Nightlife
Porto Alegre is well known in Brazil for its diverse nightlife. The city's clubs, pubs, bars and restaurants provide entertainment for a wide range of tastes and budgets, going from the cheap, traditional beer-'n-bite in a corner bar to all-night raves, and classy nightclubs. The nightlife here is similar to that of New York City, but on a micro-scale. In the "SoHo" area of Porto Alegre, there is a block full of great bars, restaurants and clubs.
Bars, some with live music and most with a predominantly young and trendy clientele, are spread out along, and just off, alongside the Parque Farroupilha and near the Federal University. Throughout the year, Porto Alegre's numerous Centros de Tradição Gaúcha organize traditional meals, music and dance performances. Tourist offices have only limited information on the events, but full details are available from the Movimento Tradicionalista Gaúcho.
Porto Alegre boasts a good popular music scene and a considerable theatrical tradition. Foreign performers of all kinds usually include Porto Alegre on any Brazilian or wider South American tour. The Sala Jazz Tom Jobim, features the city's best jazz, or there are live afternoon jazz sessions at the Café Concerto (within the Casa de Cultura), which also has a good arthouse cinema. There are three more screens at the Espaço Unibanco (Unibanco Cultural Space), another art house cinema. Finally, the Centro Cultural Usina do Gasômetro, a converted 1920s power station on the banks of the river just west of the centre, is well worth a visit; there's always something going on in its cinema, theatre and galleries, and it also has a cafe and a good bookshop.
In Cidade Baixa (translates as "Downtown") neighborhood, the historical street João Alfredo has many excellent options. Discotheques include Dado Bier, Beco, Opinião and Nega Frida. The corner between Gal Lima e Silva Street and República Street is the center of the neighborhood's nightlife. In the weekends, its streets gets crowded of people drinking and having a good time. Cavanhas, Pingüim, Copão, Cotiporã and Panorama are some of the bars where people can drink beer and grab some french fries. To dance MPB (Brazilian popular music), historical street João Alfredo has many excellent options. Small bars on "Republica" street are great.
In Calçada da Fama, Padre Chagas Street is full of more fashionable bars, like Lilliput and Dado Pub. Goethe Avenue has a concentration of bars (Tri Bar, Arsenal, Dolphin's), great hotdog called "Bagé Dog" and dance clubs, like "Verde". There is also a vibrant more alternative scene with clubs such as Ocidente, Beco and Cabaret. Rua Fernando Gomes has a nice concentration of pubs, cafes, bars. Avenida Osvaldo Aranha, alongside the Parque Farroupilha and near the Federal University has bars with a predominantly young and trendy clientele. Moinhos de Vento is one of the richest neighborhoods in the city. Its bars and clubs are more likely to be fashionable, including upscale Pink Elephant Club, Faro and Box 21, which feature mostly house music. Along Padre Chagas Street people can find typical Irish pubs and cafes. A fictionalized view of the Porto Alegre nightlife could be seen in the Érico Verissimo's novel Noite.
In the south of the city, the most notable clubs are Chalaça Bar in the neighboorhood of Ipanema, the luxurious Kiss & Fly which is located inside the Hippodrome of Cristal, and Planet Music Hall, which is owned by soccer player Ronaldinho Gaúcho, in Cavalhada neighboorhod.
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