By early evening the centre of Bauru fills with students leaving classes and heading for the bars, and the sidewalks around the main avenues stay busy well past midnight. A night here usually begins with a cold draught beer and something to eat, then moves on to whichever bar or dance club is drawing a crowd that week.
For a city of its size, Bauru has a lively nightlife, largely because of its large student population. Bars and dance clubs cluster around Getúlio Vargas and Nações Unidas Avenues, and the atmosphere is informal and social rather than polished. It suits visitors who want to go out with local friends or classmates, drink beer, talk, and stay out late without needing a formal plan or a dress code.
Where to go out in Bauru
1. Getúlio Vargas Avenue
This avenue is one of the two main strips where the city's bars and dance clubs are concentrated. Expect a steady flow of students and young professionals moving between venues over the course of the evening.
It suits a night built around bar-hopping: start with beer and conversation, then decide later whether to move on to a club. Because the venues sit close together, you can change plans on foot rather than arranging transport between stops.
2. Nações Unidas Avenue
The second of the two avenues where Bauru's nightlife is concentrated, with a similar mix of bars and dance clubs. The crowd tends to be local and student-heavy, and the pace picks up as the night goes on.
This is a good choice if you want a straightforward night out without researching individual venues in advance. As with Getúlio Vargas Avenue, the practical advantage is that the options are clustered, so you can walk between them.
3. Bar do Português
A drafthouse on Rua Benjamin Constant in Higienópolis, and a prize-winning one according to the source. It is known for its draught beer, and the "chope black" is the drink to try.
It suits an earlier, calmer start to the evening rather than a late club night. Note the hours: Monday to Thursday 16:00 to 23:30, Friday 16:00 to 00:00, and Saturday 11:00 to 22:30. It is closed on Sunday.
4. Aeroclube
A venue that the source describes simply as busy at weekends. It is one of the named places to drink in the city.
It suits a weekend night, when it draws a crowd. Because the source gives no hours, prices or current operating details, check locally before making it the centrepiece of your evening.
How a night out unfolds
The sources do not describe a detailed timetable for a night out in Bauru. What they do show is that the bar and club scene is concentrated around Getúlio Vargas and Nações Unidas Avenues and is driven by the student population, and that at least one named drafthouse opens in the late afternoon on weekdays and runs until around midnight on Friday. Plan on an early evening start with beer and food, and expect the avenues to be at their busiest later on, particularly at weekends.
Festivals and events worth timing a trip around
- Carnival Friday and Carnival Saturday — February
- Our Lady of Aparecida and Children's Day — 12 October
- Teacher's Day — 15 October
- Public Service Holiday — 28 October
- All Souls' Day — 2 November
- Republic Proclamation Day — 15 November
- Black Awareness Day — 20 November
- Christmas Eve — 24 December, from 2pm
- Christmas Day — 25 December
- New Year's Eve — 31 December, from 2pm
- New Year's Day — 1 January
Frequently asked questions
Where are the bars and clubs concentrated?
Around Getúlio Vargas and Nações Unidas Avenues, according to the source.
Why is the nightlife busier than you might expect?
The source attributes it to the large number of university students in the city.
When is Aeroclube busy?
The source says it is busy at weekends.
What should you drink at Bar do Português?
The source recommends the "chope black" at this prize-winning drafthouse.
Decide which avenue you want to start on, check the hours of any named venue before you go, and build the rest of your evening around what is open that night.