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Donde Fidel ( 664 3127; El Portal de los Dulces No 32-09, El Centro; 11am-2am) Salsa all day, every day is the calling at this hotspot under the city’s old walls. Inside, a mixed crowd shimmies and shakes to salsa in cramped quarters while the outside terrace – full of younger revelers waiting for Tu Candela to open – grooves to the reverberations.

Leon de Baviera ( 664 4450; Av del Arsenal No 10B-65, Getsemaní; 4pm-4am Tue-Sun) Run by an expat German named Stefan, this is one of the city’s few true watering holes. The intimate space fills quickly with locals swilling back 3L tubes of European and local brews. The waitresses are dressed in their St Pauli Girl’s best.

La Casa de la Cerveza ( 664 9261; Baluarte San Lorenzo del Reducto, Getsemaní; 4pm-4am) Another chic spot set high atop the city’s walls, similar to Café del Mar, but with stupendous views out toward Castillo de San Felipe. DJs spin tracks nightly and, in case you get hungry, there’s also a parrillada (restaurant serving grilled meat) with meals priced from COP$20,000 to COP$42,000).

Café del Mar ( 664 0506; Baluarte de Santo Domingo, El Centro; cocktails COP$16,000-20,000; 5pm-late) Ocean breezes swoop in off the coast and blow on the Beautiful People at this sexy outdoor lounge high atop the western ramparts of the old city. Spectacular views to Bocagrande recall Tel Aviv at night, while the restrooms are practically in Panama. DJs spin nightly from in front of an old lookout tower. A must-see.

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Entertainment

A number of bars and discos stay open late. Plenty of them are on Av del Arsenal in Getsemaní, Cartagena’s zona rosa (nightlife zone). There is definitely an element of sex tourism in the air in Cartagena’s nightclubs (don’t get too cocky, Don Juan, the girl paying you that extra special attention may be a prostitute).

NIGHTCLUBS

Café Havana ( 664 7568; cnr Calle del Guerrero y Calle de la Media Luna, Getsemaní; cover COP$5000; 8pm-4am Thu-Sat, 5pm-2am Sun) If you’re not into discos but still want to shake your rump, this Cuban hotspot – good for an early evening mojito as well – turns into an all-out salsa throwdown after 11pm that carries out into the street. The musicians aren’t Cuban, but you’d never know.

Mister Babilla ( 664 7005; Av del Arsenal No 8B-137, Getsemaní; cover COP$10,000; 9pm-4am) This massive, multi-space club is the city’s best, filled wall-to-ceiling with everything from bird cages to oak barrels to Aerosmith records: there’s enough bric-a-brac here to host the world’s largest garage sale. The floor is packed, too, with warm-blooded colombianos hell bent on a modeling contract.

Quiebra-Canto ( 664 1372; Camellon de los Martines, Edificio Puente del Sol, Getsemaní; 7pm-4am Tue-Sat) It gets tight with an eclectic crowd of all shapes and sizes at this excellent Getsemaní spot for salsa, Cuban and reggae. It’s on the second floor overlooking Pegasos and the clock tower. Beers for COP$6000 mean you pay for the privilege.

Tu Candela ( 664 8787; El Portal de los Dulces No 32-25, El Centro; cover COP$10,000; 8pm-4am) The narrow, shotgun-style layout of this bar/club makes liberal use of exposed brick – it feels a bit like partying in a wine cave – and is decorated with tribal masks, old transistor radios and brass instruments. The cover charge is recoupable in drinks.

You can also go on a night trip aboard a chiva (a typical Colombian bus) with a band playing vallenato and all-you-can-drink aguardiente (be careful!). Chivas depart from hotels in Bocagrande around 8pm for a three- to four-hour trip, and leave you at the end of the tour in a discotheque – a good point to continue your party for the rest of the night. Most agencies and hostels can book this for you.

SPORTS

Cartagena’s local soccer team, Real Cartagena, plays games at Estadio Olímpico Jaime Merón León, located 5km south of the city in Villa Olímpico. Games run throughout the year. Buy tickets at the stadium. A taxi there will cost around COP$8000 to COP$10,000.