Nightlife

The sun goes down, the day is done? Not in Washington, where nightclubs, theaters, bars, and live music venues present as many amusement options at night as there are sightseeing attractions to visit during the day. Enjoy an original cocktail created on the spot for you at the Gibson. Attend a performance at D.C.'s world-renowned Shakespeare Theatre. Bust out your best moves into the wee hours on the dance floor at the Eighteenth Street Lounge. Or settle in for some unbeatable live jazz at Blues Alley. The day is done? More like just begun.

Read over the possibilities and check these other sources: the Washington Post's online "Going Out Guide" (www.washingtonpost.com, then click on "Going Out Guide"), which covers all entertainment options, including nightlife, reported minute by minute, venue by venue, by the paper's "Going Out Gurus." If you're here on the weekend, try to pick up a copy of the Post's Friday "Weekend" section. Washington 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.

The Best of D.C.'s International Scene

Washington is home to more than 180 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. Then click on the embassy you'd like to research and take it from there. Lots of embassies host events that are open to the public, sometimes for free, sometimes at minimal cost. In my opinion, the French Embassy's Maison Française (www.la-maison-francaise.org) and the Swedish Embassy's House of Sweden (www.swedenabroad.com/Start____6989.aspx) have the most fun events. Among the highlights is the annual Nordic Jazz Week of concerts cosponsored by the embassies of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Iceland every June, with the best performances staged on the roof of the House of Sweden building, located on the Georgetown waterfront overlooking the Potomac River. The cost is usually $25 per person per concert; the experience is 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, on June 16, 2011, the Embassy of Hungary hosted "Great Singers of Hungary and Poland" in honor of Hungary's transition to democracy in 1989; a ticket cost $75 per person, which also covered a reception. So worth it!