Sleepless in Madrid: the best tips for going out
Film evenings in the retro cinema, cocktails in rustic bars, celebrations on the streets and squares. We present the best locations.
“Muchas gracias!” exclaims the singer. “We’re taking a break now, we’ll be back in 15 minutes!” A disappointed sigh follows from the audience, who have been dancing to their jazzy disco sound all evening. Jokingly, she holds one arm in front of her face like a protective shield and goes to the bar, where a freshly tapped beer is already waiting for her. Waiters with bow ties serve desserts to the decked-out guests, and chatter is everywhere. Those who are still on the dance floor impatiently tap their feet to the music from the playlist that fills the break. It’s one o’clock in the morning and although most people here have work to do in the morning, it’s getting crowded.
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“You should come over on a Saturday,” laughs waiter Constantino as he leads me to a rooftop table for a drink. “Then the bar is hardly recognizable.” Groups and couples have made themselves comfortable on the sofas outside, chatting and toasting. A light breeze blows hair and fluffs up skirts. The Royal Palace of Madrid can be seen in the background. Towering over the city rooftops, it glows like a giant white wedding cake. A civilized, relaxed vibe reigns supreme in the Ginkgo Sky Bar tonight. If you believe Constantino, then the air is burning here at the weekend.
Madrid is at its best at night
It’s no secret that Spain likes to stay out late (or early), but Madrid lives for the night. When the sun goes down, the streets and terraces come alive. The temperatures are falling, the mood is rising. The capital can only be itself at night. Sometimes you get the impression that broad daylight is a necessary evil here, because everyone is actually waiting for dusk. “There’s always a place you can go, no matter the time,” explains Luis de Paz. The native of Madrid runs the tourism company Bespoke Travel Spain, which puts together individual itineraries through Spain for its customers.
“You could easily be out and about from 6pm to 6am and not get bored.” We walk through the bar district of Malasaña, whose bars are overflowing with patrons. People sit together at tables outside with a glass of Rioja, in front of another restaurant students put huge slices of pizza in their mouths. An elderly couple on their way home pass us and talk about the play they just saw. “What I love most about Madrid are the people,” says Luis. “You are so open. No matter where you come from, whether from another region of Spain or abroad, you are always welcome. That’s not the case in every city.”
Scene meeting place cinema
If Europe were a party, Madrid would be the noisy guest bursting in the door four hours late with a six-pack of beer and a boombox. He wouldn’t budge from the dance floor, chatting up all the guests and sulking when the party was over. In other cities, it takes certain norms of behavior, rules, and careful planning to make the most of the night. Madrid doesn’t care about any of that. The city is laid back, fairly low key and really just out for fun. And that’s how it should be for everyone who travels in it. At the end of the day, when the last rays of sun make their way through the arches of the Puerta de Alcalá, the metamorphosis from the highly intellectual cultural capital to the ultimate party mile begins.
“We wanted to create a place where people could have a beer and chat before going out,” explains Sara Morillo. She shows me the Sala Equis, a cinema on the outskirts of the La Latina district. It was Madrid’s last adult cinema when it closed its doors in 2015. Sara has breathed new life into it as a retro-chic cinema. “When we opened, we were accused of gentrification. But I was just trying to reinvent the past.” Those in the know arrive early in the evening to have a beer and tuck into tacos from the bar while a silent film plays on the screen. The cinema is a trendy meeting place with climbing ivy and blood-red lighting. Light boxes and sexy vintage posters hang on the unplastered walls. “The locals like to come to us,” says Sara, relieved. “And for a few euros you can see a film. Not bad, isn’t it?” Sara is in a hurry. She still has a few errands to run. As I said: the day can sometimes be tiresome in this city.
Chocolate for tired partygoers
At night, many simply drift from one location to the next. In Madrid, the what – talking, dancing, drinking – is much more important than where, when or why. However, the Chueca district is definitely one of the wos, because this is where the heart of Madrid’s nightlife beats. The traditional area of the LGBT scene now attracts a colorful mix of people: clubbers, barhoppers, families, bachelorette and bachelorette parties, drag queens, dog walkers, secretly kissing young couples and confused tourists. Across the busy Gran Vía, in the Las Letras district, there’s a bar that encapsulates all the eclectic temperament of Madrid. “We’re a taberna inusual,” Diego Cabrera, owner of Viva Madrid, tells me, “an unusual pub. We like to do our own thing.” Diego, with his graying beard and heavy Argentinian accent, pours me a media combinación, a sweet, smoky drink of vermouth and bitters. It’s one of the classics on a cocktail menu that you won’t find in conventional Spanish taverns – where beer and wine are typically served.
No matter what sins you indulge in at night: all roads inevitably lead to the Chocolatería San Ginés on the busy Puerta del Sol. Since 1894, the café has been taking care of the physical well-being of the tired and hungry at any time of the day and especially at night. Photos of famous guests hang on the green and white walls, and countless coffee cups are lined up like soldiers on the bar. Soon they’ll be filled with melted chocolate and handed out to partygoers along with a helping of churros. “Hombre, we see all kinds of people here,” one of the waitresses tells me, “tourists by day and madrileños by night. Anyone who doesn’t want to go home yet can come and eat churros.” Almost as if on cue, she rushes to the door and greets an acquaintance, who has tears rolling down her face. After lots of kisses and hugs, the girlfriend is seated at a table and served a mountain of churros and a cup of chocolate. And already her world is a little more in order.
