Threesday: Ladies hit the town

In our ongoing Threesday feature, Shanghaiist takes the time to count out three of....well, whatever catches our fancy that week. And this week it's for the ladies (and single men looking for action). We present you with three ladies nights to check out.

Being a girl in Shanghai poses some disadvantages, such as the weather prohibiting us from wearing nice shoes, but there are certain advantages that more than outweigh them, like being able to drink for free almost any night of the week. Below we've listed three weekly and wildly different ladies nights worth checking out or stopping by before a night on the town.

1) I Love Shanghai
Every Tuesday from 8pm to 1am, the steadfast fellows at I Love Shanghai host their ladies night. If the Tuesday blues get you down and you're looking for a low-key, laid back bar, ILS is a good choice. The crowd can be hit or miss, but there's pool tables and dart boards to keep you occupied and maybe even help you make some new friends (or enemies). Downside: it's pretty small and the lights are a bit too bright for our liking.
2-3/F, 1788 Xinzha Lu,near Jiaozhou Lu 新闸路1788号2-3楼 近胶州路

2) Zapata's
Zapata's offers free margaritas for all the girls out there every single Wednesday until midnight. So if hump day gets you down and you're looking to relive spring break Cancun, including all the same 80s throwback songs and bar-top dancing, check it out. The watered down margaritas may not be as strong as you like, but since you're not paying, drink up and they'll do the same trick.
5 Hengshan Lu, near Dongping Lu, 衡山路5号 近东平路, 地铁1号线衡山路站

3) Mural
If getting down and dirty at Zapata's seems too ambitious before work on Thursday morning, Mural hosts a more laid back Wednesday ladies night. It's best to go with a group of girlfriends: if you trudge down into the cave-like bar, you'll not only be rewarded with free cocktails, but also free nail painting and spray-on tattoos. You can plunk yourself down in a cozy corner, enjoy some shisha and gossip the night away.
697 Yongjia Lu, near Hengshan Lu, 永嘉路697号 近衡山路,地铁1号线衡山路站