Must-see nightlife in Barcelona

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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,…

  • 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…

  • 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,…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • SKYE Coffee

    Barcelona

    Hang out at communal tables over single-origin flat whites and cortados (espressos with a dribble of milk) inside the cavernous Espacio 88, an innovative…

  • La Mari Ollero

    Barcelona

    With red-brick walls and marble tables, elegant La Mari Ollero brings a buzzy contemporary spin and a jolly Andalucian touch to the classic Catalan…

  • Bodega Vidrios y Cristales

    Barcelona

    In a history-steeped, stone-floored 1840 building, this atmospheric little jewel recreates an old-style neighbourhood bodega with tins of sardines,…

  • Milano

    L'Eixample

    Subtly signed from street level, this gem of hidden Barcelona nightlife is a subterranean old-school cocktail bar with red-velvet banquettes and glass…

  • Bosc de les Fades

    La Rambla & Barri Gòtic

    The 'Forest of the Fairies' is popular with tourists but offers a whimsical retreat from the busy Rambla nearby and has a wonderfully kitsch charm. Lounge…

  • Syra Coffee

    Barcelona

    Local professionals and students pop into this sprawling minimalist-design space, with shared standing tables and a circular counter, for matcha lattes,…

  • Can Paixano

    Barcelona

    This lofty double-name cava bar has long been run on a winning formula: its own super-affordable bubbly rosé, served in elegant little glasses and…

  • El Rincón Cubano

    Barcelona

    Cuban cocktails (including Cuba libres and el presidentes) and beers (Mayabe, Tinima and Cacique) are served alongside authentic snacks such as pasteles …

More destinations you need to see