Student-inspired nightlife makes this old town very young at heart. Just head into the Marktplatz at night and follow the sound of partying. You can order a beer and read the comics hanging on the walls of Marktschenke, Am Markt 11 (tel. 07071/22035), then join the students spilling outside into the square. Daily hours are 9am to 1am; Friday and Saturday it closes at 2am. Or start your evening in the ancient Boulanger, Collegiumsgasse 2 (tel. 07071/23345), where you could offer to pick up Hegel's bar tab, which has gone unpaid for more than 200 years. A riverside retreat, Neckarmüller, Gartenstrasse 4 (tel. 07071/27620), has a barroom, but more inviting in nice weather are the picnic tables on the banks of the river. It's open daily 10am to 1am. Also on the Neckar, Ammerschlag, Ammergasse 13 (tel. 07071/51591), is a cramped and smoky hole-in-the-wall dive that has live music one Sunday a month, ranging from blues to rap. Hours are daily 3pm until 1am.
Better-suited for drinks and gossip than dancing is the cramped, but fun, hole-in-the-wall Blauer Turm Lounge, Friedrichstrasse 21 (tel. 07071/360390), which is open Tuesday to Thursday from 6pm to 1am, Friday and Saturday from 6pm to 3am, and Sunday from 6pm to midnight. Look for Tuesday night "chillouts after work," Wednesday night swing, and live DJs every Friday and Saturday. Entrance is free.
A final option is Music Club Nice, Schlachthausstrasse 9 (tel. 07121/204550). Configured like a hip but disorganized cubbyhole bar, it focuses on live and recorded hip-hop and techno music. It's open nightly, but music is only played Friday and Saturday nights from 10pm to 3am. Entrance costs up to a maximum of 4€ ($5.20), but depending on the musical venue, it might be free, depending on the time of your arrival.
