Have a think: what do you reckon Liverpool is best known for? The Beatles and Anfield Stadium are up there, obvs, but we’d argue it’s this city’s vibe. It’s no secret that Liverpool is crammed with brilliant nightlife spots, and the cracking roster of pubs and live music venues are partly to thank for that – but so are the nightclubs.
Throughout Liverpool there are incredible buildings, from old Georgian mansions to massive warehouses, that have been transformed into stunning club venues, so there are plenty of unusual and innovative venues on offer for when you wanna go dancing. From established clubs to underground queer spaces, our pick of the best clubs in Liverpool should make any (wannabe) Scouser proud.
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This guide was written by Rob Martin, a writer based in north west England. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.
A popular hangout in Liverpool’s LGBTQ+ quarter, the Navy Bar puts on raucous club nights aimed very much at a younger, party-hungry crowd. At weekends it’s throbbing, and groups of revellers can make the most by booking a booth and ordering in some shots.
No guide to Liverpool’s best clubs would be complete without mentioning Electrik Warehouse. Spread across three floors and four separate rooms, the city’s largest central club plays a good mix of indie, pop, punk and rock, with regular nights like Thursday’s Shit Indie Disco and Saturday’s Pandamonium drawing big crowds. Reasonable drink prices mean it’s a classic among students.
This impressive (and very eclectic) venue hosts a huge variety of club nights, regulars and one-offs alike. One week it’s power-ballad night, the next a tribute to a ledge like Prince, and with big-name touring DJs popping by too, hitting up Camp and Furnace is like dipping into a club-night selection box. Check its events calendar so you don’t get your Swingers Club (it’s a jazz night, filthy mind) mixed up with your Bongo’s Bingo.
If Sonic Yootha serves a more alternative slice of the inclusive clubbing pie, think of GBar as its more mainstream non-binary family member. This LGBTQ+ after-hours club is a self-declared ‘Liverpool institution of homo hedonism’, making it the place to head to when everywhere else has lost its charm, but you’re just not ready to call it a night…
There’s been something music-related going on at this site since the 1800s, so they know a thing or two about putting on a good do. At the Arts Club, you can enjoy a live gig, something to eat and drink, and there are occasional art events too. But the venue shines as a club space – you can almost feel the ghosts of tens of thousands of former clubbers getting their groove on all around you.
Fusion is Liverpool’s principal clubbing destination, and for good reason. Offering its 1,000-plus crowd some of the most impressive sound and lighting of any club in the north, this is a big space for a big night out, and you’ll love it. There are regular student nights too.
Described as being for ‘homos, fauxmos, gender-blenders, full-time queers and part-time Brendas’, and hailed as ‘the club that saved Liverpool’, Sonic Yootha thrives because its playlist is as eclectic as they come – think Kylie and Patti Smith back to back. With a welcoming door policy that means you can go with both your same-sex partner and your mum, this is the Baltic Triangle’s most inclusive club (and probably the most fun).
A club with a theme – tattoos, not calligraphy – Ink Bar boasts both excellent cocktails and a dazzling interior splashed with atmospheric wall art. What’s more, you can get yourself fake and real tattoos while you’re there, and anyone who wants a sharp new trim can get a haircut from the in-club barber on select nights.
What to do with an elegant Georgian townhouse, formally home to wealthy shipping merchants, when it’s no longer a private residence? Turn it into one of Liverpool’s best and buzziest clubs, that’s what. A tremendous setting isn’t quite enough to make somewhere a must-visit venue, so it’s fortunate clubbing in Heebie Jeebies as enjoyable as the building itself (you can really get lost in its nooks and crannies). Students should head to Liquidation on Saturdays.
For those wanting a brassy, pop-fuelled, neon night out, look no further. As the name suggests, Popworld is a party club for those who love to dance in the nostalgia of the nineties and the noughties, with the emphasis very much on fun. Popular with Liverpool’s students, those who like to be able to buy a bottle of vodka from the bar and those who like their nights out to be brash. In a good way!
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