Barcelonins are still in front of the mirror by the time you're usually in full flight, bars are barely getting into their stride at 10pm and clubs (best on Thursday to Saturday nights) don't come alive before 2am.

The lower end of the Barri Gòtic and the hip El Born area are all busy, with bars of all descriptions. In L'Eixample, the main axis is along Carrer d'Aribau and into the chichi Zona Alta area around Carrer de Tuset and Carrer de Marià Cubí. The squares and some streets of Gràcia also hop.

In the Old City labyrinth lurks a surprising variety of clubs. On the waterfront, a sun-scorched crowd of visiting yachties mixes it up with tourists and a few locals at noisy dance bars. Class, they will tell you, is reserved for L'Eixample and Zona Alta.

Of the old town districts, El Raval is the grittiest and perhaps the sexiest. Long a slum and still edgy in parts, it is perfect for long nights crawling the bars. The choice is ample, from taverns with a century's history to cool new bars, from dives to a couple of the city's most popular clubs. The punters are as varied. Local students compete with international stag-night groups for elbow room at the bar.

For a fun night out check out:

GIMLET
Carrer del Rec 24, La Ribera

Transport yourself to a Humphrey Bogart movie, almost. The punters in this timeless cocktail bar seem to get younger and grungier all the time, but the cocktails remain the same, and somehow this simple little bar continues to exert a quiet magnetism.

HOTEL OMM BAR
Carrer de Rosselló 265, L'Eixample

Locals and guests mix in a sensual synergy in this uptown posers' bar that is highly agreeable if you feel like a little London-New York style attitude in a hip hotel setting. Just watching some of the less fiscally challenged cavort makes it worthwhile.

OTTO ZUTZ
Carrer de Lincoln 15, Sant Gervasi, Zona Alta

This converted three-storey warehouse remains one of the sexiest and snootiest dance dens in Barcelona. There's a different vibe on the three floors, which are linked by a giant atrium.

TERRRAZZA
Avinguda del Marquès de Comillas, Poble Espanyol; Montjuïc, Sants & Poble Sec.

Some of the biggest international names play at this summertime must, which can be relied on for a range of the meatiest house, techno-trance and pop-rock on vinyl, and a clientele of extremely high-quality eye candy. Move to 'the terrace' for rejuvenation when you run out of steam. In winter the club moves indoors and becomes Discothèque.

SUTTON CLUB
Carrer de Tuset 13, Zona Alta

An uptown honey pot, this place doesn't get happening until surrounding bars start closing their doors. It's an alleged den of coke-snorting beautiful people, and the central dance area (complete with go-go girls and boys), surrounded arena-style by seating and several strategically placed bars, will draw you in.

Extract from Lonely Planet's new pocket city guide Barcelona Encounter, by Damien Simonis. $18.95.