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If you’re interested in Flamenco but don’t know your cantadores from your bailadores, this lively club is a good place to get acquainted with the scene. Rated by madrileños for its class acts, the show usually starts around 11pm or a little later and continues into the small hours. Beforehand you can have a drink at the bar or order from the range of tapas , steaks and plates of fried fish (see Casa PATAS).

Set to rival Casa PATAS is this Madrid tablao (Flamenco club) which opened in 2002, its talented and enthusiastic young owners also figuring among the performers. The standard of both resident and visiting acts is excellent, which is why it is already making waves among aficionados. Although the show doesn’t usually begin until around 11pm, arrive early to be sure of a seat. Serves typical Spanish snacks.

Rated as one of the best jazz clubs in Europe, since it first opened in the 1980s it has booked top international acts. The decor – carved wooden ceiling, gilded mirrors, marble tables, maroon seats – is also exceptional. If you get here early, you can while away the time snacking on tapas (see Café Central).

Founded in the early 1990s, this jazz venue, like the Central, is now an important part of the cultural life of the city. The stage is small and space is at a premium, so get here early if you want to see as well as hear the acts – not only traditional jazz, but blues, country, Jazz-Latino, even occasional reggae. Very smoky (see Populart).

One of the best places in town to hear top salsa bands (and emerging talent) performing live. The show usually starts around 11pm but you’ll have to get here much earlier to get a seat. Otherwise you’ll join the samba-like queue at the bar, clapping and swaying to the infectious rhythms. Standard Cuban fare served (see La Negra Tomasa).

After making the film Calle-54 , Spanish director Fernando Trueba created this club to offer the best in lively latin-jazz. There is also a restaurant serving Mediterranean cuisine. The show starts at 11pm and booking is essential.

Madrid’s best-known disco celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2001. Once a 19th-century theatre, staging zarzuela operettas and music hall, visitors can still gaze down at the dancers from the tiered balconies. A favourite with the city’s gilded youth and showbiz crowd, outsiders are more than welcome. Don’t bother turning up before midnight – none of the locals will.

This roomy jazz venue also books blues, reggae and gospel acts and, occasionally, Flamenco. The atmosphere is laid back and the audience really gets into the swing of things. Look out for the weekend jam sessions.

Villa Rosa has been going for more than 40 years, originally as a Flamenco club, more recently as a disco. Visitors can admire the tiled Andalusian-style interior, shown to good effect in Pedro Almodóvar’s Movida-period movie High Heels . Very crowded by 1am, more so as the night wears on (see Villa Rosa).

This American-style café opened in 1997 and has been doing a brisk trade ever since. Ribs or hamburgers and fries are served, with US beers and cocktails. The music (mainly rock and blues) is provided by high-profile English and American bands and the audience is usually on its feet before the evening is out.