La Ribera
For admittedly tourist-oriented flamenco in a basement setting, this unassuming bar is cheaper than most and has good, professional offerings.
Must-see entertainment in Spain
Valencia
This spacious rock venue down the side of the bus station has regular live acts and also functions as a nightclub. Think €8 to €10 entry.
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
A multiscreen cinema with a good selection of films, including both mainstream and art-house. The cinema also holds film festivals.
Málaga
Small bar-club with no cover that has DJs during the week and live bands at weekends playing indie, pop-rock and electronica.
Barcelona
Verdi Park is a perennially popular art-house cinema with four screens. Most films are shown in their original language.
Valencia
Levante is Valencia's second major soccer team. In recent years it has spent its time between the top two divisions.
Almería
This club venue hosts Spanish and international DJs and regular gigs by bands playing indie, rock and electronica.
Jerez de la Frontera
Runs a busy program where you can enjoy Bach, Verdi, Mozart, Shakespeare, ballet and – of course – flamenco.
Valencia
This cinema in the Teatro Rialto building screens undubbed classic and art-house films for a pittance (€2.50).
Valencia
One of Valencia’s main venues for theatre, dating from the mid-19th century, with varied programming.
Bilbao
This popular venue incorporates two separate spaces, Stage Live and the Back Room. Along with local and international bands, it hosts DJs and various…
Bilbao
Restored to its art-nouveau glory and modernised for contemporary productions in 2010, this showpiece was built in 1902. Today, the magnificent venue…
El Centro & El Arenal
Of all the venues offering flamenco 'dinner shows', this is one of the best. With a seating capacity of 100 in an old-school tavern, it lacks the grit and…
Madrid
Fronting onto Plaza de Santa Ana, this theatre (formerly the Teatro del Príncipe) has been here in one form or another since the 16th century and is still…
Seville
Flamenco meets Broadway at this 400-seat theatre. Its glitzy, highly choreographed flamenco shows are not for purists, but the performers are experts in…
La Latina & Lavapiés
As much a cocktail bar as a live-music venue or theatre, ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ is one of Madrid’s more original stages. Magicians, storytellers, live jazz,…
Barcelona
Housed in the magnificent former Palau de l’Agricultura building on Montjuïc (opposite the Museu d’Arqueologia), the ‘Free Theatre’ consists of two modern…
La Latina & Lavapiés
With nearly 40 years in the business, this small venue knows what its punters like and serves up a nightly feast of singer-songwriters, blues, rock and …
Madrid
Despite the name, this is a great place to see blues or local rock, though many acts have a little country, jazz or R&B thrown into the mix too. It’s a…
Madrid
There’s no telling what will be staged here next, but it’s usually good; past performers include Jackson Browne, El Cigala, Kiko Veneno, Niña Pastori and…
Chueca
It looks like your average Madrid bar de copas (bar serving spirits and mixed drinks), but El Búho Real (The Royal Owl) is all about acoustic music. It…
Toledo
Though Toledo's nightlife might not be exactly legendary, and it's day trip fodder for many, this 12th-century Mudéjar-style church, deconsecrated in 1842…
Los Cristianos, Playa de las Américas & Costa Adeje
This vast auditorium (one of the largest in Europe) regularly stages world-class shows that typically combine flamenco, opera and dance. There is an…
La Latina & Lavapiés
The music here is all about funk, soul, jazz, the American South, Afrobeat and even a little hip-hop. It’s a club with attitude and always has a great…
Barcelona
One of the city’s principal alternative theatres, the Sala Beckett doesn't shy away from challenging theatre, and stages an eclectic mix of productions in…
Chueca
One of Madrid's best-loved jazz clubs has finally reopened its doors after years of being closed (it fell foul of a council crackdown on licensing laws)…
Palma de Mallorca
Located on the 7th floor of the Hotel Saratoga, this sophisticated club with high-altitude views over Palma offers after-dinner jazz, soul and blues…
Madrid
In a corner of Madrid that works hard by day and parties even harder on weekends, Moby Dick is an institution on the live-music circuit, mostly hosting…
Madrid
The main concert season runs from October to March each year, when performances include those of the Banda Sinfónica Municipal Madrid, the Orquesta…
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Better known as UD Las Palmas, this is Gran Canaria’s premier football team. To see them in action, join the throngs heading for the 31,000-seat Estadio…
Galicia
Classy, wood-lined Café Latino has a fabulous corner stage that hosts live jazz at 11pm on Thursdays from about October to April, and a jazz festival in…
Los Cristianos, Playa de las Américas & Costa Adeje
If you like it loud, you like to rock and you are not averse to a mainly British clientele, then Sax may just well be your nightly boogy fix. Playing…
Chueca
One of the most enduring live venues in Chueca, this small-stage bar attracts storytellers, poets, local and international singer-songwriters and a whole…
Madrid
A storied Huertas bar that prides itself on free live jazz, a bohemian outlook and (according to the owners) political conspiracies, Casa Pueblo is an…
Barcelona
A neighbourhood icon in the heart of Gràcia, this five-screen cinema shows art-house and blockbuster films in their original language, as well as films in…
La Latina & Lavapiés
One of the hottest spots in Lavapiés, this great venue hosts a largely bohemian crowd who come from all over the city for a fine roster leavened with…
Barcelona
This vast cinema complex shows films in the original language on 15 screens, making for plenty of choice. Aside from the screens, you’ll find several…
Barcelona
With capacity for more than 4500 people, this concert hall, annexed to the Olympic stadium Palau Sant Jordi, is used for big gigs that don't reach the…
Almería
This is Almería’s top flamenco club, where local guitar star Tomatito has been known to stroke the strings. Housed in a series of medieval cisterns, it…
Barcelona
Next door to the Teatre Lliure, and together known as the Ciutat de Teatre (Theatre City), this spacious modern stage is Barcelona's top venue for local…
