cities that never sleep
 

New York is the famous one.

But there are others. London, for instance, fits the bill (IMHO). One can go out at any hour of the night in central London and find food, drinks, people hanging out, etc.

Are there any other cities in the world that are truly "open" 24/7? I lived in Paris for 2 years and, while it comes close, I don't think it is quite at the London or New York level.

Can any city approach New York or London in this regard?

Bangkok

Toronto, Mumbai, Lagos and Las Vegas are just four that come to mind.

Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen

Tokyo. And not quite, but close enough, Hong Kong.

Toronto, Chicago!

LAS :D

Toronto has come up twice already. Really? Interesting..

South Miami Beach (South Beach)

Tim Hortons must be open 24/7 :p

Buenos Aires. Just Crazy. Put NY, Toronto to shame!

Disagree.. I found B.A. to be fairly tame.

Las Vegas.
2nd tier: HKG and MAD.

What neighborhood(s), though?

While it isn't as large as many of the citiens mentioned here, I found Panama City, Panama to be open round the clock.

Tokyo by a long shot over each of New York and London. In the daytime there is parity, but at night, New York and London are not even in the same league as Tokyo.

My three favorite cities by the way. :)

So, mjm, how does NYC compare to London?

I am not a native in here NYC, and only a lowly tourist in London. :)

Gotta be Seoul!

If you are in the clubbing scene Berlin is just crazy. I'd also add Athens to the list.

Dubai (at least in the old city)... easy to get fresh juice and have a nice wander around at 3:30am after arriving on an all night flight.

I agree.

Day times they are equal in my opinion with NY winning out for some late night stuff. Both close earlier, or more accurately, feel closed, earlier than I prefer.

Both cities have less noticeable change in day and nighttime populations than does Tokyo and the fact that people live there makes them more likely to go home sooner. Night time in Tokyo is filled with people who simply cannot go home after about 1am so easily on public transportation. Tokyo is absolutely rotten for late night revelers not wanting to stay out all night.

As I say though I would happily live in any of the three and rather unhappily live anywhere but those three.

São Paulo, Brazil. There one finds not only night-life-related business open late or until sunrise, but also supermarkets, bookstores, restaurants, bakeries, gyms, etc open 24/7.

Seoul and Singapore.

Then there's Muscat, the city that is never really awake (although I like it there).

I disagree with London. Theres no public transport, very few shops or restaraunts open at night.

Agree with many of the ones mentioned, although a bit surprised to see Helsinki and Oslo on the list . Never really struck me as 24-hour cities.

A few additions: Moscow, Berlin, Bangkok

Edinburgh - 24 hour transport, 24 hour shopping, 24 hour drinking and eating

I thought TTC in Toronto stopped between 1 to 1:30 am. I'd say that also takes it out of the 24/7 competition.

Sydney (certain areas) and Rio but can't remember if Rio's subway runs all night. IIRC Sydney's bars are open 24 hours.

One of Melbourne's bottle shops decided to stay open 24 hours and that sparked a huge controversy. I guess that is part of the difference between the cities.

I think you all are off your rockers. We've basically covered every major city in the world in this thread. They can't all be no sleepers. Next someone will say Cleveland is 24/7. :p

Every major city? I think we barely covered 15 or so ...

It all depends on how you define "major."

No one will likely believe me... but once I figured out San Juan after moving there, I realized that it's a 24/7 city depending on the neighborhoods. There are 24 hour bars, and many others that close when the last person leaves... and by then, restaurants are already open serving breakfast.

I think the criteria being used here varies. Heck even downtown Auckland fits the bill.

The ones I think of in US are NYC and LAS. Surprisingly, the bars in SDF stay open till 4am - they get a steady crowd from the uni and Fort Knox.

Question about NYC: Which specific areas most exemplify the "city that never sleeps" moniker? Certainly not Wall Street or many parts of Queens / Brooklyn. Is Times Square a 24/7 area?

Thankfully I'm not in Times Square much, so I can't tell you about that, but the lower east side, chelsea, parts of the village, etc. tend to be big night spots.

TTC Stops at 2 am but the Buses Run all night until the Train service kicks back into place! and I know this because I've had to use the late night buses to get around Toronto to home.

I could name a handful of US blue-collar-factory towns that run 24/7 shifts, that have all sorts of businesses (grocery stores, WalMarts, etc., as well as bars & restaurants) open 24/7. At least during economic good times.

Probably not what you are looking for though LOL.

Other than New York with one of the few 24-hour subway systems in the world, Las Vegas has always amazed me.

After living there for a few months I was shocked by how many people I would see out and about at 4 or 5 AM on my way to the airport. Plus the fact that bars don't ever have to close keeps people away for hours.