Entertainment Overview

The Auckland bar scene is split across four distinct areas, with the central city a common ground between the largely loyal Parnell and Ponsonby crowds. Parnell has several restaurants and bars frequented by a polished, freespending crowd. For a more bohemian scene, head to Ponsonby Road, west of the city center, where you'll find street-side dining and packed bars -- often at the same establishment. If you prefer to stay in the city center, the place to be for bars is the Viaduct, particularly in summer, or High Street and nearby O'Connell Street, with a sprinkling of bars in between. At the Queen Street end of Karangahape Road (just north of Highway 1) you'll find shops, lively bars, cafés, and nightspots. Nightclubs, meanwhile, are transient animals with names and addresses changing monthly if not weekly.

From Sunday to Tuesday many bars close around midnight, and nightclubs, if open, close at about midnight or 1 AM. From Thursday to Saturday, most bars stay open until 2 or 3 AM. Nightclubs keep rocking until at least 4 AM and some for a couple of hours after that. People dress relatively casually but that said, some doormen or bouncers can be unreasonable sticklers and may refuse entry if you're wearing jeans.

An institution with the central city bar crowd is The White Lady. Indecorously towed by a tractor to her permanent spot on the corner of Shortland and Queen streets, this long, slumped caravan is far from genteel. But she's a homing beach for those in need of sustenance between bars, serving up burgers crammed with extras like fried egg, onion, and beetroot that vanquish the appetite of even the hungriest followers. She's on duty daily from 8 PM to 4 AM.

For the latest information on nightclubs get your hands on What's On Auckland, a pocket-size booklet available at all visitor information bureaus. The monthly Metro magazine, available at newsstands, has a guide to theater, arts, and music, and can also give you a helpful nightlife scoop. City Mix magazine, also published monthly and stocked at newsstands, has a complete guide to what's happening in the city, and the Friday and Saturday editions of the New Zealand Herald run a gig guide and full cinema and theater listings.