Nightlife

Casa da Música, Av. da Boavista 604-610 (tel. 22/012-02-00; www.casadamusica.com; Bus 202, 204, 402, 501, 503 or 504), is the cultural center of Porto. Designed by Ellen van Loon and Rem Koolhaas, this house of music contains a 1,250-seat Grand Auditorium and a 315-seat Small Auditorium, plus a Cybermusic Arena, where musicians can install multimedia projects and composers can produce electronic works. A complete range of classical and jazz events is presented, with most tickets costing under 25€, although some performances are free. Tickets can be purchased in advance on their website. The building's daringly avant-garde architecture in a traditional city has caused much controversy, including an auditorium sheathed in plywood and dyed fire-engine red.

Many night owls simply walk through the commercial district, along streets radiating from Rua de Santa Catarina, and stop at any appealing tavern or cafe. If you're looking to dance, try the Bar Indústria, in the Centro Comercial de Foz, Av. Brasil 843 (tel. 22/617-68-06; bus no. 1). It has a stripped-down interior that caters to a crowd of artists, writers (and their readers), architects, and other well-behaved, cosmopolitan patrons. It's open Friday and Saturday from 10:30pm to 4am.

For years, Discoteca Swing, in the Centro Commercial Italia, Rua Julio Dinis 766, near Rotonda de Boavista (tel. 22/609-00-19; bus no. 3), has been one of Porto's most popular dance clubs, with a mixed, mainstream clientele that appreciates the broad spectrum of musical forms (rock 'n' roll, '80s-era disco, house, garage, and, in rare instances, rave music) that's presented here. The setting is a battered and dusty shopping center in a residential neighborhood near the Rotonda de Boavista. It is open Wednesday to Sunday from midnight to 6am. There is no cover Wednesday and Thursday, but from Friday to Sunday the cover can range from 2.50€ to 10€. Drinks run from 6€ to 8€.

Boys 'R US, Rua Dr. Barbosa de Castro 63 (tel. 91/754-99-88; Metro: Trindade or San Bento), is one of Porto's hottest dance clubs, a late-night celebration of loud house and garage-style music, flashing lights, and homosexuality. Set within the warren of narrow medieval streets near the San Bento railway station, it's open Wednesday and Friday to Sunday 11pm to 2:30am, remaining open until between 2 and 4am, depending on business. There's no entrance fee, but everyone is expected to order a minimum of 6€ of drinks during their time inside.

Battered but hip, with hints of the psychedelic era of the 1960s, the 31 (Treintaeum) Bar, 564 Rua do Passeio Alegre, in Foz do Douro (tel. 22/618-57-21; bus no. 1), occupies a compact town house on the cobble-covered, seafront main avenue in the residential suburb of Foz. Immediately adjacent and under the same ownership is the Cerveja Viva, where the bar list contains mostly beers, as opposed to the cocktails that are available in the more cutting-edge 31. Many first-timers make it a point to duck into both establishments, just as a comparison, for a quick nip and taste of local nightlife.

For the best view of the raging Atlantic to go with your drink, head for Praia da Luz, Avenida do Brasil (tel. 22/617-32-34; bus no. 1, 7, 8, or 24), which occupies prime real estate on a rocky shoreline near the point where the Douro empties into the Atlantic. Watching waves from the ocean breaking and frothing from behind large windows is reason enough to visit -- that and catching the live music. It's open daily 9am to 2am.