York has a reputation as being a beautiful, historic city filled with culture, markets and other things that the little old ladies that arrive by the bus-full like, but clubbing in York is never usually brought up in the conversation.

Under the shadows of the Minster, I went to eight clubs which shape York nights so you don’t have to do all the trial and error.

8. Popworld

Popworld starts off the list at 8th as the weakest of a good bunch, it would probably be a really fun night out for someone at least a decade older than myself but for me… no thank you.

I didn’t know many of the songs (due to me being an ignorant gen Z) and 3 different bachelorette parties on a dancefloor that small?

It took me back to being 7 years old and meeting all of my mam’s work friends where they rush at you to pinch your cheeks.

Also the spinning dancefloor was awesome- it’s a shame it was in a room that could maybe be about the size of an upper middle class family’s living room and absolutely packed with people shoulder to shoulder.

There wasn’t even enough room to lift my arms above my head. The drinks weren’t outrageously priced but 2 shots for 6 quid is more than my Boro born and bred bank account is happy spending for a whole night.

All in all, if you’re in your 40s and the kids are in bed- Popworld would be a great place to get out and live a little.

7. Yates

A restaurant and bar by day but a club by night, Yates seemingly has it all- cheap drinks (the 8 for 12 on shots should be shared with a friend but who am I to tell you how to live), music that I can sing along to, outdoor seating you can vape on, and what must be the cleanest toilets I’ve ever seen at a club.

The problem? Nobody else seems to realise this!

It was by far the emptiest place I’ve been to on a night out, which was great for finding a seat, but we had to find a seat.

There is nothing more intimidating than an empty dancefloor when you’re not quite drunk enough to embarrass yourself yet, you can only sit at a table and feel bad for the DJ as he plays banger after banger and none of the maybe 6 people in there are ready to make the first move.

6. Jalou

An old church came under new ownership and they swapped the wine for double vodka cokes and the hymns for bassline junkie.

The cocktails are a good few quid cheaper than most other places but shots at a heart hurting yet liver healing 4 quid each.

It’s not be dead like Yates but it is on life support, it may only have 4 or 5 groups of people in which is at least enough to get on the dancefloor but certainly not a big enough crowd to disappear into.

There is also an overlooking upstairs floor! Not that anyone would know about it if it wasn’t on the way to the loos.

5. Flare’s

If you’re the type of person who likes to hear pop music in the club you would love Flare’s.

If you’re a girl who tells people on twitter to stream when Taylor Swift releases a new album or you post Olivia Rodrigo songs on your Instagram story or you were just a little too into Wicked when it came out- you will be obsessed with Flare’s, just like every one of your kind that has come before you and every one who will come after.

I personally am not that girl, but I am an ally to your community.

Other than that Flare’s is relatively inoffensive, shots are a fiver for two which is okay in York but wouldn’t be anywhere else and there’s always plenty of people in there (usually bachelorettes parties and uni students).

4. Ziggy’s

Ziggy’s was my first proper night out in York so I’ll always have a soft spot for it. Being in an old cellar basement, it feels very underground but it was the first club many of us had heard of coming into first year at uni.

There were vicious rumours spread that Ziggy’s was a rubbish night out, so obviously we had to investigate and we had an absolutely gorgeous introduction to clubbing.

Sweaty and cramped in a mafting hot cellar with cold wet walls that feel really good to lie on after a few drinks (you’ll wake up with the residue on you though).

Ziggy’s has good music, but it’s most popular night is by far the indie Tuesdays which wasn’t particularly my taste- nobody wants to hear Wonderwall in the club under the age of 35 and only students get let in. But again, I wouldn’t change it for the world.

3. Circuit

Circuit is the most over the top out and out nightclub that York has, once you go inside there is absolutely no indication that you’re in York and not Manchester or Newcastle.

Three different multi-levelled rooms overlook each other playing different music for the different audiences and it is always absolutely packed for the thrill of being in a crowd but there’s always a corner or hallway to retreat too if you have a few too many of their dangerously cheap drinks.

The only reason it’s this low for me is the women wafting around trays of jaeger bombs (two for a fiver) which after a particularly fun night in circuit before I can’t even catch a whiff of them without feeling sick.

It also has a “ball pit” which is just a handful of plastic balls in a bath tub sized patch of floor but I personally wouldn’t trust the hygiene of it.

2. Stone Roses

A Britpop bar and the self described bast bar in the north- stone roses is not a club but I’d never go to a club without going here first and it has a dancefloor so I’ll count it.

Triples are a fiver! I repeat, triples are a fiver! And the Britpop playing should never be played in a club but it gets me pumped up and excited enough to get in the clubbing mood on a night out (the triples being a fiver aids this).

The toilets are maybe a little hard to find which is quite scary on your first few times there but once you know they are up any of the sets of stairs and hidden round the corner it’s alright.

Fully decked out in Britpop decor, you can get absolutely smashed off of 30 quids worth of triple vodka cokes under the watchful and caring gaze of Amy Winehouse knowing that she would’ve approved.

1. Salvation’s

Whenever one of my friends turns to me while we’re sat in stone roses and they utter the words “shall we go Salvo’s” I start giggling like a school girl who had too much sugar.

Salvo’s plays real life club music (much like Circuit and sometimes Ziggy’s) which has been real hard to come across in York, but it still has a smaller upstairs room for the girls who want to sing along to Taylor Swift on a Saturday instead of join everyone else downstairs in going absolutely insane whenever Azealia Banks or a Rihanna remix comes on.

Fridays and Saturdays in Salvo’s for student paradise and “The North’s biggest party” are the best nights out I’ve not only had in York but probably my life.

All of the places on this list are good nights out for somebody, but Salvo’s is the best for me- it’s all down to personal taste.