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Home - City Guide - Barcelona - Nightlife | ||
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Nightlife Barcelona is increasingly gaining a reputation as one of Europe's real party cities and deservedly so. Things may start slowly with some food and a few drinks after siesta finishes (at about 1700), but they soon gather pace and by 2300 the city is buzzing. Friday and Saturday nights are when the city is at its liveliest, but the drinking and dancing keeps going throughout the week. Bars are usually open until 0200 or 0300, while clubs and discos keep going until 0500 or 0600. Port Olímpic is particularly buzzing on summer nights, as is Port Vell, where the Maremagnum shopping complex bizarrely metamorphoses into a nefarious collage of cafÉs, bars and nightclubs and even a mini-golf course open on the roof late into the night. In the last few years, bars modernos with music and designer decor have been popular with a young ultra-hip clientele across the city. Bars: Xampanyerías (champagne bars) serving sparkling Catalan wine (cava) are a speciality of the city. Good places for cava include La Folie, Carrer BailÉn 169, La Cava del Palau, Carrer Verdaguer I Callis 10, and El Xampanyet, Carrer Montcada 22. The latter serves cider and tapas as well as cava in vibrant surroundings. Bar Pastís on Carrer Santa Mònica has the honour of counting Picasso among its former regulars. The artist's other hangout was El Quatre Gats, Carrer Montsió 3, is a modernista bar with good beer and live music from 2100. The original menu designed by Picasso is on show in the Museu Picasso (see Key Attractions section). La Oveja Negra, Sitges 5, is a favourite as much with the international backpacker set as it is with local students. Bar Marsella, Carrer de Sant Pau 65, is the place in town to imbibe an absenta, a close relative of absinthe. For the style-conscious, some of the city's coolest haunts include the spectacular Torres de Avila, Avinguda MarquÉs de Comillas, Poble Espanyol on Montjuïc, the perennially stylish SiSiSi, Avinguda Diagonal 442, and Mas i Mas, Calle Maria Cubi 199. Berimbau, Passeig del Born 17 serves up good cocktails to a background of Brazilian rhythms and finally, La Fira, Carrer Provenca 171, lives up to its name with fairground seating and a big-top-style bar. Casinos: Gran Casino de Barcelona, Carrer de la Marina 19-21 (tel: (93) 225 7878; website: www.casions-catalunya.com), is open 1300 to 0500 daily. Visitors must be 18 years or over and carry a passport or driving licence. A dress code applies. Clubs: Bizarre night-time adventures can be enjoyed at Sub 34.3, Maremagnum, Port Vell - it may be expensive but admission includes the chance to go underwater in the club's own submarine. Club Apolo, Carrer Nou de la Rambla 113, is an old-fashioned elegant ballroom featuring the latest in techno and drum'n'bass, as well as live music from Spanish and international names. Saturday night's NitsaClub at this venue is hugely popular. The split-level Moog Club, Arc del Teatre 3, in the Chinese Quarter offers the best of European techno and hosts big international DJs. Salsitas/Club 22, Calle Nou de la Rambla 22, with a well designed bar, restaurant and a dancefloor has quickly become one of the city's trendiest night-spots since it opened in summer 2000. For flamenco dancing, try Los Tarantos, Plaça Reial 17 or Tablao del Carmen, Arcs 9, Poble Espanyol. La Paloma, Carrer Tigre 27, is a beautiful dance hall from the turn of the century. The band plays to an enthusiastic crowd with a menu of pasa doble, tango, salsa, flamenco and more. Heyday, Calle de Bruniquer 59-61, is a popular gay club. Live music: Large-scale rock and pop concerts by international stars can be heard at the Palau Sant Jordi, the Estadi Olímpic and Camp Nou. The best mid-sized venue is Zeleste, Carrer Almogàvers 122, in Poble Nou, which hosts Spanish and international pop and rock groups. Harlem Jazz Club, Carrer Comtesa de Sobradiel 8, hosts jazz and other live music until 0400 daily. Jamboree on the Plaça Reial is a long-standing and popular jazz, blues and funk venue next door to Los Tarantos. Traditional folk music from Catalonia, Spain and the rest of Europe is on offer at the Centre Artesà Tradicionarius, Sant Antoni 6-8, which hosts concerts on Thursday and Friday evenings. |