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This excellent jazz bar, with live performances, poetry readings, tertúlias (discussion groups) and temporary art exhibitions, is a great place to relax in the evenings.

This huge discoteca has four spaces: “La Discoteca” for the latest dance music; “Dream” for techno and house; “Happy” for pop music; and “La Terraza” for ambient sounds.

Bacarra’s “disco-garden” is the place to be during the hot summer months. There are all kinds of events, from DJs to live gigs, go-go dancers and special one-off theme parties.

Every street in Alicante’s atmospheric old quarter is packed solid with bars and nightclubs which start late and don’t stop until dawn. There’s a good mix of styles and places to go, with something to suit most tastes and age groups.

Beach parties are common, free and entirely spontaneous.

Come here for the biggest, flashiest and most extravagant shows in town, with acrobats, cabaret singers and the famous show girls. You can dine as you watch, or just have a drink.

This sophisticated bar in Alicante’s Hotel Melia offers perfectly mixed cocktails in a formal yet comfortable setting. Sink into an armchair and sip your drink as the resident jazz pianist tinkles away.

For a family night out, try this big bowling alley, which has a café and an amusement arcade with slot machines to go with the ranks of bowling lanes.

Benidorm’s nightlife is divided by nationality: these streets are the heart of the English section, and are lined with a string of brash bars strictly for the under-30s. Most offer karaoke, theme nights and the kind of good time that you won’t remember in the morning.

This fashionable watering hole is attached to a stylish hotel (see Posada del Mar, Denia (Dénia)). Mellow music, a laid-back clientele and excellent snacks make it refreshingly different from your average raucous seaside bar.