Nightlife in El Barrio, Alicante City

El Barrio is a popular and lively area to go for a drink and socialise with friends in the evening

Alicante nightlife, or  ‘la marcha alicantina’ has become one of the city’s main attractions as well as being a major contributor to the local economy. The city offers a huge variety of early evening and night- time leisure activities, from places to eat, to bars and nightclubs for socialising and dancing.

One of the best places to go in Alicante city for a drink and to chat with friends in the evening is the area commonly referred to as ‘El Barrio’. This is the most accessible and well-known part of the Casco Antiguo (old town) of Alicante city, its official (but not so commonly used) name being La Vila Nova.

El Barrio backs onto the main street, La Rambla de Méndez Núñez and encompasses the entire zone between Plaza del Ayuntamiento and Plaza de San Cristobal. The Concatedral de San Nicolas can also be located in the centre of El Barrio in Plaza de Abad Penalva, and the most visited streets in this area are Calle Mayor and Calle Labradores.

Calle Labradores and its adjacent streets, San Pascual and Calle San Isidro are home to a multitude of bars, pubs, and small nightclubs with terraces for locals and visitors of all ages to enjoy a refreshing drink whilst sitting outside with friends and making the most of the warm Mediterranean weather.

Night owls will be spoilt for choice as along these lively streets are a number of fashionable music bars which are free to enter and are open until 4 in the morning, with DJ’s playing a huge variety of music genres.

There are also television screens in some of the pubs, making them a popular choice for football fans wanting to watch their favourite matches with a cold beer in the company of others.

Drinks are always inexpensive and it is normal to be invited into bars by friendly promoters and be offered free beverages without ever feeling pressured to stay and order more. 

Calle Labradores can be accessed via Plaza de San Cristobal, the square parallel to the top of La Rambla de Méndez Núñez. Alternatively Calle Labradores can be accessed from further down the Rambla via Calle San Isidro, or Calle San José, or via Calle Miguel Soler and then turning left, crossing over Plaza de Abad Penalva (the square of the Concatedral de San Nicolas) and joining the street from the opposite end.