Barcelona Nightlife: The Best in The World

Opium Mar, one of Barcelona's most famous clubs

Before I came to Barcelona I had no idea what to expect.  I really didn’t know much about the people that live here, their culture or their city.  Little did I know what I was getting myself into.

The culture of Barcelona is very different from what I am used to in the United States.  The people here go out to eat much later than what is typical of people in America, or anywhere else in the world for that matter.  A usual dinner doesn’t start until at least 9 or 10 o’clock in Barcelona, and some are much later.  The dinner scene is very nice, but that isn’t the whole nightlife.  Barcelona is world famous for it’s many clubs and bars.

A friend and I inside Otto Zutz

Club nights in Barcelona are a lot different from a club night anywhere else in the world, except maybe Ibiza.  They are different because there is nowhere else in the world where clubs open up so late and stay packed with people until the early hours of the morning.  When I say late I mean really late, as most clubs don’t even open until midnight or close until 5:30 AM.

There are many different options for nightlife in Barcelona.  If you want to make it a “port night” you can head down to the beach, which has clubs like Opium Mar, Shoko, CDLC, and Ice Bar to name a few.  Beware, these clubs are very touristy because they are the flashiest and most prominent clubs in the city.  They attract partiers from all over the world.  If you are a girl, keep your eyes out for the “hawks”, or men that come from the interior of Spain in search of American girls.  They can sometimes come off as being very aggressive, because the American culture has a very different perception of dating.

View from the DJ booth

 

If you don’t feel like hitting the beach, there are many other options as well.  For instance you could bar crawl through any of Barcelona’s hundreds of bars and pubs.  If you’re still looking for a club experience off of the beach, I would recommend checking out the world famous Razzmatazz; it is in my neighborhood and attracts people from all types of places who are looking to dance and have a great night.  Razzmatazz is also a great place to see live music.  This year they have gotten live acts such as MGMT, Ke$ha, Scissor Sisters, and Vampire Weekend.  Don't worry if they don't have live music while you are in town though, as there is always a good DJ spinning music every night of the week.  

Some friends and I at Otto Zutz

There are many other clubs in the interior of the city, like Otto Zutz, City Hall, Oshum, Elephant, and many more.  If you are just looking for a laid back night though, pubs like Dow Jones, Ovella Negra (my favorite), George Payne's and Pippermints are all great places to sit down and enjoy a beer.  A nice mix of club/bar atmosphere is Chupito's, known as the shot bar.  No matter what you are looking for in a night, Barcelona will surely have it.