City Hall sits at the base of Rambla de Catalunya by Plaça de Catalunya and runs a single rectangular room that has booked techno, house and tech-house seven nights a week since the early 2000s.
Tip: Open 365 nights a year; weekday queues are short. The smaller back room runs the chart nights, the main floor runs the international techno bookings.
Address: Rambla de Catalunya 2-4, 08007 Barcelona
Jamboree on Plaça Reial has run since 1960 as Barcelona's longest-standing jazz cellar, booking two nightly sets in a brick basement and turning into a hip-hop and funk club after the second set ends.
Tip: Concerts at 20:00 and 22:00 nightly; the WTF Wednesday jam runs free after the late set. The club night kicks in around 01:00.
Harlem Jazz Club on Carrer de la Comtessa de Sobradiel in the Gothic Quarter is a long-running basement that books jazz, blues, flamenco fusion, world music and Latin nights for a mixed local crowd.
Tip: Concerts most nights from 22:30; the Sunday flamenco jam and Tuesday jazz jam are the value picks. Cash at the door for the late set.
Sidecar on Plaça Reial has run since 1982 as Barcelona's underground rock and indie venue, with a red-lit basement booking live gigs early in the evening and DJ sets running through to dawn.
Tip: Gigs from 21:00 then DJ sets to 06:00 on weekends. The street-level cafe is the easy meeting point before doors; the basement opens after the early set.
Bikini Barcelona sits inside the L'Illa Diagonal complex on Avinguda Diagonal and runs gigs across pop, indie and Latin bills before the room flips into a club for the late-night crowd.
Tip: Gigs run Thursday to Saturday with the club kicking in after the band leaves. The Maria Cristina L3 stop is the easy metro; cabs queue along Diagonal.
Heliogàbal in Gràcia has run since 1995 as a 66-capacity room booking jazz, folk, songwriter, poetry readings and experimental music sets in a corner bar with red walls and a wooden bandstand.
Tip: Concerts most nights from 21:30; the Tuesday jazz session and the Sunday poetry-and-music night are the longest-running fixtures. Arrive early for a seat.
La Isabela is the year-round rooftop terrace on top of the historic Hotel 1898 on La Rambla, with 360-degree views across Port Vell, Montjuïc and Tibidabo and a small heated pool in the centre.
Tip: Open year-round, but the pool only runs April to October. Cocktails and tapas are served all day; sunset is the time to book.