Must-see nightlife in Barcelona

  • People silhouette against Magic Fountain illuminated at night in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

    La Confiteria

    El Raval

    This evocative tile-covered cocktail hang-out is a trip back to the 19th century. Until the 1980s it was a confectioner’s shop, and though the original…

  • Nomad Coffee Shop and Lab in barcelona

    Nomad Coffee Lab & Shop

    La Ribera

    King of Barcelona’s third-wave coffee scene, Nømad is known for its seasonally sourced, small-batch, Barcelona-roasted beans and experimental techniques…

  • Dr Stravinsky is an upscale cocktail bar serving up imaginative drinks & elevated bar bites in stylish surroundings.

    Dr Stravinsky

    La Ribera

    At this alchemist-inspired temple to crafted-cocktail wizardry, named one of the World’s 50 Best Bars in 2019, mixologist Antonio Naranjo and team prepare…

  • Paradiso is a dramatic, dimly lit haunt offering imaginative cocktails & classic bar bites, plus mixology classes. Ranked one of the best bars int he world.

    Paradiso/Pastrami Bar

    La Ribera

    A kind of Narnia-in-reverse, Paradiso is fronted by a snowy-white wardrobe-sized space, with pastrami sandwiches, pulled pork and other home-cured…

  • Bobby Gin in Barcelona at Carrer de Francisco Giner 47

    Bobby Gin

    Barcelona

    With over 80 varieties, this whitewashed stone-walled bar is a haven for gin lovers, and arguably Barcelona's top spot for a perfectly mixed, artfully…

  • Monvínic

    L'Eixample

    At this rhapsody to wine, the digital menu details over 3000 international varieties searchable by origin, year or grape, with 50 selections available by…

  • Two Schmucks

    El Raval

    Originally a wandering pop-up bar, seriously edgy yet refreshingly unpretentious Swedish-run Two Schmucks has become one of Barcelona's (and Europe's)…

  • Bar Zim

    La Rambla & Barri Gòtic

    From the welcoming team behind the terrific Formatgeria La Seu (next door) comes this teensy, intimate, cavern-like bar where Catalan (Penedès, Empordà)…

  • Abirradero, in Barcelona, offers pared-down space with a sidewalk terrace serving classic tapas dishes, burgers & craft beers.

    Abirradero

    Barcelona

    Barcelona is spoilt for choice with craft breweries, and this bright, buzzing space is one of the best. There are 40 of its own beers rotating on the taps…

  • Les Gens Que J'Aime is a decades-old basement cocktail den with red velvet seating, eclectic art & prebooked tarot readings in Barcelona.

    Les Gens Que J'Aime

    L'Eixample

    Atmospheric and intimate, this basement relic of the 1960s follows a deceptively simple formula: chilled jazz music in the background, minimal lighting…

  • La Caseta del Migdia

    Barcelona

    The effort of getting to what is, for all intents and purposes, a simple xiringuito (summer snack bar) perched atop Montjuïc's seaward slopes, is worth it…

  • Caelum

    La Rambla & Barri Gòtic

    Centuries of heavenly Spanish gastronomic tradition collide at this exquisite medieval space in the heart of the city, which stocks sweets made by nuns…

  • Perikete

    Barcelona

    Since opening in 2017, this fabulous wine spot has been jam-packed with barcelonins and visitors. Jabugo hams hang from the ceiling, vermouth barrels sit…

  • Barman preparing a Dry Martini in Dry Martini Cosmopolitan Bar, L'Eixample.

    Dry Martini

    L'Eixample

    Waiters make expert cocktail suggestions, but the house drink, taken at the gleaming wooden bar or on one of the plush green banquettes, is always a good…

  • Bar Marsella Absinthe, Carrer de Sant Pau.

    Bar Marsella

    El Raval

    Bar Marsella has been in business since 1820, and has served the likes of Dalí, Picasso, Gaudí and Hemingway. The latter was known to slump here over an…

  • Balius Bar is a warm bar offering classic cocktails, plus light bites & a weekly live jazz band in Barcelona

    Balius

    Barcelona

    There's an old-fashioned jauntiness to this vintage-style cocktail den in El Poblenou, marked by its original-period exterior with tiles and gin bottles…

  • Bar Mudzanas is a cozy place, with a classic atmosphere, and very versatile, as it is identified both as a morning bar where you can go for a break, and as an afternoon-evening cocktail bar where quality cocktails are offered.

    Mudanzas

    La Ribera

    This was one of the first bars to get things into gear in El Born and it still attracts a faithful crowd. With its chequered floor, marble-topped tables…

  • Garage Beer Co

    Garage Beer Co

    L'Eixample

    One of the original craft-beer bars to pop up in Barcelona, Garage brews its own in a space at the bar and at its out-of-town brewery, and offers around…

  • Cafè del Centre is located on the right side of Eixample, this emblematic space offers us an original atmosphere and excellent tapas.

    Cafè del Centre

    L'Eixample

    Travel back to the 19th century at this charmingly old-world cafe, in business since 1873. The mahogany bar extends down the right side as you enter,…

  • Young people pack dance floor in electronic dance club Moog, El Raval District.

    Moog

    El Raval

    This fun and minuscule club is a standing favourite with the downtown crowd. In the main dance area DJs dish out house, techno and electro, while upstairs…

  • Hemingway

    L'Eixample

    There's often a queue out the door for a table at this intimate, speakeasy-style basement cocktail den with a tiny front terrace. International whiskies,…

  • Espai Joliu

    Barcelona

    Inspired by its owner's time in Berlin, this charmingly stylish former carpenters' workshop is Barcelona's original plants-and-coffee concept cafe (much…

  • La Concha

    El Raval

    This long-running bar is dedicated to ground-breaking 20th-century actress Sara Montiel: the walls groan with more than 250 photos of the sultry star…

  • La Cigale

    Barcelona

    La Cigale is a very civilised place for a cocktail, with oil paintings on the walls, gilded mirrors and leatherbound volumes scattered about. Prop up the…

  • Marmalade

    El Raval

    The golden hues of this backlit bar and restaurant beckon seductively through the glass facade. There are various spaces, adorned in equally sumptuous…

  • El Rabipelao

    Barcelona

    With DJs spinning salsa beats, occasional live music and a covered back patio, El Rabi is a celebratory space. Silent films play, red-washed walls are…

  • Nømad Every Day

    El Raval

    A seasonal roster of roasted-in-Barcelona beans combine with the latest caffeine tech at El Raval's branch of super-successful Nømad, founded by rockstar…

  • Cosmo

    L'Eixample

    Set on a pedestrian strip just behind the university, this cool cafe/cultural space has bicycles hanging from high, white walls and bright splashy murals,…

  • Creps al Born

    La Ribera

    A rowdy, jam-packed and seriously fun party-loving cocktail bar, where people spill out onto Passeig del Born over wildly creative artisan cocktails (€10…

  • Orval

    Barcelona

    Zingy homemade lemonade, Barcelona-roasted beans by Nømad (coffees €1.50 to €4), and divine cakes and pastries sourced from renowned bakeries around town…

  • The Bowery

    L'Eixample

    The latest cocktail-wizardry offering from the team behind Gràcia's Old Fashioned and L'Eixample's Hemingway, this NYC-inspired bolthole throws homemade…

  • Mag by El Magnífico

    La Ribera

    One of Barcelona's best coffee roasters, El Magnífico now runs this stylish, Scandi-esque corner cafe breathing new life into a beautiful 19th-century…

  • BlackLab

    Barcelona

    Barcelona's first brewhouse opened in 2014 inside the 19th-century Palau de Mar. Its taps feature 16 house-made brews, including saisons, double IPAs and…

  • Tinta Roja

    Barcelona

    A succession of nooks and crannies, dotted with flea-market finds and dimly lit in violets, reds and yellows, makes Tinta Roja an intimate spot for a…

  • La Monroe

    El Raval

    Peer through the glass walls of this lively LGBTQI-friendly hangout inside the Filmoteca de Catalunya, and you'll spot long wooden tables, rickety chairs,…

  • La Catalista

    La Ribera

    Draped greenery, a marble-topped bar and exposed-stone walls make a stylish setting for sampling Catalan wines (glass €4 to €6) sourced from artisan…

  • Satan's Coffee Corner

    La Rambla & Barri Gòtic

    All ocean-blue walls, pounding beats and punk-inspired style, Satan's is firmly about the coffee (no wi-fi, no prams!) Local small-scale roaster Right…

  • El Rabipelao

    La Rambla & Barri Gòtic

    Super 'tropicocktails' (€6 to €10) are the thing from the team behind Barcelona's original Venezuelan good-time bar, a zingily patterned space in the…

  • The Roof

    La Ribera

    This low-key-glam rooftop bar has fabulous horizon-reaching views across the Mercat de Santa Caterina's kaleidoscopic roof to the sea beyond. White…

  • Arena Madre

    L'Eixample

    Popular with a hot young crowd, Arena Madre is one of the top LGBTQI+ clubs in town (though these days it can be quite mixed). Mainly pop, dance and house…

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