Nightlife

The Performing Arts

The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (tel. 800/366-8457 or 317/639-4300; www.indyorch.org) has its home in the Hilbert Circle Theater, a vintage 1916 film palace on Monument Circle. Clowes Memorial Hall, 4600 Sunset Ave. (tel. 800/732-0804, 317/940-6444, or 317/940-9696; www.cloweshall.org), a performing arts center on the campus of Butler University, is home to the Indianapolis Opera, Butler Ballet, and Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. The professional Indiana Repertory Theatre, 140 W. Washington St. (tel. 317/635-5277; www.indianarep.com), offers a September-to-May season.

The Madame Walker Theatre Center, 617 Indiana Ave. (tel. 317/236-2099 for information and tickets; www.walkertheatre.com), is an ornate 1927 Art Deco theater offering jazz, gospel, drama, and dance performances. Every other Friday from 6 to 10pm, "Jazz on the Avenue" showcases local, regional, and national talent.

The Club & Bar Scene

Indianapolis's nightlife is primarily located in the downtown area and in Broad Ripple Village, an artsy enclave of boutiques, bistros, and bungalows 15 minutes north of downtown.

For live jazz every night except Sunday, downtowners head to the cozy Chatterbox Tavern, 435 Massachusetts Ave. (tel. 317/636-0584), where big-name acts playing in town sometimes stop by (Mick Jagger once dropped in after a Stones concert). Another downtown top spot for live music is the Slippery Noodle Inn, 372 S. Meridian St. (tel. 317/631-6974), Indiana's oldest standing bar (established 1850; rumor has it that Hoosier hoodlum John Dillinger used the club's back wall for target practice) and the place in the city for blues. You can also check out the local scene at the friendly Old Point Tavern, 401 Massachusetts Ave. (tel. 317/634-8943); in warm weather, the action spills onto an outside patio.

For dancing (or cruising), gay travelers shoot for Greg's Indianapolis, 231 E. 16th St. (tel. 317/638-8138); or Talbott Street, 2145 N. Talbott St. (tel. 317/931-1343) -- the drag shows at Talbott Street are a must. Lesbians can hop over to mostly female dance club The Ten, 1218 N. Pennsylvania (tel. 317/638-5802).

If you're not sure what you're in the mood for, check out Jillian's, 141 S. Meridian St. (tel. 317/822-9300), a multistory complex that includes two restaurants, a game room, billiards, a dance club, and "multimedia" bowling (neon lanes, glow-in-the dark balls, and video walls).

Broad Ripple Village, an easy drive north of downtown straight up Meridian Street, is where the local yuppies, college students, and high school cool kids go for weekend fun. At The Vogue, 6259 N. College Ave. (tel. 317/259-7029; www.thevogue.ws), local bands and big names (the Red Hot Chili Peppers, for one) perform in a renovated movie theater; when nobody's playing, it's a hot dance club. Other good bets are the casual Broad Ripple Brew Pub, 840 E. 65th St. (tel. 317/253-2739); and the cigar/martini bar on the second floor of the Broad Ripple Steak House, 929 E. Westfield Blvd. (tel. 317/253-8101). For a DJ and dancing with a younger crowd, head to Rock Lobster, 820 Broad Ripple Ave. (tel. 317/253-5844). Mature audiences head to the Jazz Kitchen, 5377 N. College Ave. (tel. 317/253-4900; www.thejazzkitchen.com), for live jazz Friday and Saturday.

On the north side, chic crowds gather for cocktails at the bar at Lulu's restaurant, 8487 Union Chapel Rd., near Keystone at the Crossing (tel. 317/251-5858); and at the trendy Vapour Lounge, 5252 E. 82nd St. (tel. 317/579-9570), complete with a 50-foot ice bar, pretentious "bottle-service only" area, and totally unnecessary, but free, valet parking. The new art house Keystone Art Cinema and Indie Lounge at The Fashion Mall (tel. 317/577-3009) attracts north-siders with a full-service bar (live music on weekends) where you can stop before or after taking in the latest indie flick. Short on time? Pick up a cocktail to go and enjoy it during the show.