Revealed: this city officially has the best nightlife in the UK

Whether it’s just a few classy tipples or a full-blown sweat fest, the UK goes mad for a night out. So inevitably there are plenty of debates over which city offers the best after-hours entertainment.

Well, the training organisation Get Licensed thinks it has settled the argument once and for all (or for this year at least). As well as more obvious factors, like the price of a pint and the ratio of bars, pubs and clubs to people, the research took into account the extent to which people felt safe walking alone at night.

So drum roll, please. Top of the list was a night out on the Toon in Newcastle. The average price of a pint in this northern city is more than £2 cheaper than one in London, so arguably it’s already winning on that fact alone. With a huge selection of buzzing pubs and bars, it scored an overall 8.19 out of ten, although only half of respondents said that they felt safe walking home in the dark. 

Following closely in second place was York, scoring 8.14 out of ten. Pints might be a little spennier here but this was one of the cities where night revellers seemed to feel the safest, with 71 percent saying they were comfortable walking home. The rest of the top five was made up of Warrington, Telford and Edinburgh. 

Way down at the bottom of the ranking was the Big Smoke. People may travel hours to experience a night out in London, but Get Licensed scored it a pitiful 1.73 out of ten. Of course, the eye-watering price of a pint is the main culprit but it also has a surprisingly low number of venues. While Newcastle has more than 200 real ale pubs per 100,000 people, the capital apparently only has 30. Coventry and Southend-on-Sea came second and third last. 

Here are the top ten UK cities for a night out in 2023, according to Get Licensed:

1. Newcastle-upon-Tyne
2. York 
3. Warrington
4. Telford
5. Edinburgh
6. Norwich
7. Cambridge
8. Plymouth
9. Swansea
10. Aberdeen 

And the worst: 

1. London
2. Coventry
3. Southend-on-Sea
4. Birmingham 
5. Preston
6. Milton Keynes
7. Luton
8. Gloucester
9. Swindon
10. Bradford

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