Baltimore has five major regions for nightlife. Each has its own particular character.

Canton

Canton has mostly Irish bars, with a DJ playing Top 40 stuff at Claddagh's or Coburn's. Some, like Granite, have a cover. This area of Baltimore also features yummy restaurants, like Helen's Garden (with a gourmet take on home-cooked meals) or Nacho Mama's (featuring a hubcap of mixed drinks).

Federal Hill

Federal Hill is the destination for dive bars and dancing, with pool and foosball at Rope Walk, peach/blueberry ale and pizza at Pub Dog, and Top 40 music at MaGerk's or Mad River. Parking is quite tough to find, so it's probably best to go get dinner or dessert here, and park either on a garage or on-street.

Fells Point

Fells Point is home to many quirky bars, from Max's (with over 200 types of beers, both domestic and international) to Kooper's (with half-priced burgers on Wednesdays) or Slainte's (showing soccer on Saturday mornings). Some good dessert places include Pitango Gelato and Maggie Moo's. Not much dancing here, except for maybe Latin Palace (which can be very sketchy after midnight, so go in a group).

Inner Harbor

Inner Harbor has Powerplant Live, the home of many dancing clubs that require a cover. These range from a classy bar with techno-dance music called Mosaic, to Top 40 at Babalu Grill, to a piano bar called Howl at the Moon in which two pianists play whichever songs you'd like (for a tip).

Mt. Vernon

Mt. Vernon is downtown, and has many good restaurants and some dancing-ish places. If you want to dress up on the weekends or see the belly dancing on a Wednesday night, go to Red Maple. If you like local beers, Brewer's Art has an awesome beer called "The Resurrection," as well as good burgers.