Nightlife

Barcelona is a great night-time city, and the array of after-dark diversions is staggering. There is something to interest almost everyone and to fit most wallets. Fashionable bars and clubs operate in every major district of the city, and when one closes down, another opens within weeks.

Locals sometimes opt for an evening in the tascas (taverns), or perhaps settle in for a bottle of wine at a cafe, an easy and inexpensive way to spend an evening people-watching. The legal age for drinking is 18, but is rarely enforced with much vigor.

A haze of cigarette smoke has always been an inevitable part of the Barcelona night scene despite bars being required to have a nonsmoking area since legislation was passed in 2006. However, new restrictions will transform the scene in January 2011 when a law is scheduled to be passed banning smoking in all public areas. It'll doubtless outrage a majority of the population but the times they are a-changing, even for diehard Spanish puffers.

If the weather is good (which is most of the time) the city's outdoor squares are at least half-filled with as many tables and chairs as can reasonably fit.

Alfresco drinking has become so popular that complaining neighbors have forced the local government to restrict hours in some areas -- around midnight, it's commonplace to be asked to finish your drinks or to go inside. Particularly good places to sit and see the world go by are Plaça del Sol in Gràcia and Passeig del Born, Plaça del Pi, and Plaça Reial in the Ciutat Vella. These squares are also popular drinking haunts for groups of teenagers, but their tipple tends to be more of the supermarket-bought variety. The old Spanish tradition of the botellón, whereby groups of young people sit around on the ground swilling beer or wine, is treated as a nuisance by the local government and noise-sensitive neighbors. Despite cracking down on the practice, it persists, especially in the summer.

People-watching of a more flesh-exposed nature can be done down at the beach in the summer. Between May and October, a line of chiringuitos (beach bars) opens for nighttime frivolity in the sands along Barcelona's urban beaches, from Barceloneta to Poble Nou. Each one has its own flavor -- some play chill-out music; others have live DJs or bands. Owners, names, and styles change from year to year, but generally they open at lunchtime (or late breakfast) and stay open until 2 or 3am.

Also down near the sands, there are plenty of bars and restaurants around the Olympic marina and port. This, as well as Maremagnum, the entertainment and leisure complex, and the port end of La Rambla cater more for tourists by offering punters international beers, lagers, and cocktails rather than Spanish brands.

Other areas filled with bars include the Carrer Avinyó in the Barri Gòtic, the Rambla del Raval in El Raval, and the streets of El Born in La Ribera -- just walk around and see where the noise is coming from. There are plenty of local secrets to uncover if you follow the crowd for a while.

Joining in Barcelona Nightlife

Nightlife begins for many Barcelonese with a paseo (promenade) from about 8 to 9pm. Then things quiet down a bit until a second surge of energy brings out the post-dinner crowds from 11pm to midnight. Serious drinking in the city's pubs and bars usually begins by midnight. For the most fashionable places, Barcelonese will delay their entrances until at least 1am -- meeting friends for the first drink of the evening after midnight certainly takes some getting used to. If you want to go on to a club, be prepared to delay things even longer -- most clubs don't open until around 2am, and they will be mostly empty for the first half-hour or so until the bars close at 3am. Many clubs stay open as late as 6am. Most of them will have free entrance or discount flyers available in bars or given out on the streets, saving you between 5€ and 12€, which is the normal club entrance price. This will largely depend on the night, the DJ, and what the doorman thinks you look like. The price of a mixed drink (such as a cuba libre, rum and coke) hovers between 6€ and 14€ This may seem pricey, but drinks in Barcelona come strong. If you are charged an admission fee, ask if it's amb consumició (drink included). If so, take your ticket to the bar to get the first drink free.

Barcelona is a fast-moving city and the clubbing scene is notoriously fickle. New venues come up and others disappear. Although I've recommended places that have been around for a while, don't be too surprised if names and styles have changed when you roll up.

The Village People -- During the day it's dedicated to small artisan shops, market stalls, and street theater, but at night Poble Espanyol, Avinguda Marquès de Comillas s/n (tel. 93-508-63-00; www.poble-espanyol.com; Metro: Espanya), turns into a party town. Built as a "typical" Spanish village for the Universal Exhibition in 1929, it may look old, but the whole place -- right down to the huge fortified towers that dominate the entrance -- is fake. At night, it makes the perfect location to party, as no one actually lives inside and the gates are strictly guarded. You have a couple of options. One is to buy a 3€ ticket and enter the village to pass the night in three or four small bars which offer drinks, Spanish pop music, and outside tables to watch the partygoers pass by. The other, more expensive option is to pay for a ticket (20€-24€) outside to one of the clubs that lie inside the walls (entrance to the village is included in your ticket price). The main, and by far the best, venue is La Terrrazza (www.laterrrazza.com), rated by many as the liveliest summertime nightspot in Barcelona. It's an outdoor-only club that's open from May to October -- again, trendy dance music and a great place to dance the night away until the sun comes up (but not so much when it's raining). If you stay the distance (until 6am on a weekend), look for fliers, and sometimes even buses, to take you to "after parties," situated a little out of town and open until noon.

Keep It Down

Although Spain is one of the last countries on earth you'd think of as being intolerant of noise, mumblings are growing over the decibels surging from the pleasure spots of city centers where many people still live. Placards and banners pleading for more consideration hang across the narrow lanes and squares of Barcelona's Ciutat Vella, with disconcerting signs like Estem farts (which means "we're fed up" in Catalan). One result has been a tentative crackdown on culprits making the loudest sounds, from top disco La Terrrazza in the Poble Espanyol to the veteran Bar Pastis in Poble Sec. La Terrrazza was closed for just over a year, so the gesture has been made and steps apparently taken to diffuse the din in both these establishments, as well as in other spots where similar problematic situations have arisen. Whether or not the noise has abated sufficiently for locals to get a decent night's sleep in those offending areas is, however, debatable.

Finding Munchies!

After a long night out, the one thing you need is food -- and the greasier the better. If you're out of the center, you might come across a traveling churros stand, selling fresh potato chips, long strips of greasy fried donut dough, and sometimes cups of hot chocolate to dip them into. Some tapas bars are open late or very early, such as El Reloj (Vía Laietana 47). If it's any early morning but Sunday, the markets usually have bars open too -- the local favorite is Bar Pinotxo (tel. 93-317-17-31) in the Boqueria Market on La Rambla. Also open very early is the real local secret: The croissant factory hidden on the small Carrer Lancaster on the Raval side of La Rambla near the corner of Nou de la Rambla. It opens at about 5am and, for 2.80€, you can buy a box of greasy, chocolate cream-filled doughy croissants that you'll be hard-pressed to finish.