There’s a reason every local with the slightest bit of cool suggests you start your night off at Café del Mar. Maybe it’s the oceanfront view of old city and new town Cartagena. Maybe it’s the pleasant cross breeze.

Maybe it’s the whimsical music or the fact that you’re chilling on a fortress wall from hundreds of years back. Café del Mar is easily one of the most recognizable nightlife haunts in Cartagena.

The story goes that this establishment had some serious copyright battles with the famous Café del Mar ambient music label, although its not technically affiliated at all. Funny, since the music is from Café del Mar albums and the atmosphere is a prototypical Café del Mar hangout.

The majority of Café del Mar is a large open-air terrace with low-slung lounge chairs, high bar-stool tabletops. Opening in the late afternoon, locals congregate for sunset drinks and although the place goes on into the evening, most people use it as a night-starter: a way of easing you into the beast that is Cartagena nightlife. The service is pretty terrible, but there’s plenty of scenery and people-watching to distract (ie. people don’t come here for immaculate service). There’s also a small food menu (which most people recommend against seeing as though there are increased chances your food will never arrive).

Café del Mar has absolutely no attitude or dress code (as nightlife spots like this occasionally do internationally). The crowd is a mix of locals and tourists, though as with the rest of Cartagena, the hoards of tourists one associates with Mexico and Costa Rica aren’t too common unless with a tour bus. Meaning, outside of trying to decipher the menu or order a drink in Spanish, blending in with the local landscape is made effortless.

On weekdays, the place is chill and low-key. On weekends, it fills up, occasionally spilling out into the street. A large (and very steep) stone entrance ramp can cause potential harm to drunkards (it also separates the terrace from the bathrooms). From the sky, Café del Mar and its sprawling veranda make the shape of a giant arrow pointing out to sea: the fortress’ protection from field artillery back in the days of gold hoarding.