By late evening the promenade along the marina is still warm, and the terraces around the old town are filling with people ordering the first round. Further along the port, the music from the clubs does not really get going until well after midnight.
Alicante's nightlife is concentrated and informal, built around a compact old town and the eastern edge of the marina. It suits visitors who want to move between bars on foot, keep costs down, and stay out late rather than dress up for a single venue.
Where to go out in Alicante
1. El Barrio (Casco Antiguo)
This is the centre of nightlife in the city, a small quarter of bars where drinks are cheap and shots are sometimes free. It is the obvious starting point for a night out and works well for groups who want to move from place to place without planning ahead. Venues named in the sources include John Mulligan's, Carpe Diem, La Antigua and ¡¡Ay, Carmela!!.
Because the area is compact, you can cover it on foot in an evening. Expect it to be busy rather than quiet, and treat it as a place to drift between bars rather than settle in one.
2. Puerto (eastern rim of the marina)
The other focal point is the eastern rim of the marina, known as Puerto, where the night starts and ends later than in the old town. A typical night here can finish around 07:00 or 08:00. The Casino Mediterráneo sits in this area.
This part of town has a bad reputation at night, and most nightclubs here hire their own security who also act as bouncers. Take particular care at dawn, when theft is common.
3. El botellón
Among young people in Spain, el botellón is the custom of buying large bottles of soft drinks, mixing in hard liquor, and standing or sitting around drinking in parking lots and other public places. It exists largely to avoid the cost of drinks in bars and clubs.
If you are travelling on a tight budget, this is how many people begin an evening before moving on to the bars. Organisations such as BarrioLife advertise and organise the party scene of the Barrio.
4. Beaches after dark
Platja del Postiguet is popular during the day and fairly busy in the evening, when sodium street lights give the sand and breaking waves a surreal effect. It suits a slower start to the night or a break between venues.
Take precautions even during the day, as unattended bags and purses are a popular target for thieves. Further out, Platja del San Juan is reached by bus 22 or tram (L3, stop Costa Blanca), and the less crowded Platja del Saladar and Platja dels Arenals del Sol lie south of the port.
5. Craft beer and horchata
If you prefer a quieter drink, BIRA on Carrer Girona opens at 13:00 and serves ten beers on tap; it can get very busy until the nightclub across the road opens, and food is available. Horchatería Azul on Carrer Calderón de la Barca is a small, family-owned producer of horchata, with iced chocolate, hazelnut and almond varieties alongside the classic.
These suit an early or low-key evening rather than a full night out, and both are named in the sources as current at the time of writing.
6. Performing arts
Teatre Principal on Plaça de Ruperto Chapí is the city's main theatre and hosts plays, musicals, dance and musical performances; its box office keeps hours of 12:00–14:00 and 17:00–21:00. The Auditori de la Diputació d'Alacant, north of the bullring on Paseo Campoamor, is a venue for classical music by Spanish and international musicians.
An evening here suits anyone who wants a fixed start time and a seated night rather than a bar crawl.
7. Cinemas
Kinépolis at Centro Comercial Plaza Mar 2, reached by Tram 2 to La Goteta, and Yelmo Cines at the Centro Comercial Puerto de Alicante both show current films in dubbed and original-language versions.
These are the practical option on a wet evening or when you want to start late and finish early.
How a night out unfolds
The sources describe the Barrio as the place to begin, with cheap drinks, and Puerto as the area where things start and end later, with a typical night running until around 07:00 or 08:00. Beyond that, the sources do not give fixed dinner or going-out times for Alicante, so treat the pace of the evening as something you set yourself: bars first, clubs later, and the beach as an option in between.
Festivals and events worth timing a trip around
- Epifanía (Three Kings' Day) — 6 January, with a parade through the city.
- Carnaval — February to March, just before Lent, with parades of people in disguise and open-air concerts.
- Setmana Santa (Holy Week) — the week before Easter, with parades of religious brotherhoods.
- Romiatge de Santa Faç — the second Thursday after Good Friday, a mass pilgrimage to the Monestir de la Santa Faç.
- Fogueres de Sant Joan — 23 June, the most important festival in the city, with monuments burned during the night of 24 to 25 June after the Palmera firework is launched from the Castillo de Alicante, followed by a week of night fireworks at the beach.
- Moros i Cristians — celebrated by different neighbourhoods at different times: Villafranqueza in March, Barrio de San Blas in the second week of June, El Rebolledo in mid-July, Altozano in the second week of August, and Barrio de Miguel Hernández in the third week of August.
- Gay Pride — usually held in July, with artistic and cultural activities and a closing manifesto and party in the Plaza Mayor del Ayuntamiento.
Frequently asked questions
Where do people go out in Alicante?
The Barrio, also called the Casco Antiguo, is the centre of nightlife, with bars such as John Mulligan's, Carpe Diem, La Antigua and ¡¡Ay, Carmela!!. The eastern rim of the marina, known as Puerto, is the other main focus, around the Casino Mediterráneo.
How late does a night out run?
In Puerto, things start and end later, and a typical night can finish around 07:00 or 08:00. The sources do not give closing times for the Barrio.
Is it safe to be out late?
Puerto has a bad reputation at night, and most nightclubs there hire their own security who also act as bouncers. Theft is common, especially at dawn. At Platja del Postiguet, unattended bags and purses are a popular target for thieves.
When is the biggest festival?
The Fogueres de Sant Joan on 23 June is the most important festival in the city, with preparations beginning a week beforehand and the burning of the monuments during the night of 24 to 25 June.
Decide whether you want the early bars of the Barrio or the late hours of Puerto, and plan your evening around that.