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I'm about to book accommodation for London but don't want to travel 2 hours to the city center.
Can you tell me which part is the city center and bars/clubs?
Such a question could have been found after some googling but when I type google Central Station London, I assume city center should be where the central station is but it directs me to a gay bar.
Do you have advice on what to search for to get useful results?
The area you have described as the 'city center' with bars and clubs is typically referred to by Londoners as the "West End"....
The West End of London (more commonly referred to as simply the West End) is an area of Central London containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings and entertainment venues (including the commercial West End theatres).
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_End_of_London
The "West End" is an informal term and does not have strict boundaries.
Hotels will always have a postal code. If you are booking a hotel, you can examine the hotel's postal code to see if it is inside the "West End" or immediately adjacent to it. Postal codes start with the Post Code Area, which is the first one or two letters followed by a number, which signifies the district.
Combining the area and district will tell you where it is relative to the 'city center'.
In your case, a postal codes starting with WC or W1 (City of Westminster) would be directly inside the West End.
Examples are W1G (Marylebone) and W1F (Soho) and W1K (Mayfair). Covent Garden and the 'theatre district' is in WC2.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covent_Garden
Lots of visitors like to book in the Paddington district and there are countless small B&B's and tourist hotels to cater to visitors.
Establishments in Paddington would have postal codes starting with W2. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddington
Areas immediately adjacent to the West End would have postal areas/districts like W2 (Paddington), SW1 (Belgravia), and to the north, NW1, NW8, and so on.
As you get further out, the district numbers will generally increase although not always. You'll need to refer to a map for districts greater than 1.
NOTE: the 'City of London' itself uses post codes starting with EC. This is the financial district and does not have the night life commonly associated with 'London'.
There is an interactive postal code map at http://www.free-postcode-maps.co.uk/postcode-maps/towns/london-postcode-map.php#.VHn9_jGsV8E
Also see Where to stay for London nightlife?
London's city centre could be considered to be the City, aka The Square Mile.
Which is it's own municipal zone with it's own police force.
It comprises much of historical London and most of the big tourist attractions are in it, or very close to it.
However it's a terrible place for night life. Very few people actually live there. And the entire area generally empties out completely on the weekends.
Better night life can be found in the areas surrounding it.
Each with their own particular flavour.
If you want 'hipper' bars/clubs you probably want to look to stay in East London. Particularly around Shoreditch.
If you want something a bit more restaurant based and middle class, try North London.
Perhaps Angel and wander along Upper St. Or if you like punk or rock & roll you could spend your time in Camden which has possibly the densest area of night life. Not necessarily the best. But there are lots of pubs and people there every night.
The West End is the theatre district and generally very touristy. But you can go further West and try Notting Hill or Portobello Road for properly posh, gentrified London.
All of these areas are 20 minute tube rides from the geographical centre of London but have much better night life.
Be aware though, that there are VERY few actual clubs in London for a city of its size.
Most socialising is done in pubs which do close around midnight.
However since most people start very early (think 6pm) we're mostly done by then.
