Riva Club anchors a stretch of Via Coroglio in Bagnoli with a seafront layout, a long terrace and a year-round dance programme that hosts the Criminal Candy queer night plus a rotation of house, electronic and pop floors at weekends.
Tip: The Criminal Candy nights book up fast and the terrace fills first; arrive before 23:30 to get a seat outside. Cumana train to Bagnoli plus a short walk.
Address: Via Coroglio 154, 80124 Napoli, Naples
Galleria 19, the former Rising South on Via San Sebastiano near Piazza Bellini, runs a long brick-walled tunnel room as the only dance club in the historic centre, with house, hip hop and LGBT theme nights drawing a university crowd through the weekend.
Tip: Entry around seven euros plus three for the coat check; drinks are pricier than the Piazza Bellini bars outside. The room peaks past 02:00 on weekends.
Bourbon Street has run a basement room on Via Bellini in Naples since the late 1990s, with a small stage that programmes nightly jazz, bebop, blues and singer-songwriter sets paired with cocktails and a short bistro menu.
Tip: Doors at 21:00, sets typically from 22:00; the room is small so reserve a table near the stage. Closed Mondays in low season.
Lanificio 25 occupies an eighteenth-century former wool factory in the cloister of Santa Caterina a Formiello near Porta Capuana, with a 700 square metre courtyard that programmes concerts, DJ sets, theatre, contemporary art and stand-up nights through the year.
Tip: The courtyard is the room from May through September; the indoor hall takes the winter programme. Check the calendar, the line-up swings between styles.
Otto Jazz Club tucks a softly lit room into Salita Cariati on the Quartieri Spagnoli slope, with a programme of straight-ahead jazz, swing and bossa sets paired with a long cocktail and Italian wine list at table service.
Tip: Cocktails run from around thirteen euros to eighteen for specials; reserve a table close to the stage as the room is small. Sets typically start at 22:00.
Around Midnight has run a small Vomero room on Via Giuseppe Bonito for decades, with nightly jazz, blues and singer-songwriter sets that start around 22:30 alongside a short kitchen serving plates through the early evening.
Tip: Sets from 22:30 daily except Monday; the room seats roughly fifty so reserve a table near the band. Close to the Vomero funicular stops.
Kestè has anchored Largo San Giovanni Maggiore Pignatelli since 1997 with a piano-bar room and a piazza terrace, programming live music, comedy, poetry and film nights most evenings of the week alongside cocktails and a short kitchen.
Tip: The terrace on Largo San Giovanni Maggiore is the seat in the warm months; the room peaks after 22:00 on Friday and Saturday. Close to Universita metro.