Santo Domingo · Nightlife

The open square in front of the Alcázar de Colón, edged on one side by a run of restaurant terraces. It is where an evening in the Ciudad Colonial normally starts — outdoor tables, a view down to the port, and no cover charge to simply stand in it.

Part of the Onno's group that started in Cabarete in the late 1990s and now runs eight sites around the country. The colonial-quarter branch does wood-fired pizza, cocktails and live entertainment, and is one of the more reliable places to find a crowd on a weeknight.

The seafront boulevard running west from the colonial quarter, and the venue for the city's large open-air events and the closing Carnival parade in early March. Free to walk; the bars and casinos along it are attached to the hotels behind.

A long-standing independent cultural centre in the Zona Colonial with a courtyard bar, a gallery and a small stage used for live music and theatre. Programming changes week to week, so check what is on before making the trip rather than turning up on spec.

The neighbourhood grocery shops double as bars: plastic chairs put out on the pavement, a fridge of ice-cold Presidente sold by the large bottle to share, and whatever the shop is playing through its own speaker. It is the cheapest and most ordinary night out in the city, and it happens on almost every corner.