Nightlife

What a provocative word . . . "nightlife." Visions of drinking and dancing, rabble-rousing, flirting, and smooching come to mind. Washington offers countless opportunities for pursuing all those activities and countless more: the theater, live music concerts, comedy shows, opera, even a night out at the old ballgame. Read whatever you want into the word.

It might help if you know a little bit about the locale. D.C.'s hip pockets include Georgetown, the U and 14th street corridors, Penn Quarter, Adams-Morgan, Barracks Row on Capitol Hill, the "Atlas District's" H Street NE (east of Union Station), Dupont Circle, and even the upper-northwest upscale residential Cleveland Park. Restaurants are often destinations in themselves, serving up a sexy lounge alongside the dining room. Bars are as much about making the scene as having a drink.

For up-to-date schedules of events -- from live music and theater, to children's programs and flower shows -- check the Friday "Weekend" section of the Washington Post, or go online, and browse the Post's nightlife information at www.washingtonpost.com. Also visit the Washington Post Online's "Going Out Gurus" blog, accessible from its City Guide link; the "GOGs" answer questions about nightlife live online every Thursday at 1pm, and transcripts stay posted for a time. The City Paper, available free at restaurants, bookstores, and other places around town, and online at www.washingtoncitypaper.com, is another excellent source. Finally, check out the blog www.dcist.com for an irreverent inside look at what's going on around town.

Tickets

TICKETplace, Washington's only discount day-of-show ticket outlet, has one location: at 407 7th St. NW, between D and E streets (Metro: Gallery Place/Verizon Center or Archives/Navy Memorial). Call tel. 202/TIC-KETS (842-5387) for information. The TICKETplace booth displays a chalkboard listing of those performances that still have seats available, including those at major Washington-area theaters, concert halls, opera, ballet, and other events. TICKETplace is open Tuesday through Friday from 11am to 6pm and Saturday from 10am to 5pm; half-price tickets for Sunday and Monday shows are sold on Saturday. Though tickets are half-price, you still have to pay a per-ticket service charge of 12% of the full face value of the ticket. TICKETplace accepts only credit and select debit cards.

Some TICKETplace tickets are available online at www.ticketplace.org, Tuesday through Friday, between midnight and 4pm. Again, the tickets sold are for same-day performances, at half-price, plus the per-ticket service charge, which for online sales is 17% of the full face value of the ticket. Only MasterCard and Visa credit cards are accepted. If you've ordered tickets online, you can pick them up the at the "Will Call" booth of the venue you're attending; bring your credit card and confirmation of your purchase. TICKETplace is a project of the Cultural Alliance of Washington, in partnership with the Washington Post. TICKETplace also sells Ticketmaster tickets -- see below.

You can buy full-price tickets for most performances in town through Ticketmaster (tel. 800/551-7328; www.ticketmaster.com); expect to pay taxes, plus a service charge, an order processing fee, and a facility fee (if a particular venue tacks on that charge). Or you can visit one of Ticketmaster's numerous locations throughout the city, including TICKETplace (Macy's Department Store, at 12th and G sts. NW (Metro: Metro Center, 13th St. exit), and the D.C. Visitor Center in the Ronald Reagan Building, at 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW (Metro: Federal Triangle); you usually will not have to pay a convenience or order-processing fee when you purchase tickets in person. When you pay by credit card at TICKETplace and Ticketmaster, you have to show an ID to prove you are the credit card holder.

Another ticket outlet worth checking out is Tickets.com. While Ticketmaster has a wider selection, Tickets.com offers some performances Ticketmaster doesn't. Access its website at www.tickets.com, or visit one of its D.C. outlets, including one inside the Olsson's Bookstore at 418 7th St. NW, directly across from the TICKETplace office, in the Penn Quarter.

Finally, check out InstantSeats.Com, which bills itself as the place to go for "online ticketing for the performing arts." (I see that the site also sells tickets for river cruises on the Potomac, so perhaps the company defines "performing arts" to cover a multitude of entertainment.) This is the site that handles sales of tickets to embassy events.

The Best of D.C.'s International Scene

Washington is home to more than 170 embassies and international culture centers, which greatly contribute to the city's cosmopolitan flavor. There are a number of ways to soak up this international scene. First, access the website www.embassy.org, then click on "Embassies," which presents you with several options. If you click on "Embassy Row Tour," you'll see a detailed tour nicely outlined for you, leading you past embassies along Massachusetts and New Hampshire avenues, and including information about the neighborhoods, the embassies, and all that you see along the way. You can print the tour and take it with you as you walk.

By clicking on "Foreign Embassies of Washington, D.C.," you pull up a long list of all of the embassies in D.C., ordered alphabetically. Lots of embassies host events that are open to the public, sometimes for free, sometimes at minimal cost. In June 2008, for example, the Swedish Embassy hosted jazz on the roof of its "House of Sweden" building, located on the Georgetown waterfront overlooking the Potomac River. The cost was $25 per person; the experience was priceless.

Finally, you can buy tickets for Embassy Series (tel. 202/625-2361, www.embassyseries.com) program events. These are world-class (literally), mostly classical music performances hosted by individual embassies, held at the embassy or at the ambassador's residence. Admission tends to be pricier for these events than for those staged separately by the embassy. For instance, a performance by a Portuguese pianist and guitar player in June 2008 took place at the Portuguese ambassador's residence and cost $100 per person, which also covered a lavish buffet and drinks. But so worth it!