Nightlife

The Tampa/Hillsborough Arts Council maintains an Artsline (tel. 813/229-2787), a 24-hour information service providing the latest on current and upcoming cultural events. Racks in many restaurants and bars have copies of Weekly Planet (www.weeklyplanet.com), Focus, and Accent on Tampa Bay, three free publications detailing what's going on in the entire bay area. You can also check the "BayLife" and "Friday Extra" sections of the Tampa Tribune (www.tampatrib.com), as well as the Thursday "Weekend" section of the St. Petersburg Times (www.sptimes.com). The visitor center usually has copies of the week's newspaper sections.

Careful Where You Park -- Parking can be scarce at night in Ybor City, and the area has seen an occasional robbery in the late hours. Play it safe and use the municipal parking lots behind the shops on 8th Avenue East, or the new parking garages near Centro Ybor, on 7th Avenue East at 16th Street.

The Club & Music Scene

Ybor City is Tampa's favorite nighttime venue. All you have to do is stroll along 7th Avenue East between 15th and 20th streets, and you'll hear music blaring from the clubs. On Friday and Saturday from 9pm to 3am, the avenue is packed with people, the majority high schoolers and early 20-somethings; but you'll also find something going on Tuesday through Thursday, and even on Sunday. The clubs change names frequently, so you don't need names, addresses, or phone numbers; your ears will guide you along 7th Avenue East. With all of the sidewalk seating, it's easy to judge what the clientele is like and make your choice from there. Another hipster haven is the Hyde Park area of town, where restaurant bars buzz with late-night activity.

The center of the action these days is Centro Ybor, on 7th Avenue East at 16th Street (tel. 813/242-4660; www.centroybor.com), the district's large dining-and-entertainment complex. The restaurants and pubs in this family-oriented center tend to be tamer than many of those along Seventh Avenue, at least on non-weekend nights. You don't have to pay to listen to live music in the center's patio on weekend afternoons.

The Hub of Tampa's Bar Scene -- Ybor City and Bern's SteakHouse are command central for the boozy sophisticates of Tampa, but if you go downtown, you'll find the true hub of Tampa's bar scene in the form of, well, The Hub, 719 N. Franklin St. (tel. 813/229-1553). It's a classic dive bar in which judges, lawyers, and the over-21 set shake and stir overstiff libations and a fabulous jukebox.

The Performing Arts

With a prime downtown location on 9 acres along the east bank of the Hillsborough River, the huge Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, next to the Tampa Museum of Art (tel. 800/955-1045 or 813/229-7827; www.tampacenter.com), is the largest performing-arts venue south of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Accordingly, this four-theater complex is the focal point of Tampa's performing-arts scene, presenting a wide range of Broadway plays, classical and pop concerts, operas, improvisation, and special events.

A sightseeing attraction in its own right, the restored Tampa Theatre, 711 Franklin St., between Zack and Polk streets (tel. 813/274-8286; www.tampatheatre.org), dates from 1926 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It presents a varied program of classic, foreign, and alternative films, as well as concerts and special events (and it's said to be haunted!).

The 66,321-seat Raymond James Stadium, 4201 N. Dale Mabry Hwy. (tel. 813/673-4300; www.raymondjames.com/stadium), is sometimes the site of headliner concerts. The USF Sun Dome, 4202 E. Fowler Ave. (tel. 813/974-3111; www.sundome.org), on the University of South Florida campus, hosts major concerts by touring pop stars, rock bands, jazz groups, and other contemporary artists.

One of the busiest spots in town for live music, rustic style, is Skipper's Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Rd. (tel. 813/971-0666), a Key West-style former smokehouse turned blues, jazz, zydeco, ska, and reggae hot spot.

Ticketmaster (tel. 813/287-8844; www.ticketmaster.com) sells tickets to most events and shows.