Nightlife in Barcelona - AIMINGFORAWE.COM

With only 6 days and 6 nights in Barcelona, my babe Milena and I didn't waste a moment of our time.

We hit it hard.

And we hit it fast.

It's aaall thanks to Barcelona's wild night life that I managed to dodge that horrible thing everyone dreads: jet lag. Barcelona is 6 hours ahead of Ottawa - that's a big enough difference to throw you off your game. UNLESS you go to bed at 6am every day and wake up for noon. BAM. Problem solved.

When the night clubs' opening hours are 12am-7am and there's a country-wide afternoon nap time put in place to cope with the wildly late nights, you know they're doing something right. Their night life scene is like something I've never seen before and something Canadians would certainly not be used to. Our bars here close at 3am, but the nights only BEGIN at 3am in Barca, so you've gotta learn how to pace yourself or you'll be outta the game too soon.

Because the night club scene doesn't get bumpin' until a little while later, spending some time at a bar/pub is a good way to start the evening. But because their nights start so late and go on for so long, it can get pretty costly, so I'd highly suggest grabbing a couple €5 bottles of wine at the local grocery store first. The cheap wine in Barcelona equates to our mid range bottles of wine in Ottawa, so you can count that as a total win. You'll thank me when all you spent was €5 on a bottle of wine and then get to the bars and clubs only to find out the prices of drinks range from €6.50 to €15. PER DRINK.

And to my ladies out there, dudes buying drinks for chicks is not a common thing in Barcelona. You can strut your stuff all you want, but those Spaniards won't lift a finger for you. ALTHOUGH shakin' what yo mama gave ya will likely win you drinks from Aussie, British and American tourists. Apparently it's just not a Spanish thing. In fact, Milena was approached by a local Spaniard while standing at the bar and was offered a drink, although somehow she ended up paying for both...

Another thing to keep in mind too - even though it's not technically legal to drink on the public streets in Barcelona, it's not a law they enforce. Just a little tidbit of info to keep on the back burner...

Bars & pubs to start your night off:

Juanita LALá

All time best mojitos OF LYYYFE. The mojitos here are like works of art. They only cost €6.50 (and I say "only" because it was the cheapest drink I came across during the entire trip and THE BEST TASTING - I can't emphasize that enough, it tasted like liquid treasure), and are made so perfectly by the tremendously skilled bartenders. I would have easily paid €15 per drink once I had a taste. Yum.

Plaça Pau Vila, 1, 08039 Barcelona, Spain, +34 932 21 37 70

Espit Chupitos

"Chupitos" translates to "shots" and although the name of the bar isn't so creative, their menu makes up for it. This is the kingdom of shots. They've got shots on shots on shots on shots. Like wicked shots. Like you roast marshmallows on an open fire and they put it in your shot kind of shots. Shots that are sprinkled with Pop Rocks. Shots served with tiramisu. Cucumber shots. A shot they call "The Harry Potter Shot" that may violate some safety policies with it being served on fire and all. They have well over 200 different kinds of shots, so I'm sure you'll find one to your liking.

Carrer d'Aribau, 77, 08032 Barcelona, Spain, +34 697 81 44 61

Terraza 360° at the Hotel Barceló Raval

The rooftop tapas bar at Hotel Barceló Raval offers a 360° view of the city, overlooking the famous La Rambla street. This is the classier of options.

Rambla del Raval, 17-21, 08001 Barcelona, Spain, +34 933 20 14 90

Eclipse at The W

The iconic crescent shaped hotel on the south end of the long stretch of beach in Barcelona includes a glamorous bar with a wicked view on the 26th floor.

26, Hotel W, Plaça de la Rosa dels Vents, 1, 08039 Barcelona, Spain, +34 932 95 28 00

Nightclubs:

Opium

Live saxophone player. Live dancing girls. Live champagne spraying.

Although Opium was a great way to start our week off and although it was pure insanity, the music was alright. Could've been better. Could've been worse.

Passeig Marítim, 34, 08003 Barcelona, Spain, +34 932 25 91 00

Pacha

Everyone was weirdly pumped about Pacha because they had experienced how wicked it was in other parts of the world. Shanghai, Ibiza, Buenos Aires, Dubai... Pacha has taken over the world. And for good reason. Great music. Great atmosphere. Great decor. Great vibes. All around just great.

Passeig Marítim, 38, 08003 Barcelona, Spain, +34 648 81 59 85

Shoko

The Asian inspired club (wooo my neck of the woods! Just kidding, I'm a twinkie, who am I trying to fool) is a glamorous, chic little space. I purposely chose the word "little" because it's quite little. Most of the seated areas are sectioned off for VIP clients, making the space seem even smaller when they don't allow you to access certain areas. But still, the music and vibes were great. And for whatever reason, confetti made a few appearances on the night we were there.

Passeig Marítim, 36, 08003 Barcelona, Spain, +34 932 25 92 00

Razzmatazz

We didn't get a chance to party at The Razzmatazz as much as we were recommended to. Apparently it's not as bumpin' during the week. Totally worth it on the weekends, but not worth the €15 cover to get in during the week especially because they only open 1 of 5 rooms from Monday to Thursday.

And to make this place even cooler, Diplo was performing here when we were visiting. Kicking ourselves for not stopping by...

1er piso, Carrer de Pamplona, 88, 08018 Barcelona, Spain, +34 933 20 82 00

Sala Apolo

Another club we didn't make it to but heard only great things about. This one is split into two separate, adjacent venues: Apolo 1 and Apolo 2 - both equally lively, but carry different vibes. Apolo 1 resembles old theatre charm and Apolo 2 is a more modern space. The type of music, whether techno, funk, or indie, differs based on the night and venue, but merge together as one on the weekends.

Apolo is most well known for their legendary Nasty Monday parties followed by Crappy Tuesdays.

Carrer Nou de la Rambla, 113, 08004 Barcelona, Spain, +34 934 41 40 01

And there you have it folks...

Your week of partying in Barcelona has been laid out for you.

Party hard for me, I'm sure Barcelona already misses us tearing her up 💔

And if the clubs don't suit your taste, you can just do like we did and buy a bottle of tequila, couple cans o' beer, run on down to the beach, play leap frog, never have I ever, truth or dare, and maybe top it off with a little bit of dancing and skinny dipping.

Nightlife in Barcelona