COSTS
Transport to a lively nocturnal location A taxi from home, just outside central Madrid, into the city centre costs €10. On the underground network a €1.50 single ticket will get you anywhere in greater Madrid.
Cinema
Typically, you would pay about €9, although a promotional scheme currently means you pay just €4 at a lot of cinemas on some weekdays.
Theatre
You'd pay between €30 and €60 for a big musical. A lower-profile, more highbrow production would cost about €20. If you pay less than €15 or €20 it becomes a bit of a lottery: it might be a Golden Age gem or a couple of hours of student am-dram.
Dinner
I spent €30 on a plate of chorizo cooked in beer, a large tuna salad, some nachos with a spicy dip, and an almond-cake desert.
Four drinks
Four beers came to €11. Those are 400ml, so quite a bit smaller than a pint each.
Nightclub entry €12, which includes a drink inside.
Late-night snack
There are kebab shops all over Spain. But after a night on the town probably the most common snack is chocolate con churros: sugar-coated doughnut strips that you dunk in ultrathick hot chocolate. A portion sets you back €5.
Taxi home €10.
Babysitter €8 an hour.
COMMENTS
Spain has become much more expensive in the past few years, but a night out is still good value. Food and drink are particularly affordable if you go to the right places. For Spaniards a night out is usually a long one, so babysitting costs tend to stack up.
What is a typical night out in Spain? Going out is very informal, almost haphazard, here. You don’t necessarily decide to spend the evening in a particular place when you meet up with friends. You just start at a certain bar and take it from there. Typically, you might begin with a glass or two of wine or beer and then start ordering dishes of food, which you all share: a plate of Iberian ham, Manchegan cheese, or fried squid, for example. And you may have your next drink and round of food at another bar before moving on to yet another place for more drinks. So it’s a kind of glorified pub crawl, only you rarely see people staggering around drunk. In contrast to Ireland, you’ll often see kids in the bars with their parents in the early hours. Everything happens late in Spain, so people often don’t go out until after 10pm.
Is any aspect of nightlife particularly good value in Spain? In a lot of Spanish bars the spirits are poured without a measure, so you can end up with a double or triple shot for the price of a single if the bartender is feeling generous. Public transport is also quite cheap.
Is any aspect of nightlife particularly poor value? The land of Cervantes and Tirso de Molina has little affordable high-quality theatre. In Ireland it’s much more vibrant.
How do consumer costs in general compare between Spain and Ireland? Spain is noticeably cheaper for most food and drink, as well as for public transport, although the prices of items such as clothes are similar to Ireland. But wages are relatively low in Spain.
Where would you rather have a night out: in Spain or in Ireland? For an all-nighter it would have to be Spain.
