There aren’t many bars in Barrio Salamanca, Madrid, let alone decent ones, so it’s not surprising that the Geografic Club is packed day and night. It’s a vast, three-storey space with an enormous and beautiful stained-glass doorway and skylight, through which the sun seeps during the day.

As the name suggests, the bar is testament to colonial exploration, with posters and artefacts from the far corners of the world, including African masks, snow shoes and the first hot-air balloon to land on Spanish soil. The chic Salamanca crowd pours in after work, staying until late in the evening. The reasonably priced restaurant upstairs is hardly ever busy as drinkers prefer to munch on the tapas, such as fried vegetables and deep-fried goat’s cheese, at the bar. The chocolate brownies are hugely popular with the late-night coffee crowd.