Where is the “bar area” in Florence?

Question

Situation:
Having arrived in Firenze by train a couple of hours earlier, settled into a hostel (laundry & fresh clothes, ah!), and seen the amazing Duomo briefly (illuminated at night), I was wondering around the streets between the Duomo and the hostel for some while. For a Friday night, around 8-9 pm, it was very quiet, I thought. I saw many restaurants (pizzerias and trattorias) with people inside, but only one or two bars, which looked like they're just closing. And this was right in the middle of the city, weekend starting! Granted, it was November and not very warm outside, but come on.

Question:
Where are all the bars, all the people, in Florence on a weekend night?
Is there any major concentration of nightlife spots?
(Show it on the map, please?)

Answer 1

The main bar area is along Via de' Benci / Via Giuseppe Verdi, and some of the side streets. There are lots of different kinds of bars and some clubs there, starting from near the bridge (Ponte alle Grazie) until Via Pietrapiana, maybe 500 m north.

See the map, just like the hostel guy drew it:

^{The map I got from the hostel, with main bar area marked on the right-hand side}

It was quite busy, although I'd expect it to be really busy in summer.

There may be "lesser" bar areas too, e.g. across the river around piazza San Spirito (also marked on the map). And someone mentioned that some (fancier?) nightclubs are located quite far in the suburbs, a taxi ride away. I didn't try those. Also, there's a rather good Irish pub on piazza S. Maria Novella, closer to the central station.