I like the area between Puerta del Sol and Plaza Santa Ana. All the streets round there are good for bars and cafes.

There's one - in Calle Echegeray, I think - that just serves sherries. Not the maiden aunt stuff you get over here, but drinks really worth trying. They keep count of how many you've had by making chalk marks on the wooden bar top next to where you're standing. There's another where the walls are covered in beautiful painted tiles.

My favourite, though, is El Lacon, in Calle Manuel Fernandez Y Gonzalez. It's a Galician bar, so you can stand at the counter and order tapas and raciones of sausages, seafood, and "Pimientos de Padron" - fried green peppers sprinkled with sea salt, about one in 10 of which are fiery hot, so eating a plate of them is like playing Russian roulette! Alternatively, you can go to tables in a raised area behind the bar if you want to make a meal out of a few plates. Or they've got a good restaurant upstairs.

The area's within walking distance, too, of the Prado. It's an absolute must, even if you think you don't ike art and galleries. Go for the Goyas and Velazquezs, and allow yourself to be sidetracked.

I don't know what level of accommodation you're looking for. There's a posh-looking hotel - the Reina Victoria, I think - on Plaza Santa Ana. I've never investigated it - apart from having a drink in its bar - because it's always seemed out of my range. There are plenty of cheap-and-cheerful hostales and hotels. I always used to stay at the Hostal Lisboa, in Ventura de la Vega. Clean, friendly, very comfortable, and good value (no breakfasts). I haven't been for a few years, though, so I don't know whether it's changed.

There are loads of other good areas, too, of course, especially some of the ones which are less central. I'd recommend checking the Rough Guide. Plaza Mayor is nice, but you don't half pay for the privilege. Don't have a drink out on the square unless you want to use up all your euros. There's one restaurant near there that makes me laugh, though. On its sunblind it proclaims - in English - "Ernest Hemingway never ate here." Every other bar, you'll gather, has photographs of the great man shaking hands with the proprieter, in a bid to draw in any passing Americans.

thanks....yeah i like a nice hotel.....4 star is normally what i go for.....normally its a melia type or a better class sol hotel.....i just wasnt sure which part of the city to be in for nightlife...so your post has really helped....

So how did it go?

i heard conflicting reports and have put Portugal on hold till summer.....i had some bad storied about gangs in the new town where the pubs are? i also was looking at the rui hotels in that area!