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Gran Pizzería El León
This is the most famous beer-guzzling spot in Caracas - mostly thanks to its cheap prices and good pizza. It's an open-air affair on a vast terrace below towering buildings. At the weekend, you'll find a large college crowd jovially debating over row upon row of beer bottles.
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Greenwich Pub
This tiny, dim English pub with a rock 'n' roll attitude really packs them in most nights. The crowd gets progressively younger and the music more up-to-date as the weekend draws near.
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Juan Sebastián Bar
A longtime bastion of jazz in Caracas, this club remains one of the most attractive environments anywhere for listening to jazz. Grab a seat right at the bandstand - there's a counter to place your drink along the front.
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La Cigarra
Another forum for rock and related subgenres, this very popular new pub stages a variety of acts, from reggae artists to Pantera tribute bands. For weekend gigs, there are three bands on the bill.
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La Cotorra
One of the city's first gay bars, La Cotorra is a dark, old-school pub with a barricaded door and a conspiratorial air, appealing to a mature crowd who'd rather hear Wham! or Gloria Gaynor than electronic beats. To find it, take the escalator one level up from the cinema, turn into the parking garage, then left along the perimeter. Afterward, you could head over to the other end for the more youthful Royal Club.
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La Terraza del Ateneo
The breezy, upstairs terrace of the Ateneo cultural center, La Terraza del Ateneo, becomes an after-hours gathering place for a diverse, arts-minded crowd in the mood for relaxed conversation and off-the-wall music. Meanwhile downstairs, the Café Rajatabla, adjacent to the famous experimental theater of the same name, is an even more laid-back, open-air affair frequented by performing arts types.
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Little Rock Café
In other words, something like the Hard Rock Café but smaller. Wackily decorated with images of musical icons and related paraphernalia, the club hosts rock and metal bands on the weekend, along with a pool table, burgers and TexMex food.
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Maroma Bar
The Rasta bar. The upstairs lounge is where the real skanking goes on - a dim smoky environment where a DJ works from the front section of an old bus, pumping out a righteous blend of dub, dancehall and more commercial reggae.
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Mi Linda Llanura
For a taste of Los Llanos in the capital, this rooftop party terrace has ensembles playing traditional music of the plains on amplified harps and cuatros (small, four-stringed guitars). It's easy to find - you'll hear it from street level.
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Moulin Rouge
Behind the flamboyant windmill facade is Caracas' leading venue for live alternative rock, with two environments: the performance hall and an adjacent lounge for drum-and-bass, trance and techno sessions by resident DJs. Stay all night - it's conveniently open until the metro resumes operation.
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Restaurant Metrolandia
For something completely different, check out the terrace in front of this restaurant, just east of the Plaza Venezuela metro stop. From around to each evening, local singers clad in cowboy hats perform karaoke versions of Vallenatos and ballads, some quite soulfully.
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Royal Club
Entrance to this vanguard club is from the parking garage, up the ramp from the cinema level. Beyond an acclimatization zone with three bars, you cross a curtained threshold to reach the main attraction - a cavernous, strobe-lit dance space.
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Rumba y Salsa… Con Aché
Some of the city's top salseros play Friday and Saturday nights at this upstairs supper club. Caraqueños are famed for their inexhaustible energy, and you can expect the rumba to roll till daybreak.
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Rumbar
After they're done drinking and chatting elsewhere in the zone, people come here to dance. Salsa, merengue, reggaetón (a fusion of hip-hop, reggae, dancehall and traditional Latin-music beats) and on and on.
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Samoa
The self-proclaimed 'Island of Happy People' takes up the top level of a mock jungle hut, where groups of 20-somethings share mega cocktails through multiple straws while surf videos play continuously beneath the glare of Polynesian gods.
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Tasca Pullman
One of the most frequented en ambiente bars in Sabana Grande, the cozy Pullman has an egalitarian vibe. Though primarily a place to meet and chat, spontaneous dancing is not uncommon. Tuesday is oldies night.
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Teatro Teresa Carreño
One of the city's more reliable stages. Another good source for play info is the 'Eventos' page of www.caracasvirtual.com (in Spanish).
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Teatro Trasnocho Cultural
Dedicated to pushing the boundaries of conventional theater. Another good source for play info is the 'Eventos' page of www.caracasvirtual.com (in Spanish).
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Trasnocho Lounge
The Trasnocho cultural center's minimalist bar is a place to pull up a beanbag chair, sip a martini and chill out with friends as guest DJs work their magic.
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Vintage
Clinging to the top-level of the San Ignacio mall's fabulous main hall, the futuristic Vintage features narrow raised dancing platforms with killer views of the city for an exclusive, flashily dressed clientele.
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Wassup
This youthful, American-style bar-restaurant provides plenty of distractions for its clientele, from bands on the front terrace to dominoes to at least a dozen TVs tuned to the baseball. So why is everyone staring at their cell phones?
