SPAIN
Spain nightlife is a way of life, and Spaniards, perhaps more than any other people take their night life and partying to epic proportions. Spain nightlife—or la marcha—reaches a fevered pitch in Madrid and Barcelona. Foreigners, and those unaccustomed to having an early dinner at 10:30 pm, should use the afternoon siesta wisely to prepare for Spanish night clubs that stay open until dawn.
Though Spanish night clubs are legendary throughout the world, night life isn’t necessarily all booze and disco dancing. In Madrid and Barcelona, the late evening meal means that whole families are out socializing, sipping coffee or sangria at sidewalk cafes until the wee hours.
The bars in Old Town Barcelona are a mixture of tourist spots, local watering holes and trendy, yet casual, pubs. Nightlife in Old Town often means sitting at a sidewalk cafe and watching the varied characters passing in the night. In Spain the terms café and bar are nearly synonymous, though it is important to distinguish that a bodega specializes in wine; a cerverseria serves mostly beer, while those tourists with a more refined palate will want to visit Spain’s Xampanyeria or champagne bars.