DOWNTOWN. Sleek, upscale, and trendy, Escape does indeed provide an escape from the usual Minneapolis club scene. Featuring a super-chilled lounge for concentrating on your designer cocktail and starting intimate conversations, the establishment's pièce de résistance is the dance floor, which gets busy when a tantalizing mix of trance, house, and hip-hop fills the club. Covers are acknowledged as steep but worth the expense; Escape's glamorous atmosphere, chic drinks, and see-and-be-seen vibe keep aspiring socialites coming back.

DOWNTOWN/WAREHOUSE DISTRICT. This cool club serves up acid jazz and trance music, attracting a moneyed crowd of 30-sometings. Several small seating areas provide plenty of room to mingle over martinis. Dress ranges from conservative to trendy.

DOWNTOWN. Six connected bar and dance floor areas make up Gay '90s, Minneapolis's gay nightlife smorgasbord. The decor has a tarnished charm that the clientele seems to love, or at least not to mind. Come early for a chicken dinner special in the main dining room and bar, and then choose your poison: Retro Bar, La Femme, the Men's Room (accessible only through the men's restrooms ­ sorry, ladies), Dance Annex, and Happy Hour await, each with a different mix of music and attitude. Having reached iconic status in the Twin Cities, this club is worth visiting just to say you've been.

NORTHEAST MINNEAPOLIS. Eschew the downtown scene for a change of pace at this dark, atmospheric club with an echoing, industrial interior. The space is simple; one large room accommodates the oversized dance floor, where the faithful pay homage to nationally-known DJs as well as to local up-and-comers. Theme nights are the big draw ­ Bondage a Go-Go provides watered-down S&M, while Brat Pack Radio features live '80s music, and The Next Element presents diverse stage shows, much to the crowd's delight. Hardcore touches like chain-link fencing and cage dancers are somewhat offset by the more laid-back bar at the front of the building.