After hours special: United Kingdom

When you are done with all the sightseeing, it is time to sip a drink, swing a hip and generally have a blast.

Booking Office

You cannot help but stop and stare when you enter this space, with its soaring ceilings, large arch-mullioned windows that let in shafts of sunlight during the day and create a cathedral-like atmosphere during the night. A former ticket hall built to shush passengers into awe is now a cocktail bar at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Experience all the beauty of Victorian splendour with fivestar service and grub to boot. But our focus is on the cocktails and in particular, their punches. Served in handmade copper bunch bowls, you can try the Batavia Arrack, steeped in sliced lemons for six hours, or a Charles Dickens Memorial made with pineapple-infused rum and Martell VSOP cognac. There are short drinks, long drinks, hop and apple drinks, and even a low-alcohol long drink menu for those who are not on holiday! All this while you munch on Welsh rarebit or truffle chips. What's more: It's open all day, everyday. On Euston Road; http://stpancras.com/hotel

Experience all the beauty of Victorian splendour with fivestar service and grub to boot

Die Freche Muse

Warning: Not for the fainthearted.

Created in the great tradition of European cabaret, Die Freche Muse is irreverent, decadent, sexually ambivalent and dissolute. This is not people gyrating on a dance floor but rather living out their alternative fantasies. Held at a private club, each event is different and features perhaps a showing of a film followed by a burlesque performance, live music and a DJ to keep you dancing into the night. Party with the London's swish in swinging style but make sure you're dressed for the occasion. You might not get in without your top hats and your headbands. Go to www. diefrechemuse.co.uk for details and tickets to events.

Party with the London's swish in swinging style but make sure you're dressed for the occasion

Bassoon Bar

It is well known that during crisis you look back to a better time. And with films like The Artist sweeping the Oscars, it's not surprising that the hottest clubs are doing the same, and you cannot get more nostalgic than a piano bar. Bassoon is at the Corinthia Hotel in Whitehall and designed in the style of old piano bars with plush leather cubicles and bespoke cocktails that transport you to a simpler time that is distinctly American in its elegance. Listen to Telonious Monk while you sip a Bohemian c(r) osta-chamomile-infused Remy Marin blended with Becherovka. Reservations recommended. Book online at www.corinthia.com

Bassoon is at the Corinthia Hotel in Whitehall and designed in the style of old piano bars

Jalouse

The three-year-old club is still extremely hip with London's 'it' crowd and caters to an ever-growing trend of members-only clubs. However mere mortals can walk in on Wednesdays and Thursdays provided you look the part-think Paris Hilton, get in early and are ready to pay 13 pounds for a cocktail. Tucked away in Mayfair, it has become a celebrity magnet and its very name is meant to instigate envy among those who are not seen there yet. Low lighting, reflective crystals and edgy music give it a distinctly sophisticated appeal not found in many commercial clubs, like MOS, or Fabric. We recommend calling beforehand to make sure that walk-ins are allowed. www.jalouse.co.uk

Whistling Shop

If there is one recurring theme on our list, it is to bring back the art of the cocktail and Whistling Shop is taking it to the next level. Being referred to as the biggest thing to hit the London's drinking scene, the worship street Whistling Shop is a scientist's dream of what making cocktails should be. Rotary evaporators, high-pressure hydrosol, and large arrays of enzymes go into creating an Exploded Vodka Martini that will knock you off the bar stool for less than ten quid. And going by London prices these days, it's a no-brainer. Open Monday to Saturday from 4 p.m. www.whistlingshop.com

Mahiki

If you are in a more tropical bent of mind and prefer southern comfort to Hennessy then Mahiki will be your kind of joint. Based on a Hawaiian theme, this small bar has grown to become a lifestyle brand that takes part in festivals and even produces its own rum. Its drinks menu reflects its breezy kitschy attitude and features a Coconut Grenade made with the Mahiki signature grog and the classic Pina Colada. Try not to take it too seriously and you will find yourself dancing to cheesy 80's classics late into the night. www.mahiki.com

Based on a Hawaiian theme, this small bar has grown to become a lifestyle brand

The Lucky Pig

A throwback to the 1920's prohibition era, The Lucky Pig is fitted out like a boudoir, with deep red lighting, distressed walls and a sewing machine. Imagine discussing Proust while you sip on an In-Fashion, an apple and blackberry infused bourbon concoction, listening to jazz with your feet tucked in sans the cigarette. It's all so very Old Fashioned! Open Monday to Saturday, 5 p.m. onwards. www.theluckypig.co.uk

The Lucky Pig is fitted out like a boudoir, with deep red lighting, distressed walls and a sewing machine