from that, and the shamelessly lavish interior, there really isn't much to recommend this soulless club.

The End

16A West Central Street, WC1 (0171 419 9199) Holborn tube. Open 10pm-6am Fri; 10pm-7am Sat. Admission £8-£13.

This state-of-the-art club, opened by DJ and popstar Mr C (of the Shamen) in 1995, is an excellent little number.  It boasts a superb sound system, as well as one of London's more stylishly designed interiors (with toilets to match). Look out for the excellent drum 'n' bass and techno nights.

The Fridge

Town Hall Parade, Brixton Hill, SW2 (0171 326 5100)  Brixton tube/rail/N2, N3, N37, N109 bus. Open 10pm-6am Fri, Sat.  Admission £8-£12.

Worth swimming the Thames for, south London's number-one club always draws a party crowd. The dancefloor somehow manages to retain its atmosphere despite its size.  Friday nights are good for trance and psychedelic techno. The Fridge Bar is open late and also has a great atmosphere.

The Hippodrome

Charing Cross Road, WC2 (0171 437 4311)  Leicester Square tube. Open 9pm-3am Mon-Thur; 9pm-3.30am Fri, Sat.  Admission £4-£12.

Archaic, chrome-clad and notoriously trashy nightspot that entertains a smart crowd with a `commercial' mix of dance music. Superb lighting and sound, but it's a dinosaur.

The Leisure Lounge

121 Holborn, EC1 (0171 242 1345)  Chancery Lane tube/N35, N43, N91 bus. Open 10pm-5am Fri; 10pm-6am                  Sat. Admission £6-£10.

Banging open-plan club boasting excellent slide visuals and huge backlit photos, in a slightly out-of-the-way location.  Large queues, scary security, but great fun once you're in.

The Office

3-5 Rathbone Place, W1 (0171 636 1598)  Tottenham Court Road tube.  Open 6pm-2am Wed; 8.30pm-3.30am Fri; 9pm-3am Sat. Admission £3-£9.

A charming little club that plays host to a range of innovative nights:  Wednesday's Double Six Club is particularly popular, offering an array of silly and serious games to the backing of an easy-listening soundtrack (book a table in advance). A friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

The Venue

2A Clifton Rise, New Cross, SE1 (0181 692 4077) New Cross or New Cross Gate rail/London Bridge tube/N1, N12, N21, N36, N47, N53, N70, N71, N79, N81, N84 bus. Open 8pm-3am Fri, Sat. Admission £5-£6.

Not so much a club as a sixth-form common room, with pub prices to boot. The three floors play a mix of anything and everything from Seventies and Eighties classics to indie. Not exactly the centre of town, but good, relatively cheap fun.

The Wag Club

35 Wardour Street, W1 (0171 437 5534) Piccadilly Circus tube. Open 10pm-3am Wed, Thur; 10pm-4am Fri; 10pm-5am Sat. Admission £4-£10.

Although unlikely to relive its mid-1980s glory, the Wag's two dancefloors are still crammed and the music and clientele are as diverse as ever.

Turnmills

63 Clerkenwell Road, EC1 (0171 250 3409)  Farringdon tube/rail/N35, N38, N43, N243 bus. Open 7pm-2am Mon; 10pm-4am Thur; 10pm-7am Fri; 9pm-3.30am Sat; 3.30am-1.30pm, 6pm-6.30am, Sun. Admission £5-£10.