Málaga · Nightlife

Open since 1840 at Alameda Principal 18, with Málaga wines drawn from barrels behind the counter and your tab chalked on the wood in front of you. There is nowhere to sit. Monday to Thursday 10:00–22:00, Friday and Saturday to 22:45, Sunday 11:00–15:00.

A rambling bodega on Calle Granada beside the Roman theatre, going since 1971, with signed barrels and a terrace under the Alcazaba walls. Open 12:00–00:00 Sunday to Thursday and to 00:30 Friday and Saturday. Touristy and busy, but the building and the wine list are real.

Rock bar at Tejón y Rodríguez 6 in the centre, putting on live music most nights since 1991 — rock, blues, soul, funk and rockabilly. Small room, late start, no cover for most sessions.

The old fishing quarters a few kilometres east, where the evening is chiringuitos along the seafront and espetos — sardines skewered on a cane and grilled over a boat full of embers. City buses run along the coast road from the Alameda; it is a different and cheaper night from the centre.

The centre's terrace network, radiating from the square where Picasso was born. This is where Málaga actually drinks on a warm night — outdoors, standing, moving on every twenty minutes rather than settling in one place.