Daily events in the arts scene race headlong from 7 o'clock lectures and book presentations, inauguraciones and vernissages (art show openings), and events to 9 o'clock concerts, theater, and dance events. And then, sometime after 1 or 2 in the morning, the nightlife kicks in. Walking through Barcelona's Olympic Port music bar and disco row at midnight is like visiting a ghost town or an empty movie set, but by 3 in the morning on Fridays and Saturdays, it's packed solid with humanity.

Barcelona is well known for avant-garde theater and for troupes that specialize in mime, large-scale performance art, and special effects. Most plays are performed in Catalan, though some are in Spanish. Foreign films are usually dubbed, although the city has a full complement of original-language cinema houses; look for listings marked v. o. (versión original). Barcelona is also a city with many concert, recital, and opera venues. Check local newspapers for listings.

Cabarets, nigthclubs, and dance clubs really get going around 10 and sometimes stay open all night. They are well distributed around town, and if you can't find one, check a newspaper or ask the concierges for information.

To find out what's on, look in newspapers' agenda listings or the weekly Guía Del Ocio, available at newsstands all over town. Activitats is a monthly list of cultural events, published by the ajuntament and available from its information office in Palau de la Virreina (Rambla 99). Metropolitan magazine, published monthly in English, is given away free in English-language bookstores and hotel lobbies.