The Tampa/Hillsborough Arts Council maintains an Artsline (tel. 813/229-2787), a 24-hour information service providing the latest on current and upcoming cultural events. Racks in many restaurants and bars have copies of Weekly Planet (www.weeklyplanet.com), Focus, and Accent on Tampa Bay, three free publications detailing what's going on in the entire bay area. And you can also check the "BayLife" and "Friday Extra" sections of The Tampa Tribune (www.tampatrib.com) and the Thursday "Weekend" section of the St. Petersburg Times (www.sptimes.com). The visitor center usually has copies of the week's newspaper sections.

The Club & Music Scene -- Ybor City is Tampa's favorite nighttime venue by far. All you have to do is stroll along 7th Avenue East between 15th and 20th streets, and you'll hear music blaring out of the clubs. The avenue is packed with people, a majority of them high schoolers and early 20-somethings, on Friday and Saturday from 9pm to 3am, but you'll also find something going on Tuesday through Thursday, and even on Sundays. The clubs change names and character frequently, so you don't need names, addresses, or phone numbers; your ears will guide you along 7th Avenue East. With all of the sidewalk seating, it is easy to judge what the clientele is like in any given place and make your choice from there.

The center of the action these days is Centro Ybor, on 7th Avenue East at 16th Street (tel. 813/242-4660; www.thecentroybor.com), the district's large new dining-and-entertainment complex. The restaurants and pubs in this family-oriented center tend to be considerably tamer than many of those along 7th Avenue, at least on nonweekend nights. You don't have to pay to listen to live music in the center's patio on weekend afternoons.

Parking can be scarce during nighttime in Ybor City, and the area has seen an occasional robbery late at night. Play it safe and use the municipal parking lots behind the shops on 8th Avenue East or the new parking garages near Centro Ybor, on 7th Avenue East at 16th Street.

The Performing Arts -- With a prime downtown location on 9 acres along the east bank of the Hillsborough River, the huge Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, 1010 N. MacInnes Place next to the Tampa Museum of Art (tel. 800/955-1045 or 813/229-7827; www.tampacenter.com), is the largest performing-arts venue south of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Accordingly, this four-theater complex is the focal point of Tampa's performing-arts scene, presenting a wide range of Broadway plays, classical and pop concerts, operas, cabarets, improv, and special events.

A sightseeing attraction in its own right, the restored Tampa Theatre, 711 Franklin St. (tel. 813/274-8286; www.tampatheatre.org), between Zack and Polk streets, dates from 1926 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It presents a varied program of classic, foreign, and alternative films, as well as concerts and special events. (And it's said to be haunted!)

The 66,321-seat Raymond James Stadium, 4201 N. Dale Mabry Hwy. (tel. 813/673-4300; www.raymondjames.com/stadium), is sometimes the site of headliner concerts. The USF Sun Dome, 4202 E. Fowler Ave. (tel. 813/974-3111; www.sundome.org), on the University of South Florida campus, hosts major concerts by touring pop stars, rock bands, jazz groups, and other contemporary artists.

Ticketmaster (tel. 813/287-8844) sells tickets to most events and shows.