Top Bars in Cartagena

Cartagena is a vibrant city on the Caribbean coast of Columbia. This beautiful city offers an exciting nightlife, with plenty of restaurants, lounges, and bars for any age and taste. In this chic and historic city, people from Cartagena and visitors generally dress to impress and fill the streets in the evening to enjoy the amazing drinks, live entertainment, and good vibes.

There are so many places to choose from, but we narrowed the options to the places we enjoyed the most, whether for the drinks, general ambiance, entertainment, or all of the above.

1. Café Del Mar

When in Cartagena, Café del Mar is a must visit place. This lounge is popular with locals and tourists alike, and the lines can go around the block during the golden hour. The lounge is one of the most unique places you will ever sip a cocktail in as it is located on the Baluarte de Santo Domingo. The fortress of Santo Domingo dates back to the construction of the city walls of Cartagena in the early 17th century. Make sure you arrive early to grab a spot in time for the beautiful sunset that you can enjoy while sipping cocktails and jamming to the soft house music! The fortress tends to be very windy, as in most places in Cartagena, so make sure you dress accordingly to avoid a wardrobe malfunction!

2. Alquímico

My favorite, Alquímico, is a multi-level gastro bar located in the walled city of Cartagena. The bar serves food and inventive cocktails with experimental liquor infusions. The cocktails are some of the best we have had anywhere in the world; even the classic drinks taste much better than the best version we’ve ever had. The mood is so cool, the clientele chic, and the music is excellent. If you don’t have enough time to visit any of the other bars, I would recommend not to miss this one!

3. El Mirador Rooftop Bar

El Mirador is a gastro bar inside the Hotel Torre Del Reloj, right by the historic Clock Tower in the heart of Old Town Cartagena. It’s a multi-level and multi-space restaurant and bar. We sat at the rooftop bar overlooking the Torre. The bar is modern with an impressive 360° view over Cartagena. We highly recommend this place mainly for the view and the live entertainment; you will enjoy taking in the warm Cartagena evening weather (although a bit windy) while enjoying the fantastic views. The live band playing old Alpha Blondi hit songs was a treat with the beautiful sprawling views of the city.

4. Movich Rooftop Bar

Movich rooftop bar is located in the Movich Boutique Hotel in the historic center of Cartagena. The rooftop pool is for hotel patrons, but the bar with comfy lounge furniture and tasteful decoration is open to the public. The panoramic views over the old city, the bay, and the Caribbean Sea make this bar the perfect place to enjoy a gorgeous sunset. The ambiance is relaxed and trendy with chill-out house music.

5. Sunset Cruise

Although this next place is not a physical location, we highly recommend it as it is one of the best things we did while in Cartagena. Many companies offer sunset cruises around the bay, and we were not sure whether they would be a tourist trap, but in the end, we did not regret trying it. The cruise we took was called Sibarita Master Sunset Tour; it left the harbor at 5:00 PM and cruised around the bay for 90 minutes. The music onboard was so much fun, the views were excellent, and the open bar had all the essentials. We enjoyed the cruise as it is a unique way to enjoy the city skyline and the sunset from the water. The ambiance was really fun, and the DJ had us on the dancefloor the whole time.

6. Mar Y Zielo

We covered this place in our best restaurant video in length. Mar Y Zielo is a hip a multi-level gastro bar in the historic center of Cartagena, located inside the Casa de la Escribana. We sat on the breezy rooftop, with gorgeous dim lighting overlooking the Cathedral De Santa Catalina De Alejandria and the beautiful night view of the city. The atmosphere is loungy and chic; we recommend dressing to impress! The cocktails are also some of the bests we had in Cartagena. The DJ played beautiful ethnic-sounding lounge music, and the atmosphere was chill! We highly recommend it for drinks and food; make sure you book in advance if you want to sit on the rooftop.

7. El Baron

Last but not least, El Baron. Although we didn’t make it at night, we wanted to try this place so bad that we went there during the day. El Baron is a beautiful small bar and café known for its mixologists and a delicious but simple food menu with superior ingredients and execution. El Baron is the most recommended cocktail bar in Cartagena, and our experience did not disappoint. From the service to the food to the drinks, everything was terrific. So great we forgot to film, but please try it.