Alicante guide · Alirena
Where to drink in Alicante
Afternoon beers, midday vermouth, the last drink when nobody is ordering anything odd anymore. This section will grow over the next year with dedicated articles. For now, the maps.
Vermouth at midday
Alicante vermouth is served between 12:30 and 14:30, cold, with soda, with an olive and sometimes a slice of orange. It costs between 3 and 5€ and usually comes with a complimentary tapa. Three areas:
- Calle Castaños and around. The triangle between Castaños, Bailén and Cervantes holds a dozen bar counters. Plenty of locals and office workers on the long lunch break. It starts at 13:30 and fills up by 14:00.
- Mercado Central. The bars inside the market and those on Plaza del 25 de Mayo (right across). More authentic, fewer tourists. Closes at 14:30.
- Plaza Gabriel Miró. Four or five terraces around the square, under the ficus trees. For sitting down and reading the paper.
Afternoon beer
Between 18:00 and 21:00 most of the bar zone opens. A caña (small draught beer) costs between 2.20 and 3€ depending on the neighbourhood. The Postiguet terraces have sea views but charge a euro more per drink.
The last one
After midnight the old town (El Barrio) becomes the party: four vertical streets with drinks at 8-10€ and music until 6:00. It is not a vermouth zone, not a dinner zone: it is a drinks-and-dancing zone. If you want to sleep, better to dine outside El Barrio.
This section is under construction. Over the next year we will add dedicated articles on specific vermouth spots, wine bars with local wines, and the El Barrio area for those coming to go out.