Algiers for The Night Owls: a Friday-to-Monday weekend

Walk the seafront arcades at golden hour with the port cranes below. The French-era arcades are best when the lamps come on.

Evening shows start late in Algiers, and the audience dresses up. Check the programme for a concert or a play and buy a seat in the stalls.

The garden terrace and its lanterns stay lively late. Order grilled fish, then a pot of mint tea under the palms.

Wake slowly under the dragon trees with a coffee from the kiosk. It is quiet and shady, the ideal start to a late weekend.

The concert hall under the Martyrs' Memorial hosts chaabi and andalusi nights. Check the programme and book at the door; the crowd is dressed up.

A late supper and a drink on the hotel terrace, with the lights of the bay below. One of the few places open and licensed late.

A slow afternoon walk by the water, with the new mosque on the skyline. Bring sunglasses and a bottle of water for the heat.

A repertory cinema where Pontecorvo's Battle of Algiers feels different. Check the evening listing; seats cost a few dinars and fill up.

A hotel bar that serves alcohol late and is quiet enough to talk. Order a Cuvée du Président red and find a table by the garden window.

Sweet coffee and a pastry at a classic Algiers café as the day shift arrives. The end of a long Sunday, and a gentle way to close it.

Sit on the steps of the white neo-Moorish post office and watch the city wake. One last coffee, one last photograph.

A last stop in the cool galleries above the garden, with Algerian modernists and Orientalist painters in near-empty rooms.