One Night in Barcelona

The time that my friends and I spent in Barcelona rekindled our love for the clubbing experience, which in many ways had eluded us in the months prior to our holiday. In this article, I want to make known the key locations of that night-out, so that this unforgettable night can be recreated over the fast-approaching summer period.

 Fabrizzio’s Petit:

Initially, we weren’t too sure what to make of this holiday; we just booked the tickets with a few tourist hotspots in mind, such as La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell, and decided to make up the itinerary as we went along, booking a cheap hostel in the city centre. But upon arrival we realised that our hostel, Fabrizzio’s Petit, was perfectly located, being just a three minute walk from the central plaza. The guys who ran the place were really friendly and they ran free sangria nights every Thursday, which we whole-heartedly made the most of.

Finally, we decided it would be a nice way to meet some new people and so we agreed to join…

They suggested a few hot spots for a good night out and also pointed us to an organised crawl, set up by one of their partner companies (and as you could imagine, we were initially sceptical about joining). Finally, we decided it would be a nice way to meet some new people and so we agreed to join. But little did we know that this seemingly tame suggestion would somehow lead us through niche shot bars, where shots in an array of colours and styles were sold, a bar which mimicked a stock market by fluctuating drink prices based on popularity and clubs where Spanish classics were unleashed until 6am.

Espit Chupitos Shot Bar:

We simply could not believe the environment that we were in.

Perhaps the most notable bar was ‘Espit Chupitos’, which was only a five minute walk from the beach. The bar only served shots from a list of about one hundred that was hung on the wall running parallel to the bar. The bartenders constructed them in such ludicrous and inventive ways that no filming was permitted on the premises as to not ruin the spectacle for others.

This bar became our metaphorical baptism to the nightlife of Barcelona and, for the majority of it, we simply could not believe the environment that we were in. Beside us, a row of shots was set ablaze, whilst our guide was inhaling the alcoholic fumes of a boiled shot before drinking it and a girl who seemed rather quiet, with whom I was speaking not two minutes before, was downing a shot through a giant oral syringe that the bartender had offered. As you can imagine, the experience was more of a jump into the deep-end than a baptism, and yet we relished every second of it.

Dow-Jones Bar:

At select points in the night, suddenly and unexpectedly, the market would crash, sirens would go off and everyone would rush to the bar to buy drinks at around 50% of their typical value.

The second aforementioned bar was the ‘Dow-Jones Bar’, which was slightly further inland. This bar literally worked like a stock market by fluctuating prices based on what was being bought and what was consequently therefore deemed popular. For example, my friend would buy a round of Amstel (which would be astoundingly cheap in comparison to the other drinks) and the price of a bottle of Amstel would significantly rise by a few percent visibly on the screen above us. At select points in the night, suddenly and unexpectedly, the market would crash, sirens would go off and everyone would rush to the bar to buy drinks at around 50% of their typical value. This bar is super-fun and starts plenty of conversations and so I would thoroughly recommend it.

Club Jamboree

The remedy for a hangover would involve a freshly cooked brunch in the Gothic quarter and then a short walk to the beach to read and sunbathe.

Finally, we were whisked off to a club called the ‘Jamboree’ which was a good five minutes down the main parade of Barcelona, known as Las Ramblas. By this point I was too busy enjoying the Spanish classics to take note of the scenery or the prices, but this club was ideally situated, requiring only a 10/20 minute stumble to get back to the hostel.

Therefore, I would hugely recommend a weekend spent clubbing in Barcelona – it blends a vibrant nightlife with fantastic weather, meaning that the remedy for a hangover would involve a freshly cooked brunch in the Gothic quarter and then a short walk to the beach to read and sunbathe.