Valparaíso is famous for its nightlife,
especially its bohemian pubs and bars where poets, writers, tango
aficionados, sailors, university students, and just about everyone
else spend hours drinking, dancing, and socializing well into
the early morning hours. In fact, most restaurants and bars do
not adhere to a set closing hour, but instead close "when
the candles burn down."
Most places serve snacks, especially bars and
pubs that operate as restaurants by day. Cinzano, facing Plaza
Aníbal Pinto on Calle Esmerelda (tel. 32/213043), hosts
dinner dances and spotlights tango music and singers in a wonderful,
early 20th century ambience. La Columbina (tel. 32/236254) is
frequented by the 30-and-up crowd for its comfortable ambience,
live jazz and bolero music, and view of the glittering lights
of Valparaíso that spread out below; take a cab or the
funicular Ascensor Peral and walk down Paseo Yugoslavo.
A few hip spots run along Errázuriz and
include Barlovento, Errázuriz 1156 (tel. 32/595723), one
of the few modern bars in town, designed with halogen lights and
metallic tables; La Piedra Feliz, Errázuriz 1054 (tel.
32/256788), has wooden floors and a tranquil atmosphere--until
they fire up live music in the evening from Tuesday to Sunday;
and the more traditional Roland Bar, Errázuriz 1152 (tel.
32/235123).
Ecuador Street is packed with discos and bars,
and although its rank as the in spot has waned, it's still a popular
area, especially among the 20- to 40-year-old crowd. Try Bar Azul,
Ecuador 167 (no phone), which has candlelit tables, jazz on weekends,
and, as the name states, a blue interior; there's also Bar Emile
Dubois, Ecuador 144 (tel. 32/213486), an offbeat bar/disco whose
name is an homage to the first person to die under capital punishment
in Chile, and where drinks come with names like strangulation.
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