MADRID – Nightlife
If you like to party, Madrid is your best friend. It offers you everything you wish for – and more. But beware: Madrid is a city for advanced party animals. Nighlife starts really late (don’t go to a club before one o’clock), is wild and doesn’t end before seven or eight in the morning. If that is too much for you, don’t worry: the city has countless options for sipping a good glass of wine, cidre or mojito in a relaxed bar. Last but not least, art-lovers can spend all their nights enjoying great theater plays, operas and movies (at Gran Vía, Teatro Real, Plaza Santa Ana, Filmoteca and many more places). To have the most up to date information on nightlife in Madrid check out the ‘Guia del Ocio’, a weekly magazine listing everything that’s going on. Buy it at one of the many kiosks for one Euro or so.
There are too many good areas and places to name them all. Where to go really depends on what you like and who you like to meet. Every barrio has something to offer. Here some recommendations on hotspots.
HUERTAS AREA
In this area you can spend your whole night bar hopping and getting drunk on free ‘chupitos’ (shots), which are offered to you on the street. The area attracts a quite young crowd with many international students. The music in bars is often Spanish pop and party music.
Some famous and cool bars in Huertas:
CAFÉ POPULART- offers very good live jazz music almost every night of the week.
VIVA MADRID – very pretty bar with best mojitos of Madrid.
REINA VICTORIA HOTEL - If you are up for a bit of glitter and glamour, dress up and go to the Reina Victoria Hotel on Plaza Santa Ana, which has a great roof terrace with an amazing view over the city. Leave your sneakers at home (they are not allowed in) and be prepared to bump into famous national and international celebrities.
CALLE ARENAL AREA
In this street next to Plaza de Puerta del Sol you find big and stunning clubs such as Joy – Teatro Eslava (Calle Arenal 1) and Palacio de Gaviria (Calle Arenal 9). The music they play depends on the night, but is often mainstream. Check out their websites for party info.
Metro: Sol
LA LATINA AREA
On Sunday afternoon/nights, check out the small bars in the Calle de la Cava Baja and enjoy live music.
METRO TRIBUNAL AND METRO ALONSO MARTINEZ AREA
These are the metro stops where the twenty- and thirty-something crowd meets to head to the great amount of bars located in this area.
MALASAÑA AREA
In this area you will find many good bars with a slightly underground vibe. Often they have good concerts.
KAPITAL
This is the biggest and most famous club of Madrid. No wonder – it has seven stories! Every story offers a different style of music and attracts a different crowd. When having a break from dancing, you can even watch a movie. In summer, be sure to check out the roof terrace!
Metro: Atocha
SUITE
This beautiful retro bar is very popular – and when you enter you immediately understand why! Downstairs you can sit quitely to have a drink and upstairs you can dance the night away with good house music.
Metro: Sevilla
MONDO
If you like electro music and house, this is the place to be. Good djs make sure you dance the whole night to their groovy tunes.
Metro: Serrano
PACHÁ
This club is part of the international and legendary Pachá chain. It is a famous club, which you should not miss out on if you like to dress up and mingle with the poshy crowd. Dance till the wee hours while enjoying national and internation top DJ’s.
Metro: Tribunal
BUDDHA DEL MAR
This is a famous, fairly posh club where you can enjoy a good dinner, lounge with cocktails and dance to mostly house music.
CHOCOLATERÍA SAN GINÉS
This is, believe it or not, the place where the Madrileños end their night of partying. This legendary ‘churros’ place is open and crowded at every hour of the night. So be as the Madrileños and eat a delicious ‘chocolate con churros’ at sunrise. Best way to avoid a Madrid hangover.
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