Cartagena’s bar scene punches well above its weight for a city of its size. Part of that is geography: the Walled City concentrates an extraordinary amount of nightlife into a compact area where you can walk between very different experiences in under ten minutes. Part of it is the cocktail movement that has taken hold here over the last decade, driven by bartenders who are as serious about Colombian ingredients as the country’s best chefs are about local produce.
The bars below cover a range of moods, from a globally ranked institution that draws visitors from across the world to a hidden speakeasy that most people walk past without knowing it exists. Some are for dancing. Some are for a quiet drink in a beautiful room. All of them are worth your time, and every recommendation is somewhere we’d go ourselves without hesitation.
The Best Bar in Cartagena, and One of the Best in the World: Alquímico
There is no honest way to write a bar guide for Cartagena without starting here. Alquímico has been ranked in the World’s 50 Best Bars for two consecutive years and was named World’s Best Bar at the 2024 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards. It is not just the best bar in the city. It is one of the best bars on the planet, and it happens to be right here in Cartagena.
Three floors, three completely different atmospheres. The ground floor is dark and buzzing with cocktails built around rare Colombian ingredients sourced directly from farming communities, anchored by a bar run by an all-female team. The second floor is quieter, more intimate, riffs on classics. The rooftop is where the dancing happens, and on a good night it’s one of the better places to be in all of Cartagena. Every drink supports a community project. Arrive before 9 p.m. or expect a line.
For the Classic Cartagena Evening: El Barón
El Barón has been setting the standard for cocktail bars in the Walled City since 2013, and the Plaza San Pedro Claver setting has a lot to do with it. Outdoor seating facing one of the most beautiful churches in the city, herbs from the bar’s own rooftop garden going into the drinks, and on most weekend nights a Michael Jackson impersonator who arrives with a full backup dance company and commits completely to the performance. Great for kids, great for everyone. Come in the evening: it’s entirely outdoor and not a daytime experience.
For a Great Drink Without the Crowds: Barra 7
Barra 7 is not a consolation prize. It’s where you go when you want a great drink, a cool space, good music, and none of the crowd that comes with Cartagena’s more famous bars. Run by Grupo La Movida, the same team behind Alquímico, the quality is there: just in a smaller, more intimate package. Tucked into what feels like an alleyway one block in from the Clock Tower, just to your left as you enter the city, it’s compact, unpretentious, and exactly right for a quick drink before dinner or a low-key start to the evening. The tiles on the wall are covered in sharpie signatures from everyone who’s passed through. Ours is in there. Yours can be too.
For the View: Mirador
Four flights of stairs above the Portal de los Dulces and the candy vendors, and the view from the top is one of the best in the city: the Clock Tower directly below, Cartagena Bay in the distance, the Convention Center and Four Seasons across the water. It’s touristy and makes no effort to pretend otherwise. That’s fine. The view earns it. Multiple levels including indoor options on the lower floors, a breeze that’s noticeably better up here than down in the streets, and Dictador rum available at the bar. Order a glass while you’re there. You’re in Cartagena.
For a Sunday That Gets Away From You: El Pasquín de Joaco
Named after Joaquín De Zubiría, who posted a revolutionary war manifesto at this exact location in 1810, El Pasquín sits at the heart of the Clock Tower bar corridor between Barra 7 and Alquímico. Two floors with different energies: downstairs is cocktails and DJs, upstairs is a full party with guest artists and light shows. The Sunday brunch-to-party format has developed a loyal local following and by early afternoon it becomes one of the better sessions in the city. This is a party spot and makes no apologies for it.
For the Best Kept Secret in the Walled City: La Garza Negra
La Garza is a Mediterranean-inspired café on the outside. Walk through the removable door at the back and you find La Garza Negra, a beautifully designed speakeasy that most people passing by have no idea is there. The drinks are excellent, the interior is genuinely striking, and the experience of discovering it feels like something you earned. They’ve recently started leaving the door open since too few people were finding it, which tells you everything you need to know about how hidden it still is.
For a Night Unlike Anything Else in Cartagena: Members Only
The name suggests exclusivity. It isn’t: Members Only is open to the public and is one of the more welcoming bars in the city. What it is, is genuinely different from everything else on this list. Tucked into the ground floor of Townhouse Boutique Hotel, it runs a live jazz and burlesque program built around giving Cartagena’s young local musicians a proper stage. The house band MO-Town is the city’s only dedicated jazz band and was formed specifically for this venue. Candlelit, intimate, moody in the best possible way. Check the schedule before you go as it operates on select evenings.
The bars above give you most of what Cartagena’s nightlife has to offer, from a world-ranked institution to a speakeasy nobody can find. If you’re building an evening out in the Walled City, our suggestion is simple: start with a cacao cocktail at Magno Chocolates before dinner, then let the night take you from there. We’re on Calle de la Factoría, a short walk from most of these bars. Stop in and we’ll point you in the right direction.
