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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

It’s Friday again!

And while you’re still recovering from Monday’s massive, city-wide party welcoming our champions and (admit it) you’re still humming Spain’s unofficial World Cup anthem, Aitana’s Superestrella, it’s time to start planning this weekend’s activities.

• If your voice is still recovering from Sunday night, don’t worry. We’re going for something a little more relaxing this week, whether that’s discovering a new art exhibition, escaping the afternoon heat inside a museum, catching an immersive experience, or enjoying live music under the trees in El Retiro.

• Last but not least, Episode 3 of The Bubble Podcast is out! We talk about how the far-right may be part of the next national government and how to make friends in Spain. Enjoy!

Happy weekend!

1. 💃 A flamenco show that proves Spain's most famous dance can also be ridiculously funny

When people think of flamenco, they usually picture tourist traps dramatic singers, and lots of serious expressions. FlamencOh! flips that idea on its head.

• Spain’s legendary physical theatre company Yllana has taken one of the country’s most iconic art forms and transformed it into a pretty funny show that mixes live music, comedy, dance and visual theatre into something that feels both distinctly Spanish and refreshingly modern.

• Created in collaboration with London’s prestigious Sadler’s Wells Theatre, the show revisits some of flamenco’s most memorable moments while throwing in impossible choreography, absurd characters and Yllana’s trademark visual humor.

• Rather than making fun of flamenco itself, the production celebrates it, introducing audiences to its rhythms and traditions through comedy that’s accessible even if you’ve never seen a flamenco performance before. The result is a fast-paced show that constantly surprises, blending traditional music with unexpected dance styles and theatrical moments that keep the audience laughing from beginning to end.

FlamencOh! is a great option both for locals and foreigners visiting Madrid this summer.

💃 What: FlamencOh!

📍 Where: Gran Teatro CaixaBank Príncipe Pío, Cuesta de San Vicente 44, Madrid

📅 When: Through July 26

🎟 Tickets: From €28,50

2. 🎺 Catch Madrid's next generation of musicians live in El Retiro

Stop what you’re doing and grab your running shoes, literally right now because this is happening in a couple of hours. It’s one of those low-key plans that’s well worth adding to your list if you want to take it easy after a week of celebrations.

• After spending the week rehearsing alongside the musicians of Madrid’s Municipal Symphonic Band, dozens of young music students are taking to the stage for two free open-air concerts at the park’s iconic bandstand this Friday morning and afternoon.

• The performance marks the end of an intensive workshop in which aspiring musicians have worked shoulder to shoulder with members of one of Spain’s oldest and most prestigious musical ensembles, learning directly from its soloists and professional players under the direction of conductor Sergio Casas Santos.

• Today’s concert is their chance to showcase everything they’ve learned. If you’re looking for a relaxing way to spend an hour in one of Madrid’s most beautiful parks listening to classical music, it’s a perfect excuse to slow down, grab an ice cream, and sit under the trees.

🎺 What: Closing concert of the Municipal Symphonic Band Student Music Workshop

📍 Where: Templete del Parque de El Retiro, Madrid

📅 When: July 24, 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m.

🎟 Tickets: Free

3. 🖼️ One of Madrid’s newest art spaces is quietly becoming a must-visit for contemporary art lovers

If you’ve already ticked off the Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen museums, we’re offering something that’s a little more under the radar. SOLO CSV, which opened last summer, is quickly establishing itself as a hub for cutting-edge creativity, bringing together experimental installations and artists from Spain and around the world under one roof.

• The venue is led by the private art initiative SOLO, known for championing contemporary artists and emerging creative talent. Its main exhibition space, Bowman Hall, hosts a year-round program featuring both Spanish and international artists, while collaborating with galleries and institutions across the globe.

• Beyond traditional exhibitions, the center embraces digital and experimental art and research initiatives, making it a place where visitors can discover works that push well beyond the boundaries of conventional gallery spaces.

• One of its most interesting projects is Movimiento 37, an initiative designed to connect artists with new audiences by inviting galleries and private collections from around the world to showcase their work in Madrid.

The result is a constantly evolving program, meaning there’s usually something new to see every time you visit.

🖼️ What: SOLO CSV

📍 Where: Cuesta de San Vicente 36, Madrid

📅 When: Tuesday to Saturday. Check website for opening hours.

🎟 Tickets: Must book via website.

4. 🏛️ Madrid’s smartest way to survive the summer heat is back, and it involves museums, flamenco and theatre

Walking around Madrid between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. in July or August can feel like volunteering to be roasted alive, so, instead of fighting the heat, the city has come up with a much better idea. Refúgiate en la Cultura (”Take Refuge in Culture”) turns the hottest hours of the day into the perfect excuse to explore some of Madrid’s best museums and cultural venues, all while staying comfortably indoors.

• This program transforms the city into a giant cultural refuge with a packed program of activities taking place between 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

• This year’s edition introduces 21 short theatre performances as part of the new Clásicos a Refugio series, bringing Spain’s Golden Age literature to life through 20-minute performances that combine theatre, live music, poetry, improvisation and audience participation.

• There’s also a strong flamenco program, with 44 performances, workshops and demonstrations celebrating one of Spain’s most iconic art forms, alongside activities designed to introduce visitors to its history and evolution.

• The best part is that it isn’t limited to just one venue. Madrid’s biggest cultural institutions (like the Prado, Reina Sofía, Thyssen, the Royal Collections Gallery, the Archaeological Museum, Museo de Historia, Museo de San Isidro, CentroCentro and Matadero Madrid) are all taking part, alongside libraries, cinemas and other cultural spaces across the city.

• Some activities are included with your museum ticket, while many of the theatre and flamenco performances are completely free until capacity is reached.

So if the thermometer is pushing 40°C, you might as well spend those hours surrounded by masterpieces instead of melting on Gran Vía.

🏛️ What: Refúgiate en la Cultura

📍 Where: Multiple venues across Madrid

📅 When: Throughout July and August (activities generally run from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m)

🎟 Tickets: Many activities are free until full capacity (check website)

5. 🤖 Step inside Black Mirror and get murdered by your own AI assistant or something like that

We’re not sure why the people in that image look so happy. Have you guys ever seen Black Mirror? It’s the one show that makes you want to crawl under a blanket and never leave again, afraid of the dystopian nightmare that is our current timeline. But we digress.

• Madrid is hosting The Black Mirror Experience, an immersive virtual reality adventure that drops you straight into the unsettling universe of Netflix’s hit dystopian series, where technology always starts out helpful... before things go spectacularly wrong.

• The experience begins inside Phaethon Labs, a futuristic tech company that’s eager to introduce you to LifeAgent, an advanced AI assistant designed to learn everything about you, anticipate your needs, and help you make better decisions. Sounds convenient, right? Of course it does—that’s exactly how every Black Mirror episode begins.

• Together with a group of up to six people, you’ll explore the company’s facilities, solve challenges, and make decisions that shape the story as the line between reality and simulation slowly disappears. Without giving too much away, things quickly become much darker than they first appear, forcing you to answer one final question: who’s really making the decisions—you or your AI?

Running for about an hour, the experience combines virtual reality, interactive storytelling, and live-action elements to make you feel like you’ve stepped inside an episode of the show.

🕶️ What: The Black Mirror Experience

📍 Where: Espacio Delicias, Paseo de las Delicias 61, Madrid

📅 When: Wednesday through Sunday, until August 2

🎟 Tickets: €17.20

See what you’ve missed!

🍷 We had a blast at our very first Friends of The Bubble event: Wine & Ceramics in Madrid!

It was such a pleasure to finally meet so many of the subscribers and supporters who’ve been with us from the very beginning (and who turned out to be pretty talented artists, too!)

We spent the evening getting creative with clay, sharing wine, and making new friends at Senda Cerámica Studio with our teacher and host Felipe Ponce. Thank you to everyone who came along and made it such a special night. We can’t wait to do it again.

This is just the beginning. What kind of Friends of The Bubble events would you love to see next? Let us know in the comments!

📺 What to watch if you want to escape the heat this weekend…

🖥️ What: Olivia| TV Series | 2026

📍Where to watch: Disney+

❓What’s it about: The nation's most famous weatherman seeks refuge from a media storm at his estranged father's olive grove with his daughter Olivia. After 30 years of silence, reconnecting with his roots proves challenging.

🤩 Why you should watch: Because it’s perfect if you’re in the mood for a warm, easygoing family comedy about old grudges, second chances, and three generations trying to save their olive grove in Jaén. It’s predictable and occasionally too tidy, but the setting, cast, and shameless devotion to olive oil make it charming enough to carry you through six breezy episodes.

💬 English Subtitles: No.

💃🏻 Places to try this weekend…

☕️ Nolita: The brunch spot that had people lining up is now in Chamberí/Malasaña

What’s it about: One of Madrid's fastest-growing brunch spots (with three locations now!), the most recent one opening right by Malasaña. Founded by two brothers inspired by years of brunch-hopping in New York, LA, and Bali, Nolita specializes in all-day brunch built around specialty coffee, creative eggs Benedict, brioche sandwiches, French toast, and homemade matcha and chai drinks.

Why you should go: If you're serious about brunch, this is one of the hottest new places in the city. The menu is packed with comfort food favorites, there are plenty of gluten-free options, and everything is served from breakfast until closing time—meaning you don't have to wake up early to enjoy it.

Bottom line: One of Madrid's best all-day breakfast menus. Just be prepared to queue, as they don’t take reservations and the place has become popular enough to attract lines almost since day one.

Address: Calle Monteleón, 27, Madrid

🍺 The coolest place to hang out before and after Noches del Botánico

What’s it about: If you're heading to Noches del Botánico, don't make the mistake of arriving just in time for the main act. Zona Momentos Alhambra has become a festival within the festival: a laid-back outdoor space where live music, DJ sets, cold beer, and good conversation keep the atmosphere going before and after the headline concerts.

Why you should go: Part of the fun is discovering artists you probably wouldn't have seen otherwise. The lineup focuses on up-and-coming talent across a wide range of genres, with live performances and DJ sessions creating the perfect soundtrack while you relax in hammocks, grab something to eat, or sip an ice-cold Alhambra Reserva 1925.

Bottom line: One of Madrid's best summer hangouts, where great music, a relaxed atmosphere, and excellent beer make the perfect warm-up—or encore—to Noches del Botánico.

Address: Real Jardín Botánico Alfonso XIII (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), Madrid

👨🏻‍💻 Viral Memes of the Week

⚽️ We just had to relive it

🔔 Don’t forget to follow us on TikTok!

@thebubblecomSpain did it again. 🇪🇸 #spain #fifaworldcup

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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

It’s Friday again!

Well, the unthinkable has happened. The World Cup final this Sunday is Spain vs. Argentina, and Jesus Christ, we really hope Spain wins, or we can guarantee that we will never hear the end of it. Of course, may the best one win, etc, but this weekend our heart is with La Roja.

• Yes, yes. Technically, The Bubble started as a publication in Argentina (we operated there for eight years), and there will always be a special place for the albiceleste in our memories. But when forced to make a choice, we want Spain to win (besides, Argentina already has three. They should leave something for the rest.) We’re keeping our fingers crossed. Hope to see you at Cibeles this Sunday!

• Last but not least, Episode 3 of The Bubble Podcast is out! We talk about how the far-right may be part of the next national government and how to make friends in Spain. Enjoy!

Happy weekend!

1. ⚽️ Watch Spain vs. Argentina on Sunday night (and pray. Like, a lot)

This is it, people. The Grand Finale. The fate of the universe hangs in the balance with Spain and Argentina clashing on Sunday night in a historic World Cup final match. Will we get a second star? Will Argentina get its fourth and then brag about it annoyingly for decades? Unclear. One thing is certain, though: such a once-in-a-lifetime event cannot be enjoyed in the comfort of your living room.

• We live together; we die together. Air conditioners be damned, you need to leave your house on Sunday night and hold hands with a stranger as you suffer through those 90 minutes + plus two idiotic commercial breaks “hydration pauses” and one very infuriating “30-minute halftime show” featuring Shakira, Madonna, and God knows who else.

If you’re gonna suffer, better do it in public. So our recommendations are:

• Madrid Río. The city is again stepping up with giant screens at Puente del Rey, turning the riverbank into an open-air fan zone with two massive screens, placed right in the center of the bridge, so you can actually see what’s going on (a nice perk) while being surrounded by up to 15,000 people.

• Bring a flag (ideally a Spanish flag, not an Argentine flag unless you want to die get booed) and prepare to chant every time Spain gets near the goal. To trade insults with your Argentine/Spanish frenemies, here's a primer.

• Not near Madrid Río? You’ve still got the usual options: Plaza Colón (our fave with room for 20,000 people!), Rita’s, Oasiz, Retiro’s Florida Park, Movistar Arena and Autocines Madrid are all setting up big screens. If you’re looking for “I’m freaking out, please hug me” energy, we suggest Plaza Colón or Puente del Rey.

And if when we win? Well, two things: 1) Tell your boss you’re not going to the office on Monday, 2) head over to Cibeles with the rest of the country and celebrate until you pass out. See you on the other side!

🖥️ What: Spain vs Argentina (World Cup Final Match) on giant screens

📍 Where: Puente del Rey and Plaza Colón, Madrid

📅 When: July 19. Kick-off at 9:00 p.m. (arrive early)

🎟 Tickets: Free admission

2. 🎵 Free concerts, foam parties, and lots of fiestas hit Chamberí this weekend

Do you have time to think about anything other than football, aka soccer? Good! Chamberí is throwing its own little summer party this weekend with the Fiestas del Carmen, and it’s organizing free concerts with food and at least one very Spanish lineup. Never heard of them? Doesn’t matter! It’s all about the partying.

• Today is the official big start. Samantha Vallejo-Nágera kicks things off with the pregón at 8 p.m. in Plaza de Chamberí, which is basically the “okay, now the party has started” moment. Then comes The Music Show orchestra at 9 p.m., Siempre Así at 11 p.m., and DJ Mike Fajardo keeping things going from 12:45 a.m. So yes, expect Chamberí to be louder than usual.

• Saturday gets more local (and then nostalgic). The Decrolers play at 1 p.m., followed later by Grupo Grupo at 8:30 p.m. and Yacaré at 9:15 p.m. But the main event is Tam Tam Go at 10:45 p.m., for anyone (definitely not you) who enjoys a proper throwback and pretending they “just happened to know all the lyrics”. The night ends with Barce DJing from 12:30 a.m.

• Sunday is the wind-down, but not exactly quiet. Revlover, the official Revólver tribute band, plays at 8:30 p.m., and Los Inspectores close the fiestas at 10:30 p.m. with crowd-friendly covers. It sucks for all of these people because the game will be on, but… how could they know? Let’s try to support them, shall we?

• Someone please, think of the children: Sunday goes full summer mode on Calle de Fuencarral with magic and science at 11 a.m., foam parties at 12 p.m. and 1:30 p.m., plus a mini-disco musical at 12:30 p.m. So yeah, fun times for them too.

Pro tips. Go early if you’re bringing kids, check whether activities need prior registration, and remember: free neighborhood fiestas are best enjoyed with patience, comfortable shoes, and low expectations for personal space.

🖥️ What: Fiestas del Carmen de Chamberí 2026

📍 Where: Plaza de Chamberí, Centro Cultural Galileo and Calle de Fuencarral, Madrid

📅 When: July 17, 18 & 19

🎟 Tickets: Free (some activities require prior registration or ticket collection)

🍷 Create. Sip. Connect. An exclusive evening for Friends of The Bubble:

Want to get your hands dirty and explore your creativity? We’re hosting an exclusive Wine & Ceramics Night for all our subscribers, led by Senda Cerámica founder Felipe Ponce. (Our paid subscribers get priority access!)

• Forget copying a bowl from a pottery class. This evening is all about experimenting with clay, exploring your creativity, and meeting other members of The Bubble community over wine and cheese.

📍 Where: Senda Cerámica Studio, Calle Torrecilla del Leal 7, Lavapiés

📅 When: July 22, 7 p.m.

🎟️ Open to all subscribers · Paid subscribers get priority access · Limited spots · First come, first served.

To reserve your place, email social@thebubble.com.

3. 📸 Ouka Leele, the Movida and Madrid’s modern myths take over Alcalá 31

What better way to calm your nerves than an exhibit about the 80s? Sala Alcalá 31 has just opened Mitologías modernas: Ouka Leele & Co, a very Madrid exhibition about mythology and the kind of 80s creativity (including La Movida Madrileña) that made the city feel like it had no rules.

• The whole thing starts with Spanish photographer Ouka Leele. More specifically, with Rapelle toi, Barbara!, her iconic 1987 shoot at the Cibeles fountain, which somehow turned one of Madrid’s most photographed spots into a mythological stage set. From there, the show looks at how artists of the Nueva Figuración and the Movida used classical myths to make sense of a city changing very, very fast.

• And yes, the lineup is strong. There are more than 100 works by Ouka Leele, El Hortelano, Ceesepe, Carlos Franco, Sigfrido Martín Begué, Guillermo Pérez Villalta, Dis Berlin, Pablo Sycet, Carlos Alcolea, Costus, Patricia Gadea and many other names you never heard of (so you should get to know them).

• The exhibit includes paintings, photos, drawings, performance-related pieces, and a lot of that sweet spot between ancient gods, underground comics, fanzines, pop culture and post-Transition Madrid.

• The point is seeing how those artists borrowed from mythology, art history, romanticism, and street culture to build a new visual language for Madrid. Which sounds fancy, but also: it’s free, central, and indoors. A holy trinity in July.

And if you’re near Cibeles afterward, you’ll probably look at the fountain a little differently.

🖥️ What: Mitologías modernas: Ouka Leele & Co

📍 Where: Sala Alcalá 31, Calle de Alcalá, 31, Madrid

📅 When: Friday & Saturday, 11 a.m.–8:30 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.

🎟 Tickets: Free

4.💦 ‘Get wet and disarm fascism!’: Vallecas’ legendary water war ‘Batalla Naval’ is back

Madrid may not have a beach, but Vallecas has never really accepted that. This Sunday afternoon, the Batalla Naval de Vallekas is back, turning the Bulevar de Vallecas into a full-on water war with buckets, water guns, soaked T-shirts, and the eternal neighborhood demand: a seaport for Vallecas (spoiler alert: that may never happen).

• Yes, this is exactly what it sounds like. A massive street water battle that started in 1981, when a few young people at the Fiestas del Carmen decided the only reasonable response to July in Madrid was to open the hydrants and drench everyone nearby (and this was even before climate apocalypse change!).

• It’s still one of the city’s weirdest, funniest, and most genuinely local summer traditions. And it’s not just chaos with water pistols. The Batalla Naval has always mixed party energy with protest spirit, so this year they are protesting against “fascist nations” around the world.

• Organized by the Cofradía Marinera de Vallekas, the event keeps that old utopian joke alive — Vallecas as a port city — while also using the day to make a neighborhood statement.

• Sunday is the big day. The battle closes the Fiestas del Carmen in Puente de Vallecas, alongside the final party atmosphere, concerts, and fireworks with big crowds, noise and water everywhere. Trust us, you will get wet.

Wear clothes you don’t care about, protect your phone and valuables like it’s a state secret, bring water to drink as well as to throw, and don’t show up expecting a cute little splash. This is Vallecas. They commit.

🖥️ What: Batalla Naval de Vallekas 2026

📍 Where: Bulevar de Vallecas / Calle Peña Gorbea, Puente de Vallecas, Madrid

📅 When: July 19, 4:30 p.m.

🎟 Tickets: Free

5. 🖼️ The Thyssen opens late and free for your Saturday culture fix

Not sure what to do this Saturday night? The Thyssen Museum has the answer: Noches Thyssen is a Saturday night free-entry slot for temporary exhibitions, which basically turns “I’m nervous about tomorrow’s game” into a very easy win.

• The idea is simple. Every Saturday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., the museum opens its temporary exhibition rooms for free, giving you two hours of art after dinner and before pretending you had bigger night-out plans. It’s central and air-conditioned so you can’t complain.

• This Saturday’s main excuse is Carmen Laffón. The Thyssen is currently showing Carmen Laffón. Variaciones, a retrospective of the Sevillian artist’s quiet, luminous world: landscapes, domestic objects, Doñana, Sanlúcar, salt flats, soft light, and the kind of everyday scenes that somehow make you feel like you should be whispering.

• Noches Thyssen feels like a grown-up Madrid plan without requiring grown-up levels of organization. You go late, you get in free, you see something good, and you still have time for a drink after.

Book or check availability in advance, arrive before 9 p.m. if you don’t enjoy queues, and don’t treat the two-hour window like Spanish punctuality is going to help you. It closes at 11 p.m. sharp.

🖥️ What: Noches Thyssen

📍 Where: Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Paseo del Prado, 8, Madrid

📅 When: July 18, 9–11 p.m.

🎟 Tickets: Free

📺 What to watch if you are too nervous to watch the game this weekend…

🖥️ What: Miguel Ángel Blanco: The 48 Hours That Changed Spain | Documentary | 2026

📍Where to watch: Netflix

❓What’s it about: In July, 1997, the terrorist group ETA kidnapped and murdered a young Basque politician after giving the authorities 48 hours to save him. The documentary follows the frantic two days that paralyzed the country, as thousands marched demanding his release and the government refused to negotiate with the kidnappers.

🤩 Why you should watch: Because it’s a case that left a mark in Spain (ask a Spaniard what they were doing when the news broke; they all remember it) and it’s a part of Spanish history you should know. Journalist Jon Sistiaga narrates the documentary and includes statements from Blanco’s family, former PM José María Aznar and even King Felipe VI.

💬 English Subtitles: Yes.

🖥️ What: An Island Away From You | Movie | 2026

📍Where to watch: HBO Max

❓What’s it about: A heartbroken chef spends a vacation with his best friend in Gran Canaria. There he falls in love with the island, its people, its beaches, and its food - but what he didn't expect was to fall for his best friend's father.

🤩 Why you should watch: Because it's a feel-good rom-com that treats its same-sex couple's love as just... love, no conflict required, which is still rare for the genre. It also doubles as a love letter to the Canary Islands, weaving real local culture and legend into the story instead of just using it as a backdrop. If you want something warm, breezy, and a little different from the usual rom-com formula, this delivers.

💬 English Subtitles: Yes.

💃🏻 Places to try this weekend…

🇲🇽 El Bajío brings Michelin-level Mexican cooking to Madrid

What’s it about: A Salamanca outpost of El Bajío, the storied Mexican restaurant founded in Mexico City in 1972 by chef Carmen "Titita" Ramírez Degollado. This is its first European spot. It's traditional Mexican cooking done with real rigor: panuchos yucatecos, huarache con solomillo, mole Xico and empanadas de plátano macho.

Why you should go: Because it earned a spot in the Michelin Guide España 2025 within months of opening, and because Ferran and Albert Adrià have publicly admired this kitchen for years. The space itself helps, but the real draw is a menu that respects ingredients, cooking times, and generations of tradition rather than chasing trend-driven "Mexican" clichés.

Bottom line: One of the most authentic, well-regarded Mexican restaurants in Madrid, backed by serious pedigree and a genuinely warm setting.

Address: Calle Juan Bravo, 23, Madrid

☕️ Frutas Prohibidas: Where vegan brunch finally gets specialty coffee to match

What’s it about: A 100% plant-based brunch spot in Malasaña that's been running since 2016, pairing an all-day brunch menu with specialty coffee roasted in Madrid. Everything is made in-house, using mostly local, organic, and fair-trade ingredients. The kitchen stays open all day, so there's no rush to catch a "brunch window."

Why you should go: Because it manages the rare trick of being genuinely excellent on two fronts at once — the coffee (rotating beans from Spanish roasters, a confident flat white, an espresso with real body) and the food (creative, fully vegan dishes like the "huevos benedictinos," pulled pork sandos, and açaí bowls).

Bottom line: A standout for anyone who wants specialty coffee and serious plant-based cooking in the same sitting, without either one feeling like an afterthought.

Address: Calle del Conde Duque, 26, Madrid

👨🏻‍💻 Viral Memes of the Week

🤫 Wait, how are the 90s the "good old days"?

👋 Neighbors!

🔔 Don’t forget to follow us on TikTok!

@thebubblecomTwo very different Pedro Sánchezs. Interview with political scientist Pablo Simón on The Bubble Podcast. #Spain #PedroSanchez #psoe #noticias

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If you’re not following us on TikTok yet, you’re missing out. We’re posting exclusive content with our collaborators across Spain, breaking news updates, and pop culture coverage. Click on the post above and come hang with us!

🙏 Once again, please remember to share this newsletter with your friends on social media. The more we grow, the more information we’ll be able to offer each week.

🇪🇸 The Bubble is Spain's #1 English-language, bestselling newsletter. We offer paid subscriptions, and we’d be thrilled to have your support!

Become a paid or free subscriber

Here Are 6 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

It’s Friday again!

Look alive, people! Spain is one game away from the World Cup semis, and the city is turning into a big, slightly anxious watch party today. On top of that, Mad Cool is taking over Villaverde with one of its strongest lineups in years. And when you need to refuel? We’ve found you spots that actually deliver. Just scroll down.

• Last but not least, Episode 2 of The Bubble Podcast is out! We talk about true crime (maybe), how to enjoy this summer’s verbenas, and mistakes foreigners make when moving to Spain.

Happy weekend!

1. ⚽️ Watch Spain vs. Belgium tonight (and root for La Roja, duh)

Alright, everyone. Spain is through to the World Cup quarter-finals after knocking out Portugal — and now shit is getting real comes a proper test: Belgium. Madrid is turning into a collective living room this evening, and it will be loud and hot. Have a few cold beers ready to calm your anxiety, and if you want the full emotional breakdown experience, skip the sofa and go outside.

• Madrid Río is again stepping up with giant screens at Puente del Rey, turning the riverbank into an open-air fan zone and adding two massive screens this time, placed right in the center of the bridge, so you can actually see what’s going on (a nice perk) while being surrounded by thousands of fans.

• Bring a flag (ideally a Spanish flag, unless you want to die get booed) and prepare to chant every time Spain gets near the goal.

• Not near Madrid Río? You’ve still got the usual options: Plaza Colón (our fave!), Rita’s, Oasiz, and Autocines Madrid are all setting up big screens. If you’re looking for “I’m freaking out, please hug me” energy, we suggest Plaza Colón or Puente del Rey.

Remember to light up a candle for la virgencita tonight. We’re getting close.

🖥️ What: Spain vs Belgium (World Cup quarter-final) on giant screens

📍 Where: Puente del Rey and Plaza Colón, Madrid

📅 When: July 10. Kick-off at 9:00 p.m. (arrive early)

🎟 Tickets: Free admission

2. 🎸 Mad Cool Festival takes over Madrid

Not into the football madness? Fret now, fellow weirdo… Mad Cool (aka Madrid’s coolest music festival of the year) is back for its 10th anniversary, and the city turns into a four-day music marathon this week (but let’s be honest, you’re reading this on Friday morning, so this is all about what’s happening tonight and tomorrow).

• Friday is packed with cool artists. You’ve got Twenty One Pilots and Kings of Leon headlining, which already guarantees a packed crowd screaming every lyric like it’s 2013 again. But the real problem? The clashes. Pixies, Halsey, Interpol, even A Perfect Circle — at some point, you will miss something you wanted to see, and you will complain about it later. Consider it part of the experience.

• Saturday, though, is when things get even cooler, darker, and more iconic. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds are closing the whole thing, and if you’ve ever seen him live, you know this is more than just “a concert”. Add Pulp, The Black Crowes, Kasabian, and David Byrne, and you’ve got a lineup that looks great on the ‘gram.

Mad Cool is known for multiple reasons: the dust, overpriced beers, long walks between stages, and seeing your favorite band at 7:30 p.m. while waiting for someone else.

• Pro tips. Wear comfortable shoes, pick your non-negotiables in advance, and accept that everything else is improvisation.

🖥️ What: Mad Cool Festival 2026

📍 Where: Iberdrola Music, Calle Laguna Dalga and Avenida Real de Pinto Villaverde, Madrid

📅 When: July 10 & 11

🎟 Tickets: From €89 (day pass) — still available online

3. 🏺 Meet the artists shaping Madrid’s contemporary ceramics scene.

If your mental image of Spanish ceramics is a blue-and-white plate with “Madrid” written across it… this is your chance to completely reset it.

For one evening only, Senda Cerámica Studio is opening its doors for a pop-up exhibition that offers a glimpse into Madrid’s creative community. Established artists, emerging creators, and students will all be exhibiting together, surrounded by sculptural lighting, contemporary ceramics, flowers, music, and a glass of wine rather than a museum where you’re afraid to breathe too loudly.

• Felipe Ponce, the Chilean artist behind Senda Cerámica, presents a collection of lamps and sculptures inspired by the Atacama Desert, weathered minerals, and objects that look as though they’ve been unearthed after centuries underground. His work deliberately embraces cracks, erosion, and imperfection, turning brand-new clay into pieces that already feel full of history.

• This is where Madrid’s creative community comes together. Alongside Felipe’s work, you’ll find paintings by Isabel Moltó, a floral installation by Carlos Domínguez, bites by chef María Granda, music from DJ Zalo Gálvez, and sculptures by Senda Studio’s students — architects, designers, creatives, and first-time ceramicists learning to work with clay side by side.

• Unlike most exhibitions, you can actually take a piece home. Everything on display is available to buy, from Felipe’s sculptural lamps to one-of-a-kind ceramic works created by the artists and the studio’s community. So whether you’re looking for something unique for your apartment or simply an excuse to discover one of Lavapiés’ most creative corners, this is a pretty good way to spend a Friday evening.

Some of Madrid’s best creative events aren’t the ones with queues around the block — they’re the ones where you leave having met the artist.

🖥️ What: Senda Cerámica Studio - Pop-up exhibition & contemporary ceramics showcase

📍 Where: Casa Madre, Calle Esperanza 5, Lavapiés

📅 When: Saturday, July 11, 7 p.m. – 11 p.m.

🎟️ Tickets: Free admission

🍷 Create. Sip. Connect. An exclusive evening for Friends of The Bubble:

Want to get your hands dirty and explore your creativity? We’re hosting an exclusive Wine & Ceramics Night for paid subscribers, led by Senda Cerámica founder Felipe Ponce.

• Forget copying a bowl from a pottery class. This evening is all about experimenting with clay, exploring your creativity, and meeting other members of The Bubble community over wine and cheese.

📍 Where: Senda Cerámica Studio, Calle Torrecilla del Leal 7, Lavapiés

📅 When: July 22, 7 p.m.

🎟️ Paid subscribers only · Limited spots · First come, first served.

To reserve your place, email social@thebubble.com.

4.🎺 Whatever: Old-school jazz, Madrid-style (and it’s free)

If your idea of a perfect Friday isn’t a sweaty festival crowd but something a little cooler (literally and culturally), this one’s for you. Whatever Jazz Band is bringing their proper 1920s jazz energy to Madrid, to remind you of New Orleans, Chicago, smoky bars, and what good music is supposed to sound like.

• Before you ask, this isn’t a “modern jazz with a twist” situation. These guys are fully committed to the classics: Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Johnny Dodds. These guys not only play the kind of music that built everything that came after, but they also recreate it in the same style, same arrangements, and same vibe.

• The band is a mix of international musicians based in Madrid, all deep into traditional jazz, with backgrounds in different swing and dixieland projects (which means they know what they are doing). They play trumpet, clarinet, and banjo, which makes them sound like the kind of band that no longer exists (they do).

Oh, and good news: it’s outdoors; it’s free. Don’t miss it. You’ll likely go there for 15 minutes and stay there all night.

🖥️ What: Whatever Jazz Band (Dixieland)

📍 Where: Avenida del Presidente Carmona, 3, Madrid

📅 When: July 10, 9 p.m.

🎟 Tickets: Free

5. 🎭 Las Que Gritan is a play about family therapy and what happens when it goes wrong

Have you managed to polish your Spanish yet? Because honestly, it’s time you started going to a play here. Especially because this one feels a bit too real (but still funny enough to handle). Las que gritan, at Teatro Maravillas, might hit closer to home than you’d like.

• The premise is simple. A mother decides to organize a weekend getaway with her three daughters so they can reconnect, talk things through, and, you know, get along. Except it all goes very wrong.

• What follows is a full emotional unpacking disguised as a comedy. Old tensions resurface, things that were never said finally come out, and suddenly this wholesome family retreat turns into absolute drama.

• The tone jumps all over the place — one minute it’s genuinely funny, the next it’s brutal, then it’s surreal, in an effort to reflect what family dynamics are actually like: messy and unpredictable.

Also worth noting: the cast is stacked, and the staging leans more experimental than your typical commercial comedy, so expect something a bit sharper than your average night at the theater.

🎭 What: Las que Gritan

📍 Where: Teatro Maravillas, Calle Manuela Malasaña 6, Madrid

📅 When: Through Aug. 30

🎟 Tickets: From €22

6. 🇵🇷 A colorful deep dive into Puerto Rico’s identity, pop culture, and its complicated relationship with the U.S.

Looking for something a bit more… intellectual (but still super-fun)? This one’s worth your time. Casa de América is hosting a new exhibition by Puerto Rican artist Bernardo Medina, and it’s 100% worth visiting.

• This exhibit plays with a very specific tension: Puerto Rico and the U.S. Not in a textbook way, but through irony, symbolism, and a lot of pop culture references that work on multiple levels. You’ll walk in thinking “this looks cool” and walk out quietly questioning history, identity, and the concept of cultural influence.

• You’ll see plátanos turned into cultural symbols, reworked Campbell’s soup cans (yes, Goya beans), and even traditional toy horses. Medina calls his style “jíbaro pop” (basically Caribbean pop art), and he mixes identity, politics, and culture into something that feels light on the surface but isn’t really.

Go, wander, think a bit, then grab a drink nearby and keep thinking about what you just saw.

🖥️ What: Bernardo Medina “Tengo un Coco Contigo” Exhibition

📍 Where: Casa de América, Plaza de Cibeles 2, Madrid

📅 When:Through Sept. 30

🎟 Tickets: Free admission

📺 What to watch if you are staying in this weekend…

🖥️ What: Torrente for President (Torrente Presidente) | Movie | 2026

📍Where to watch: Netflix

❓What’s it about: The sixth installment of a satirical comedy that pokes fun at Spanish social and political stereotypes, featuring parodies of real events and special guest appearances from the political sphere. Torrente is the typical racist, homophobic, misogynist “cuñao” who is suddenly tapped by far-right party “Nox” (lol) to run for office. Hilarity ensures.

🤩 Why you should watch: Because it’s the perfect movie for those who follow Spanish politics and will get every single joke related to the current scandals affecting Vox, PSOE, PP and all the others. It includes multiple cameos from Spanish politicians, celebrities, journalists, a former Spanish PM (seriously), and even Alec Baldwin and Kevin Spacey (no, seriously).

💬 English Subtitles: Yes. (If you’re easily offended, skip this one).

💃🏻 Places to try this weekend…

🦉 Gallobúho: Coffee by day, cocktails by night — and somehow both actually work

What’s it about: A hybrid café-bar in Madrid that pulls off the rare trick of being genuinely good at both. By day, Gallobúho leans into brunch territory (croissants, cinnamon rolls, yogurt bowls, solid toasts). By night, it flips into a proper bar menu with croquetas, jamón ibérico, mini burgers, and a full spread of shareable plates.

Why you should go: Because the morning menu is tight and actually appealing (the Nordic sandwich with salmon and egg is a standout, and the smoothies are legit), while the evening offering goes beyond basic bar food — there’s brioche de chipirón, and even a 600g entrecôte if you’re going all in.

Bottom line: A rare all-day spot that doesn’t feel like a compromise. Come for brunch, stay for drinks, or just pick your side. Either way, it delivers.

Address: Plaza de las Salesas 7, Madrid

☕️ Urbano: Where Madrid’s coffee snobs actually agree

What’s it about: A proper specialty coffee spot that takes its beans seriously, working with high-quality coffees from places like Colombia and Myanmar, and pairing them with homemade pastries from Sucre that are just as much of a draw as the coffee itself.

Why you should go: Because the coffee menu goes beyond your standard latte (cold brews, filter coffee, pistachio cappuccinos if you’re feeling adventurous), and the sweet side delivers — think almond flour orange cakes or dulce de leche + pistachio combos.

Bottom line: It’s just a very good café that does everything right.

Address: Calle de Santa Bárbara, 8, Madrid

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Here Are 7 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

It’s Friday again!

And we have quite an explosive weekend ahead of us. It’s Madrid Pride, of course (and honestly, that should be more than enough), but if you need more, you have more! Katy Perry, the Offspring, and Garbage are in town.

• Plus, it’s the 4th of July! An important date for everyone as it’s another anniversary of the Battle of Mantinea, part of the Theban-Spartan war that took place like a million years ago.

• It’s also 30 years since the release of Independence Day, a movie about misunderstood aliens who come to visit our planet and the whole thing becomes an inconvenience. What a time to be alive!

• Last but not least, Episode 2 of The Bubble Podcast is out! We talk about true crime (maybe), how to enjoy this summer’s verbenas, and mistakes foreigners make when moving to Spain.

Happy Pride weekend!

1. 🌈 Madrid Pride returns with Europe’s biggest LGBTQ+ celebration

Ready for the biggest party of the year? You better be! More than a million people are expected to descend on Madrid this weekend as Madrid Pride (MADO) reaches its climax with three days of free concerts, drag shows, street parties, political activism and the iconic Pride March that has made it Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ celebration.

• While Chueca has been buzzing with events since late June (Pride Week started on the 25th), this is the weekend when the city truly comes alive. Four outdoor stages (Plaza de las Reinas, Pedro Zerolo, Sol and Plaza de España) host dozens of artists, thousands pack the streets around Gran Vía and Plaza de España, and rainbow flags transform the centre of Madrid into one giant open-air festival. It’s basically a Vox voter’s worst nightmare.

• This year’s edition carries an especially political message. Under the slogan “Orgullo Ciudadano” (“Citizen Pride”), organizers say the festival is not only a celebration of diversity but also a defense of democracy and civil rights, arguing that rising hate speech and attacks against LGBTQ+ people make this year’s march more important than ever.

Friday: Politics by day, partying by night.

• This morning begins with the Madrid Summit 2026, an international conference on LGBTQ+ human rights held at the offices of the European Parliament and European Commission in Madrid.

• The program features discussions on trans rights, migration, historical memory and the role of sport in inclusion, bringing together activists, policymakers and civil society organisations from across Europe. It runs from 9:30 a,m. until 6 p.m.

• By evening, the streets shift into celebration mode. The main stage at Plaza de España hosts the 19th Mr Gay España Gala, one of Pride’s flagship events, combining live performances with messages promoting equality and visibility. (And yes, the guys are hot, but don’t be frivolous!)

• Puerta del Sol becomes the city’s urban music hub with Proud Bling!, featuring artists including Bea Pelea, Naiara, Albany, Ouineta, Bella Kanela and DeArco, before the party continues well into the early hours with DJs and the ChaCha Sound System queer rave.

• If you’re in Chueca, Plaza de las Reinas (aka Plaza del Rey) showcases artists including Blanca Paloma, Pamela Rodríguez and Melani Santiler, while Plaza Pedro Zerolo hosts drag performances, comedy and variety shows that keep the neighborhood buzzing late into the night.

Saturday: The big day (March + Parade)

Saturday is the day Madrid Pride becomes one of the largest public gatherings on the continent. At 7 p.m., the Pride March + Parade sets off from Glorieta de Carlos V (by the Atocha station) before making its way north to Plaza de Colón in Salamanca, where organizers will read this year’s manifesto.

• This is the event to experience, even if you’ve never attended Pride before. Hundreds of organizations, associations, activists, international visitors, and elaborately decorated floats fill Paseo del Prado, Cibeles, and Paseo de Recoletos in a colourful procession that stretches for hours. Once the march reaches Colón, the celebrations continue across central Madrid.

• At Plaza de España, Orgullo Latino takes over the main stage with a star-studded line-up that includes Lali, Mon Laferte, Kany García, Monsieur Periné, Lucía Pérez, Yadam, Vicco, Natalia and many more.

• Over in Puerta del Sol, the night leans towards electronic music, with sets from Tokischa, Lesbianette, ØTTA, Hexboyfriend, and several international DJs.

• Chueca’s stages remain equally lively, with drag shows in Pedro Zerolo Square and concerts in Plaza de las Reinas, where performers include Nuria Fergó and Mariana Ochoa.

• 🚨 Important: Bring water and don’t expect the buses (aka floats) to appear before 9:30 p.m. So if you head over to Cibeles around 7 p.m., it will be hot, and you'd better be patient.

Sunday: One final celebration

If Saturday is the biggest party, Sunday is the time to hug, cry and say goodbye to the people you hooked up with, followed on Instagram and will never talk to again new friends you’ve made.

• The Closing Gala at Plaza de España brings together artists, organizers and special guests to officially close MADO 2026 after 10 days of celebrations. It’s a more relaxed atmosphere than on Saturday but still attracts thousands of people for one last evening of live music and performances.

• Concerts continue elsewhere too. Plaza de las Reinas hosts performances from Alba Morena, Lucía de la Puerta, Melani, Lara Taylor, Siria Malo and closes with Ptazeta, while Chueca’s bars and terraces remain packed throughout the afternoon before the city gradually winds down.

• If you’re not quite ready for Pride to end, the wider Muestra T cultural festival continues until 20 July, offering LGBTQ+ cinema, theatre, exhibitions and family activities across Madrid.

Download the official program here!

🖥️ What: Madrid Pride Weekend (MADO)

📍 Where: All around downtown Madrid

📅 When: July 3–5

🎟 Tickets: Official concerts, stages and the Pride March are free to attend.

2. 🎸 Katy Perry, The Offspring, and Bomba Estéreo arrive for Festival Rio Babel

Skipping Madrid Pride this year? Afraid of big crowds? Hate standing in the sun for hours? Well, we have another option for you. You will sweat, but at least you’ll have a beer in hand and a lineup that jumps from EMD to Latin beats to full-blown pop superstardom. In other words, it is literally just like Pride, but you have to pay for this one.

• Welcome to Festival Río Babel, the city’s most eclectic summer festival, which is back this weekend with one of its strongest lineups yet! Río Babel mixes things that don’t usually share a stage: Spanish indie, Latin American heavyweights, and global acts all thrown into one big music event.

• You’ll go from vibing to cumbia or reggae to suddenly screaming along to Last Friday Night.

• Friday leans more local and alternative, with Amaia (in her only Madrid show), La M.O.D.A., Chambao celebrating 25 years, and La Pegatina bringing the party energy.

• Saturday turns things up a notch with The Offspring and Molotov leading a louder lineup.

• On Sunday, things go full madness: Katy Perry (yes, her only concert in Spain this year), Bomba Estéreo, and La Casa Azul closing things out with what will almost certainly feel like a giant collective dance floor.

It’s a proper festival setup with food trucks, drinks and people wandering between stages. It’s less polished than some of the bigger European festivals, but honestly, who cares? If you’re looking for a perfectly curated experience, this isn’t it.

But if you want a weekend with the stars, this is definitely it.

🖥️ What: Festival Río Babel 2026

📍 Where: Auditorio Miguel Ríos, P.º Alicia Alonso, s/n, Rivas-Vaciamadrid

📅 When: July 3–5

🎟 Tickets: Check website

3. 🎭 A Royal Mess on Stage

Yes, yes. We know. Theater about 19th-century Spanish politics doesn’t exactly scream “I fully understand what’s happening.” But if you don’t learn about this country’s history, how do you expect to integrate? Unless you’re here for Pride and are hoping to find true love. In that case, skip this one entirely.

• Farsa y licencia de la reina castiza is a savage satire of Spain under Queen Isabel II by dramatist Ramón del Valle-Inclán, where politics, monarchy, and society collapse into one big grotesque carnival.

• This play has everything: corrupt elites, ridiculous power dynamics, and a whole lot of hypocrisy, just like our current horrendous timeline! And it’s all filtered through Valle-Inclán’s signature esperpento, where everything is exaggerated just enough to feel… a bit too real.

• If you’re into dark humor and biting political commentary, this is very much your thing. Director Ana Zamora’s adaptation leans into mixing historical events with theatrical absurdity to create something that feels both old-school and weirdly current.

• The result is fast-paced and visually playful, making you laugh and then immediately wonder if you should be laughing because it reminds you of your Twitter feed.

Yes, it’s set in the 1800s, but it feels like 2026.

🖥️ What: Farsa y licencia de la reina castiza

📍 Where: Teatro Español, Calle del Príncipe 25, Madrid

📅 When: Through July 26 (Tuesday to Sunday)

🎟 Tickets start at €18

4. 🌴 Yann Gross’ Drift: an exhibition that will change how you see nature

Oooohhhh… an exhibit about plants! We know. It doesn’t exactly sound like your go-to weekend plan. But Drift isn’t really about plants. It’s about deeper stuff… like power, history, and how something as innocent-looking as a palm tree can tell a much darker story.

• Swiss artist Yann Gross takes the humble palm — that universal symbol of vacations, wealth, and “good vibes” — and flips it on its head. Through photography, installations, and a multi-screen video setup, the exhibition explores how plants have been moved across the world for centuries, often tied to colonial expansion, economic exploitation, and the reshaping of entire landscapes.

• At the center of it all is the Wardian case — a 19th-century glass box that made it possible to transport plants across continents. Sounds harmless, but trust us, it wasn’t. It helped fuel global trade networks and colonial economies, turning nature into something that could be packaged, shipped, and monetized.

• Gross uses this as a starting point to ask a bigger question: what do our landscapes actually say about how the world works?

The result is immersive and very much in line with La Casa Encendida’s vibe. An exhibit where you walk in expecting something chill and leave questioning palm trees, globalization, and your last beach holiday.

🖥️ What: Drift by Yann Gross

📍 Where: La Casa Encendida, Ronda de Valencia, 2, Madrid

📅 When: Through July 26

🎟 Free admission

5.🗑️ Garbage is here to lighten up your post-Pride Sunday

Nostalgia concerts can go either way. But when it’s Garbage, it’s less about nostalgia and more about how many absolute bangers you forgot they had. Fronted by Shirley Manson (who will never not be cool), Garbage helped define the sound of the late ’90s by blending alternative rock, electronic beats, and just enough pop to make everything stick.

• Songs like Only Happy When It Rains, Stupid Girl, and I Think I’m Paranoid still hit — and yes, you will know more lyrics than you expect. And don’t even get us started on the amazing Bond theme The World Is Not Enough from 1999.

• This isn’t just a greatest hits set, though. The band is still putting out new music (their latest album dropped in 2025), and they’ve built a reputation for evolving without losing what made them stand out in the first place. So expect a mix of old songs and newer material that proves they’re not just coasting on legacy.

• And btw, the Noches del Botánico is easily one of Madrid’s best summer concert series (an open-air stage surrounded by trees, warm night air, and a crowd that’s there to actually listen (and drink, obvi).

If you need a break after partying all weekend with the LGBTs, this may be your best choice.

🖥️ What: Garbage at Noches del Botánico

📍 Where: Real Jardín Botánico Alfonso XIII (Complutense), Madrid

📅 When: July 5, 10 p.m.

🎟 Tickets: Check website (and hurry, there aren’t many left)

6. 🇺🇸 4th of July in Madrid: Stars, Stripes & Rooftop Drinks

The 4th of July is around the corner, and even though the 🍊 Menace is destroying the reputation of what was once the beacon of freedom, it’s only natural that some Americans living in Madrid may be feeling a little nostalgic this weekend (and non-Americans just want another excuse to party). Well… good news.

• The American Club of Madrid is throwing a full-blown Independence Day celebration today, and yes, it’s exactly what you would expect: flags, drinks, music and (hopefully?) tons of burgers.

• The event takes place at Talent Garden, a rooftop space that mixes indoor areas with AC and outdoor areas with, well, the sun (it’s Madrid in July — what did you expect?)

• There will be music and games mixing all sorts of people, locals, and a national holiday that’s basically an excuse to party. Oh, and it’s also a pretty family-friendly setup.

Prices are on the higher side if you’re not a member, but you’re paying for the setting and the atmosphere as much as anything else. And if you’ve ever wondered what an American-style 4th of July looks like in Madrid, this is probably as close as it gets. Happy fourth (on the third)!

🖥️ What: Independence Day Rooftop Party (American Club of Madrid)

📍 Where: Talent Garden, Calle Juan de Mariana 15, Madrid

📅 When: July 3

🎟 Tickets: €65 (non-members), €55 (members), €35 (kids 6–14), free for kids under 5

7. 🛍️ The Salesas Festival & Street Market is back, and it’s a great place before brunch

Remember when the gals in Sex and the City would go shopping and then brunch at some cool NYC restaurant (before the show was problematic)? Those were the days, amirite? So why not replicate that by going to a cute street market à la Notting Hill with your friends and, for a fleeting moment, forget about the impending doom heading our way thanks to the combination of rogue AI and sociopathic tech bros?

• The Festival Street Market in the Salesas neighborhood (north of the Chueca) is back! The festival usually takes place on the first Saturday of every month, and, just between us squirrels, it will probably be full of curious gays browsing and shopping for some cool design product they can take back to their West Hollywood apartment to claim they, too, partook in Madrid Pride. (Trust us, Grindr is about to experience a user spike not seen since the last Republican convention).

• But we digress! This self-described “crazy, cosmopolitan and unique” street market is a place where you can buy modern art, listen to cool music, try on some hipster hand-made clothes and sample chocolate from Papua New Guinea.

• Artisans, fashion designers, bartenders, and poets are all mixed together here. And the best part is, once you’ve made your purchase (trust us, you will), the area is filled with cool cafés and restaurants in the area where you can sit down and cruise hang out.

Check their official website for more information on what to expect.

🖥️ What: The Festival Street Market

📍 Where: Near the Alonso Martínez metro station

📅 When: July 4, 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

🎟 Tickets: Free admission.

📺 What to watch if you hate football and big crowds are staying in this weekend…

🖥️ What: Kraken: The Black Book of Hours (Kraken: El Libro Negro de las Horas) | TV Series | 2026

📍Where to watch: Prime Video

❓What’s it about: A crime thriller series based on the bestselling novel The Black Book of Hours by Eva García Sáenz de Urturi. A former inspector of the Basque police receives a terrifying call: he has seven days to find an ancient and valuable book or his mother dies. The problem? His mother has been dead for forty years.

🤩 Why you should watch: Because the story hooks you immediately with strong performances, a moody visual style, and a mystery that blends family secrets, rare books, historical intrigue, and a race against the clock. It’s the kind of binge-worthy crime drama that gives its twists and characters enough room to breathe.

💬 English Subtitles: Yes.

💃🏻 Places to try this weekend…

🍕 Pizzeria Baldoria: What world-class pizza looks like

What’s it about: A top-tier Neapolitan pizzeria that’s quietly become one of the best in Europe — literally. Baldoria, led by Ciro Cristiano, just ranked as the #2 pizzeria in Europe (again) according to the 50 Top Pizza guide, and it’s holding the crown as the best in Spain.

Why you should go: Because this isn’t hype. In a city flooded with decent pizzas, Baldoria plays in a different league with its perfectly blistered crusts, high-quality Italian ingredients, and that ideal balance between chew and crunch that most places never quite get right.

Bottom line: If you’re even remotely into pizza, this is a must. One of Europe’s best, sitting right here in Madrid — and yes, it lives up to it.

Address: Calle de José Ortega y Gasset, 100, Madrid

🍽️ Urruti: Escape Madrid without leaving it

What’s it about: A hidden terrace just 10 minutes from Chamartín that feels nothing like Madrid. Urruti Madrid is an intimate outdoor space surrounded by its own vegetable gardens, where the menu is literally built from what’s growing a few meters away.

Why you should go: Because this is as close as you’ll get to a countryside dining experience without leaving the city. The experience actually starts in the garden, with an aperitif among the crops, before moving into a 15-dish menu driven by whatever’s in season (sardines, piparras, zucchini flowers, and properly sourced seafood).

Bottom line: Quiet, seasonal, and genuinely different — but you’ll need to book ahead.

Address: Gran Vía de Hortaleza 46S, Madrid,

👨🏻‍💻 Viral Memes of the Week

🔥 Sooooo hooooooootttttt…..

⚽️ Can you spot the differences?

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@thebubblecomOk, but did he do it? 👀
 The death of Mango founder Isak Andic is back under scrutiny after his son Jonathan Andic was arrested in the case. Listen to the full story on The Bubble podcast.

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Here Are 6 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

It’s Friday again!

And nothing says “World Cup excitement” like setting an alarm for 1:55 a.m. and questioning every life decision that led you there. Spain plays Uruguay tonight, and yes, we will all watch it. Sleep? Optional. Regret? Guaranteed. Celebrating a potential win by Spain at 4:30 a.m.? We guess.

• Of course, you could always go out with your friends for a fun night of drinks and then get home inebriated just in time to see Lamine Jamal score, but that’s up to you.

• So yeah, this weekend is basically a test of endurance: late-night football, early-morning regret, and somehow still finding the energy to go out and enjoy everything else Madrid is throwing at you.

• Open-air cinemas, piano concerts, zarzuela, exhibitions, and whatever early glittery activities Pride week brings, staying in is simply not an option. Sleep is temporary. This weekend isn’t. (Although remember to save your energy for Pride Weekend next week. Now that’s intense).

• Last but not least, Episode 2 of The Bubble Podcast is out! We talk true crime (maybe), how to enjoy this summer’s verbenas, and mistakes foreigners make when moving to Spain.

Thank you and happy weekend!

Happy weekend!

1. 🎹 This weekend, just follow the sound of a piano

If you thought Madrid couldn’t get any more extra in summer (Pride Week has officially just started, after all), here’s the city turning itself into one giant piano concert.

Piano City Madrid is back for its fifth edition, and for three days straight, you’ll find pianos (and very talented people playing them) scattered across some of the city’s most iconic and unexpected locations.

• There will be 50 free concerts across venues like CentroCentro, Condeduque, Matadero, Serrería Belga, and even places like Hospital La Paz or boutique spaces around La Latina.

• The program is… pretty eclectic: one second it’s Chopin and Bach, the next it’s jazz, flamenco, electronic sets, or ambient piano sessions. Classy stuff!

• The festival was created by German pianist Andreas Kern and has already taken over cities like Milan and Naples, but Madrid has fully embraced the concept.

Best part? It’s completely free. So you can build your own musical itinerary: start with a classical set in CentroCentro, catch some jazz in Condeduque, and end the night with something experimental in Matadero. Or just wander around and let a piano find you. Whatever you decide, make sure you check the official program!

🖥️ What: Piano City Madrid 2026

📍 Where: Multiple locations across Madrid

📅 When: June 26–28

🎟 Tickets: Free (although some venues require registration)

2. 🍷 Cénate Las Ventas: the only time you’ll go to a bullring for the food first

We know. Bullfighting isn’t exactly everyone’s thing (definitely not our thing), but if you’re curious (or just here for the food), this might be your moment. Las Ventas is once again hosting Cénate Las Ventas, a summer series that mixes nighttime bullfights with a full-blown food market showcasing some of Madrid’s best local products.

• The concept is pretty simple. On Thursday evenings, you show up early, grab a drink, and wander through stalls featuring wines from Madrid, cured meats, cheeses, and other “M Producto Certificado” specialties — basically a curated snapshot of the region’s food scene. It all takes place in the upper terraces of the bullring, which, at sunset, feels more like a summer rooftop and less like a bloody historic arena.

• Then, at 9 p.m., the novilladas kick off — a series of nighttime bullfights featuring young matadors, building up to a final on July 23. You can stay for the full spectacle or just soak up the pre-show atmosphere and then get the hell out; that’s up to you.

• A lot of people, frankly, are there for the social part: drinks, food, and that magical hour when the sun sets in the Madrid summer. (You missed the first one last night, but if you’re interested, you can try next week).

Doors open at 8 p.m., giving you plenty of time to eat (and drink) before anything starts. And the market stays open until 1:30 a.m., which tells you everything you need to know about what the real main event is for most attendees.

🖥️ What: Cénate Las Ventas (food market + night bullfighting series)

📍 Where: Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas, Calle de Alcalá 237, Madrid

📅 When: Thursdays through July 23 (8 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.)

🎟 Tickets start at €6 (check website)

3. 📸 The exhibition uncovering America’s forgotten Latino history

When you think of the Great Depression in the U.S., this iconic photo probably comes to mind. What you probably don’t know is that many more were taken by a diverse group of talented photographers featuring Latinos that didn’t get the same kind of attention. Fortunately, you can now see some of them (and their protagonists) right here in Madrid.

• Casa de América is hosting American Latinos 1935–1945, a powerful and moving exhibition that tells the story of Hispanic communities in the U.S. — long before the term “Latino” was a thing.

• The show brings together nearly 300 photographs from the U.S. Library of Congress, capturing everyday life across the 1930s and 1940s — from Spanish families in New Mexico to Mexican farmworkers in California and Basque shepherds in Idaho.

• It’s a beautiful history lesson and a reminder that despite the current racial tensions, the Hispanic footprint in the U.S. runs way deeper than most people think.

• The exhibit is curated by filmmaker Alberto Ferreras (who directed HBO’s Habla), and mixes photography with music and narrative to create a genuinely immersive experience.

With legendary names like Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans, documentary legends behind the lens, this is one of those exhibits that actually sticks with you. Don’t miss it.

🖥️ What: American Latinos: 1935–1945 Photography Exhibition

📍 Where: Galería Casa de América, Calle de Marqués del Duero 2, Madrid

📅 When: Through September 30

🎟 Tickets: Free admission

4. 🎭 Madrid brings back zarzuela (and a 19th-century drama) for summer nights

Rejoice! Madrid is getting a healthy dose of drama and live music this summer, as the Fernán Gómez Cultural Center launches Estivales, a new cycle dedicated to zarzuela (aka Spanish comedic opera-ish) and musical theatre.

• The opening act, Zarzuela en la Villa (through July 5), is a slightly cheeky celebration of the genre’s greatest hits in which zarzuela and copla are reimagined with humor, live musicians, and a hilarious cast that manages to bring the genre back to life.

• From July 9 to 19, things take a darker, more dramatic turn when El trovador lands in the main hall (a full-blown romantic tragedy about love, jealousy, and revenge, performed with live music and blending prose and verse.

• The twist? This is the original Spanish work that inspired Verdi’s Il trovatore, now revived nearly 190 years later with its original musical elements restored. Consider it cultural justice.

If you’re looking for comedy or drama, this cycle gives you both, in one of Madrid’s most iconic cultural venues.

🖥️ What: Estivales en el Fernán Gómez (Zarzuela & live music)

📍 Where: Fernán Gómez Centro Cultural de la Villa, Plaza de Colón 4, Madrid

📅 When: Through July 19

🎟 Tickets start at €22

5.🍿 ‘Here’s some money, go see a Star War’: Your summer movie plan starts here

Look, we’ll be honest — it probably doesn’t get any more authentic Spanish experience than this. If your idea of a perfect summer night involves a dubbed movie, a cold tinto de verano, and zero air conditioning, Madrid’s most iconic open-air cinema is back.

• Cine de Verano de La Bombilla returns for its 42nd edition, turning Parque de la Bombilla into a go-to outdoor movie spot all summer long, where you’ll probably be joined by grandmothers wearing flowery dresses and tweens running around.

• This weekend’s lineup is stacked. Tonight, you get Michael — the big-screen biopic of one of the most influential pop icons ever — paired with Reminders of Him for a more emotional, slower-burn vibe.

• Saturday leans more blockbuster: The Mandalorian & Grogu brings the Star Wars universe outdoors, followed by Bugonia, Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest weird (and brilliant) sci-fi comedy with Emma Stone.

And that’s just the start. The full program runs through September with everything from Oscar contenders to cult classics (The Goonies, Volver), plus animation and Spanish cinema. So in the immortal words of Lucille Bluth: “Here’s some money, go see a Star War”.

Opening night (tonight) even comes with a full-on folkloric show before the screening (because of course it does).

🖥️ What: Fescinal: Cine de Verano de La Bombilla 2026

📍 Where: Parque de la Bombilla, P.º de la Senda del Rey, 82, Madrid

📅 When: June 26 – September 5

🎟 Tickets start at €6

6. ⚽️ Spain vs. Uruguay: no sleeping or late partying tonight, thanks to the World Cup

Spain’s group stage is about to get real, people! After a horrendous 0-0 draw against Cape Verde and a confidence-boosting 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia, La Roja now faces Uruguay in their final group match, and this one actually matters.

• Spain currently sits at the top of Group H with four points and only needs a draw to secure first place and cruise into the knockout rounds. Not bad, but not exactly job done either.

• Uruguay, meanwhile, is coming in desperate. A chaotic 2-2 draw against Cape Verde left them in a tricky spot, meaning they pretty much have to win to stay alive.

Not sure where to watch it? You’ve got options:

• At home with your friends is probably the best option. RTVE is broadcasting the match for free on La 1 and RTVE Play, so you can watch from your couch, your bed (weird if you bring your friends, but we don’t judge), or wherever you plan to suffer through a 2 a.m. kickoff.

• Sports bars. Madrid will be full of them showing the game, even at that ungodly hour. If Spain scores, you’ll hear it across the city.

• Sadly, no giant screens in Plaza Colón this time because the Salamanca residents would probably not be happy.

🖥️ What: FIFA World Cup 2026: Spain vs. Uruguay

📍 Where: Guadalajara, México.

📅 When: June 27, 2 a.m. (Madrid time, so basically you have to wait until 2 a.m. tonight)

🎟 Tickets: You’re not flying to Guadalajara. Stay in bed.

📺 What to watch if you hate football are staying in this weekend…

🖥️ What: 33 Days (33 Días) | TV Series | 2026

📍Where to watch: Atresplayer

❓What’s it about: The escape of two dangerous criminals from the Lleida Penitentiary Center in 2001 triggers a 33-day manhunt, marked by violence, sacrifice, and loyalty. Based on a true story.

🤩 Why you should watch: Because it’s a tense, character-driven story based on a real prison escape that gripped Spain for over a month. It’s created by investigative journalist Carles Porta, and it blends sharp reporting with gripping drama, following both the fugitives and the Mossos d’Esquadra officers chasing them, at a time when the police force itself was under scrutiny. It’s a story full of tension, moral ambiguity, and real stakes, making it a compelling watch from start to finish.

💬 English Subtitles: No.

💃🏻 Places to try this weekend…

🌯 Madrid’s hottest new shawarma spot is doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing

What’s it about: A no-nonsense shawarma spot bringing authentic Iraqi and Armenian street food to Lavapiés — and doing it properly. Ungentrified but none of that “elevated kebab” bullshit. Just traditional Mesopotamian recipes and spice blends imported from across the Middle East.

Why you should go: Because Madrid is clearly starving for it. Open for just a few weeks and already going viral (ugh, we know, but what can you do), Shawarma Capital has lines out the door thanks to its mix of juicy local meat, tangy amchur, rich tahini, and a punchy pomegranate sauce.

Bottom line: If you think you’ve had good shawarma in Madrid, go here and reset your expectations, all for around €8.

Address: Calle del Mesón de Paredes, 5, Madrid

☕️ Coffea: This Madrid café is selling specialty coffee for €0.70 (yes, for real)

What’s it about: A specialty coffee shop that’s basically calling bullshit on Madrid’s €4 flat whites. Coffea’s whole pitch is simple: great coffee shouldn’t be expensive. So they’re serving properly sourced, well-roasted specialty coffee — starting at just €0.70.

Why you should go: Madrid is overflowing with specialty coffee shops, but Casa Kavi is aiming for something deeper than a good flat white. The café serves as the social heart of the project, offering a carefully curated menu of wellness-focused drinks such as the Mushi Matcha, Detox Latte, Spicy KaiCao, anti-inflammatory Ayurvedic toast, and calming chia bowls.

Bottom line: Specialty coffee for less than €1 sounds fake, but wait until you try it.

Address: Calle de O’Donnell, 36, Madrid

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Here Are 6 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

It’s Friday summer again!

The warm season arrives this Sunday, and Madrid is determined to celebrate it all at once.

• The city is buzzing, and staying home this weekend feels like a missed opportunity. So join us on our lofty quest for the best tinto de verano and patatas bravas.

• Terrazas, Aperol Spritz, music festivals, Hollywood classics under the stars, and one verbena after the other. Yes, you’ll be broke. But you’ll also be happy.

• And FYI, our podcast is back for season 2, and we’re as chaotic as ever. Politics and pop culture, all in one place. We’d love it if you could recommend us to your friends. 🥹

Thank you and happy weekend!

1.🇪🇺 European Music Day: one of the best free music festivals is back this weekend

Summer is officially two days away, which means that for the next three months you’ll spend part of your weekends standing in a plaza with a cold drink while someone else provides the soundtrack. And to kick things off, here comes Matadero.

• This weekend marks the return of the Día Europeo de la Música, a three-day festival that, even though you probably didn’t know it existed, has quietly become one of Madrid’s most reliable summer traditions.

• Since launching in 2009, this para-Eurovision event has evolved into a showcase for some of the most interesting names in Spain’s indie, electronic, flamenco and alternative music scenes, all without charging a cent for admission (which, let’s face it, is awesome).

• This year’s lineup is stacked. Among the biggest names are pablopablo (yes, that’s Pablo Drexler, son of Jorge Drexler), electronic-pop heavyweight Alizzz, post-punk sensation Depresión Sonora, experimental artist María Arnal, and flamenco singer Ángeles Toledano. All people that you will pretend to know but you don’t, and that’s fine because their music is great anyway.

• Jazz fans can also catch Rita Payés and Lucía Fumero, who will be bringing their blend of jazz, folk and Mediterranean influences to Madrid for the first time. Honestly, nothing sounds more sophisticated than Mediterranean jazz.

The whole thing kicked off today, and tonight leans more heavily into contemporary pop and electronic sounds, with pablopablo, Alizzz and Depresión Sonora leading the charge before DJ Akazie closes the night. The atmosphere is great, the crowd is diverse, and there’s plenty of room to wander around between sets. So go drink and have fun. The summer has just begun.

🖥️ What: Día Europeo de la Música 2026

📍 Where: Matadero Madrid, Plaza de Legazpi 8, Madrid

📅 When: June 19–21

🎟 Tickets: Free admission

2.🤤 We’re celebrating croquetas this weekend (and they cost just €1.50)

If you’ve been reading The Bubble for a while, you probably know we love croquetas. We’re, like, obsessed with them. And it’s not just us. If there’s one thing capable of uniting Spain’s fiercely divided political tribes, football rivalries, and regional identities, it’s probably the iconic, delicious Spanish original croquette. So how about a full weekend to worship it?

• Lavapiés is once again celebrating World Tapas Day by turning this elegant fried béchamel bite into the star of the show. Until Sunday, more than 20 bars and restaurants across the neighborhood are serving their own signature croquetas for just €1.50 each, giving all of you self-proclaimed “foodies” a perfectly legitimate excuse to spend an entire evening wandering from bar to bar in the name of culinary research.

• Some of the participating chefs take inspiration from Spain’s regional cuisines, while others borrow flavors from around the world. You’ll find a Brazilian-style coxinha stuffed with shredded chicken and melting cheese at Tapioquería, a Japanese-inspired sushi croqueta filled with surimi and cream cheese at Kaldi Café, and a Syrian-Lebanese kibbe interpretation at Darbuka Bar. Café Barbieri pays tribute to Italy with a pesto Genovese version. And La Lata de Cascorro offers a spicy combination of goat cheese and jalapeño that sounds dangerously easy to order five times in a row. There are even vegan and vegetarian options!

• Not into experimenting? There are still plenty of boring traditional Spanish options filled with Galician zorza sausage, León-style black pudding, or Iberian ham.

Our recommendation? Skip dinner, wear elastic trousers, and get ready to nom nom.

🖥️ What: World Tapas Day - Croqueta Festival

📍 Where: Participating bars and restaurants across Lavapiés

📅 When: Through June 21

🎟 Price: €1.50 per croqueta

3. 🎭 Want to understand Spain? Start with this satire about corruption, elites, and hunting trips

We get that many of you can’t follow an entire play in Spanish. But we’ll keep insisting, especially when it comes to must-see works that are an essential part of 20th-century Spain. That’s certainly the case with La Escopeta Nacional (The National Shotgun), the legendary satire by Rafael Azcona and Luis García-Berlanga that has returned to Madrid’s Teatro Español under the direction of actor Juan Echanove.

• Originally released as a film in 1978, the story follows a Catalan businessman who travels to Madrid hoping to secure lucrative deals. His big opportunity comes when he’s invited to an exclusive hunting weekend attended by politicians, aristocrats, bankers and businessmen connected to Spain’s ruling elite.

• What follows is a parade of backroom favors, hidden agendas, influence-peddling, and absurd situations that expose how power really works behind closed doors. What’s great is that it never feels preachy. Instead, it lets its cast of opportunists do the work. Aristocrats cling to status, politicians cling to power, businessmen chase profits, and everyone seems to be looking for a shortcut.

The setting may be different 50 years later, but many of the dynamics feel surprisingly familiar. That’s what makes this revival so entertaining: it’s a hilarious comedy and a reminder that some political habits never really go out of style.

🖥️ What: La Escopeta Nacional (The National Rifle)

📍 Where: Teatro Español, Calle del Príncipe 25, Madrid

📅 When: Through July 26

🎟 Tickets start at €6

4. 🪩 David Guetta is back in Madrid, and he’s headlining A Summer Story 2026

See? Summer mode, activated! If you’ve had your share of croquetas and dramas and are looking for lasers, giant stages, and thousands of people collectively losing their minds to a bass drop, then clear your calendar: you’ve got a date with David Guetta.

• A Summer Story, one of Spain’s biggest electronic music festivals, returns to Arganda del Rey this weekend for its 10th anniversary edition. Over the past decade, the festival has become a pilgrimage site for EDM, house, trance, and techno fans, transforming this sleepy town 35 km outside Madrid into the unofficial capital of electronic music for two days.

• The biggest draw this year is undoubtedly David Guetta, who will take the stage on Saturday. The French legend, whose collaborations with Rihanna, Sia, Usher and the Black Eyed Peas helped define an entire era of dance music, is returning to Madrid for his first major show in the city in a decade.

• Want more? We got more. Trance legend Armin van Buuren will headline the opening night tonight, bringing with him the melodic sound that made him one of the most influential DJs in the world. Fans of progressive house can catch British duo Third Party, while Ukrainian DJ Korolova will deliver her signature blend of melodic techno and house.

Since it’s far away, organizers run special shuttle buses from Madrid, making it relatively easy to get there and back (though don’t expect the trip home to be quick).

If you’ve ever dreamed of spending a weekend surrounded by thousands of electronic music fans while some of the biggest DJs on the planet soundtrack the beginning of summer, this is probably your must-attend event.

🖥️ What: A Summer Story Festival ft. David Guetta

📍 Where: Ciudad del Rock, Arganda del Rey (35 km outside of Madrid)

📅 When: June 19–20

🎟 Tickets start at €70

5. 📸 A photo exhibit that wants you to question what you’re actually seeing

Most photography exhibitions ask you to look at something. This one asks you to look twice. As part of PHotoESPAÑA 2026, Fundación Casa de México is hosting a fascinating collective exhibition featuring seven acclaimed Mexican photographers whose work blurs the line between documentation and imagination.

• Instead of simply capturing reality, the artists use technical and optical manipulations to create images that feel mysterious, dreamlike, and sometimes disorienting. The result is an exhibition that challenges viewers to slow down and question what they’re actually seeing (honestly, a refreshing change in an era when we’re just passive consumers of shit “content”).

• Among the featured artists is Humberto Ríos, whose work explores memory, perception, and the passage of time. One of the exhibition’s highlights is Suspending Time (2016), a series that creates the sensation of moments floating somewhere between reality and imagination. The images feel almost impossible to place, as if time itself has briefly stopped working.

• There aren’t any dramatic landscapes, celebrity portraits or Instagram-friendly photo opportunities. This is a more contemplative experience — one that rewards patience and curiosity.

If you’ve ever looked at a photograph and wondered whether it reveals reality or invents it, this exhibition might be for you.

🖥️ What: Espectros, Enigmas de la Mirada - PHotoESPAÑA 2026

📍 Where: Fundación Casa de México en España, Calle de Alberto Aguilera 20, Madrid

📅 When: Through Sept. 13

🎟 Tickets: Free admission

6. ⚽️ Spain vs. Saudi Arabia: Where to watch (and suffer)

Spain will be looking for its first win of the 2026 World Cup this Sunday when Luis de la Fuente’s side takes on Saudi Arabia in Atlanta. After a pretty underwhelming 0-0 draw against Cape Verde in their opening match, La Roja cannot afford another slip-up if they want to avoid making their path to the knockout rounds unnecessarily complicated.

• Saudi Arabia arrives as a dangerous opponent with a history of upsetting football’s giants. The team famously stunned Argentina at the 2022 World Cup and will be led by star forward Salem Al-Dawsari. However, history favors Spain, which has won all four previous meetings between the two nations.

Not sure where to watch the game? We’ve got options:

• Plaza de Colón. The city has installed a massive screen that will turn the square into ground zero for fans watching La Roja this Sunday.

• Movie theater. Cines Yelmo will be screening the match across multiple locations in Madrid, from Ideal and Palafox to Plenilunio and La Vaguada. It’s a surprisingly great option: big screen, decent sound, and snacks. Tickets start around €8.30 with popcorn and a drink.

• Sports bars! Or just regular bars, whatever. Madrid’s bars will basically turn into unofficial fan zones, especially in neighborhoods like Chamberí, Malasaña, and La Latina. Not sure where to go? Try James Joyce Irish Pub, FRATINA Sport Bar, La Fontana de Oro, O’Connell St. Pub, Knockout! Sports Bar (this one’s far away but cool).

• And if you hate people and want to be by yourself, RTVE has you covered. The public broadcaster is going all in this year, with matches on La 1 and multiple digital streams on RTVE Play, plus extra content, highlights, and even influencer-driven commentary. Rolls eyes, but OK.

🖥️ What: FIFA World Cup 2026: Spain vs. Saudi Arabia

📍 Where: Technically in Atlanta, but you’ve got options (see above)

📅 When: June 21, 6 p.m. (Madrid time)

📺 What to watch if you hate football are staying in this weekend…

🖥️ What: Oasis | TV Series | 2026

📍Where to watch: Netflix

❓What’s it about: 'Oasis' is Spain's most luxurious vacation resort. A paradise for wealthy families with private beaches, VIP facilities, and impenetrable security located in Tenerife. It’s the place for the best summer ever. But everything crumbles when someone goes missing, the police arrive, and the resort goes into lockdown mode.

🤩 Why you should watch: Because it’s about damn time we found a new guilty pleasure. Think Elite meets The White Lotus. If you’re expecting moving performances and a solid plot, go watch something else. This is about rich, hot people in ridiculous situations and zero social commentary. Just beautiful locations and an excuse to look at someone’s abs. And that’s exactly what we all need when all that surrounds us is football and extremism.

💬 English Subtitles: Yes.

💃🏻 Places to try this weekend…

🐟 SAU is Madrid’s new love letter to coastal cuisine

What’s it about: Tucked away in Lavapiés, SAU is a new contemporary seafood tavern inspired by the coastal bars and ports where people gather for a quick bite, a glass of wine, and a moment of calm. Founded by friend-of-The-Bubble chef Wagner Rusca, the restaurant celebrates everything that comes from the water (from fresh fish and shellfish to carefully selected conservas).

Why you should go: Because the menu features dishes such as Cádiz-style fried anchovies, Portuguese bacalao à Brás, oysters served with an unexpected beef consommé, and inventive seafood preparations that make use of every part of the ingredient.

Bottom line: Go to SAU if you’re looking for a restaurant that combines excellent seafood, thoughtful sustainability, and genuine character.

Address: Calle Santa Isabel 12, Madrid

🧘‍♀️Casa Kavi: a Madrid café that feels like a mini escape to Bali

What’s it about: Casa Kavi is part yoga studio and part wellness café, the kind of place that feels more Bali than Madrid. Founded by Kathi Rüd, a yoga teacher who drew inspiration from wellness retreats in Indonesia and her training in therapeutic yoga in Greece, the space was designed as an urban sanctuary where people can slow down and reconnect.

Why you should go: Madrid has no shortage of specialty coffee shops, but Casa Kavi is aiming for something deeper than a good flat white. The café serves as the social heart of the project, offering a carefully curated menu of wellness-focused drinks such as the Mushi Matcha, Detox Latte, Spicy KaiCao, anti-inflammatory Ayurvedic toast, and calming chia bowls.

Bottom line: Go if you’re looking for a yoga class, a healthy breakfast, an excellent matcha, or simply a quiet corner to reset.

Address: Calle de Albuquerque, 14, Madrid

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Here Are 6 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

It’s Friday again!

And if you’re reading this, that means you survived last weekend’s clash of the titans (Pope Leo and Benito, aka Bad Bunny). This weekend is not that different (Bad Bunny is still in town), but at least the Pope is island-crawling in the Canaries.

• If you thought this meant calmer times, you'd be wrong. The World Cup just started, which means that no matter where you look, you’ll see footballs and people wearing red jerseys. At least there are a few things you can do before the big day on Monday. Buckle up; we’re in for an intense few weeks.

Happy weekend!

1.🍷 San Antonio Fest is back! Madrid’s first verbena of the summer features DJs, churros, and a hermitage

Another week, another party involving a saint that is used to get drunk and pass out! And introspection, of course. Don’t forget introspection. Say hello to the Fiestas de San Antonio de la Florida, a hyper-local, deeply traditional (and yet full of alcohol) celebration that feels both old-school and super fun at the same time. It’s also the first verbena of the summer!

• The area around Parque de la Bombilla (near Argüelles) and the Ermita de San Antonio (aka Saint Anthony of Padua’s hermitage) transforms into a full-blown verbena: loud music, people dancing, drinks flowing, and, of course, actual religious rituals happening just a few meters away. Because we’re all there for atonement, obviously.

• 19th-century Tinder. The roots of the festival are very Madrid: devotion, superstition, and a bit of, ahem, “romantic desperation” thanks to the quirky and famous ritual de los alfileres, in which, if you are single, you drop 13 pins into holy water, place your hands in it, and however many stick to your palm is how many suitors you’ll have that year. Hey, it’s scientifically proven. Shut up.

• The blessed bread of San Antonio is also still very much part of the experience. And don’t worry, you don’t need to be religious (or looking for love) to enjoy it! The real magic is in the mix: grandmothers in flowery dresses, groups of friends drinking vermú at noon, annoying delightful kids running around, and DJs taking over by night.

• You’ve got live concerts (Modestia Aparte, La Mole), DJ sets (DJ Nano, DJ Fonsi), vermú sessions, mini verbenas, and late-night dancing that feels like a throwback to pre-gentrification Madrid.

• Saturday is the big one: mass, procession, and then straight into music and partying, exactly what Jesus would have wanted.

• Sunday wraps it all up with paella, chocolate con churros, and fireworks.

Check the official program (link below) for schedules! Go for an hour, stay all weekend.

🖥️ What: Fiestas de San Antonio de la Florida

📍 Where: Parque de la Bombilla & Ermita de San Antonio, Madrid

📅 When: Through June 14

🎟 Tickets: Free admission

2. 🎭 Chronicle of a Bad Spaniard: Spain’s century of chaos, comedy, and contradictions

If you think verbenas and mingling with the populace is below you (shame on you), then here’s something Your Majesty (that would be you) can enjoy, as it involves relatively more substance and a lot more irony.

• This new play at Teatro Español takes the life of renowned Spanish film director Luis García-Berlanga and turns it into a sharp, funny, and very on-point reflection of Spain itself, told through the eyes of his own son.

• Jorge García-Berlanga leads the cast in a staged tribute that mixes biography with allegory and draws parallels between the patriarch’s life and a country that spent the 20th century navigating wars, political chaos, a dictatorship and a permanent identity crisis.

• If that sounds intense or solemn, don’t worry—this is Berlanga we’re talking about. Expect tons of humor, absurd moments, and that uniquely Spanish ability to laugh at everything.

• The show leans into that Berlanguiano spirit: chaotic, clever, and full of contradictions, creating a living collage of moments and emotions that capture why Berlanga remains one of the most important figures in Spanish cinema.

If you’re a film nerd or just looking for something a bit more high-brow (without being boring), this is a solid excuse to swap the verbena for a theatre seat for a night.

🖥️ What: Crónica de un Mal Español (Chronicle of a Bad Spaniard)

📍 Where: Teatro Español, Calle del Príncipe 25, Madrid

📅 When: Through June 28 (Thursdays to Sundays)

🎟 Tickets start at €10

3.🍔 Dear god, another food festival arrives: Ñam Ñam is taking over Madrid Río (and your figure)

(Before you ask: ñam ñam is the Spanish equivalent of saying nom nom. You’re welcome).

Not into reliving the horrific years of the Spanish dictatorship? Fortunately, we have an alternative that’s good for your palate and bad for your weight: Madrid just dropped the first edition of the Ñam Ñam Festival, turning Paseo Puente del Rey into an open-air playground for food, creativity, and quite possibly more food.

• Beware: This isn’t your typical food market. Ñam Ñam is positioning itself as an “international gastronomic experiences festival”, which basically means: street food, but more expensive “immersive”.

• There will be live cooking demos, talks, workshops, music, and even podcasts and monologues happening in real time. It’s not just about food but also about the culture around food.

• There’s a central bar for drinks and bites, a “mesa infinita” for shared experiences, and different zones where things are constantly happening. Overall, the vibe is pretty chill and dynamic. It’s also really bad if you’re on a diet.

• The festival taps into the city’s network of 45 mercados municipales, showcasing small-scale producers and homegrown culinary talent. So while it feels like a shiny new event, it’s actually rooted in something very traditional: neighborhood food culture.

If you’re sick and tired of eating patatas bravas and croquetas, try this one for a change.

🖥️ What: Ñam Ñam Festival

📍 Where: Explanada Puente del Rey, Madrid Río, Madrid

📅 When: June 13–14

🎟 Tickets start at €32.50

4. 🪩 Soundset returns to Conde Duque and becomes Madrid’s coolest open-air electronic playground

Are you now feeling guilty for eating those chimichurri-soaked empanadas? Do you need to burn those calories off? Maybe getting slightly lost in experimental beats is the answer, and we have the perfect suggestion for it!

• Soundset Festival is back at Conde Duque, and this year it’s gone fully open-air—taking over the Patio Sur for two nights of forward-thinking electronic music that leans more Berlin than Ibiza. (Berlin nightlife = sophistication, Ibiza nightlife = Kim Kardashian. Sorry, not sorry).

• Don’t expect the usual, run-of-the-mill DJ. Soundset a much more interesting space: there’s dubstep, Latin mutations, hyperpop colliding with bass and DJs who actually take risks.

• Friday kicks off strong with DJ Python going back-to-back with Loidis (aka Huerco S), followed by Brazilian rhythms from RHR and a rare Madrid appearance by Mala, a foundational figure in dubstep. If these are all people you’ve never heard of, you may not be cool enough (again, sorry not sorry).

• Saturday shifts gears but keeps the energy high. There’s a mix of local and international names pushing boundaries: Carne_kddo with the Lágrima collective, Tracey’s hyperpop-infused sound, and a live set from Nick León exploring new Latin electronic textures.

• The whole thing closes with CCL, whose sets are basically a journey—jumping between post-punk, techno, house, and everything in between without losing the thread. (Boomers, look away!)

This event is about discovery, experimentation, and actually listening to what’s happening on stage, so for the love of all things sacred, keep your damn phone in your pocket and start living in the moment.

🖥️ What: Soundset Festival 2026

📍 Where: Patio Sur, Centro Cultural Conde Duque, Calle del Conde Duque 11, Madrid

📅 When: June 12–13

🎟 Tickets: €20/day

5.💃🏻 Israel Galván brings (non-tourist trap) flamenco to the edge (and then breaks It)

Israel Galván is one of the most boundary-pushing figures in Spanish dance, and he is back in Madrid with a show that twists tradition and turns it into something deeply personal and unique. If you’re looking for the type of flamenco show that the locals want to see, this is it.

• This new piece dives into his childhood memories of the Feria de Abril in Sevilla, where he used to compete in sevillanas contests… and never win. Why? Because even back then, his style didn’t fit the rules.

• That tension (tradition vs. rebellion, recognition vs frustration) sits at the heart of the show. It’s flamenco, but filtered through Galván’s signature experimental and ironic lens.

• He performs in a short flamenco dress with a retro twist, accompanied by a charanga band, live guitar, and vocals, creating a scene that’s half street party and half avant-garde performance.

If you’re a flamenco purist (like we are) or someone who usually avoids tourist traps (like we are), this is the kind of show you should see.

🖥️ What: Israel Galván’s Sevillanas Solteras

📍 Where: Centro Danza Matadero (CDM), Paseo de la Chopera 14, Madrid

📅 When: June 12–14

🎟 Tickets start at €27

6. ⚽️ World Cup mania: Where to watch Spain’s games

Haters of soccer football, beware: our long national nightmare has officially just begun. You don’t have to like football to feel it. Because like it or not, trust us, you will feel it, with or without your consent.

• Madrid is about to go full World Cup mode. That’s right! Apparently, the guys who think that Donald Trump somehow deserves a peace prize have somehow gotten away with not getting canceled and have organized a championship that’s been making the headlines due to its dystopian dynamic prices and questionable immigration policies. Oh, and then there’s also Canada and Mexico. But we digress.

The 2026 tournament kicked off yesterday, and with Spain among the favorites, the city is turning into one giant viewing party! So let’s conveniently ignore FIFA’s history of moral (and literal) corruption and focus on being number one, shall we? If you want to watch the games (Spain’s first match is on Monday afternoon against Cape Verde, a country that totally exists), you’ve got options.

• Let’s start with the big one: Plaza de Colón. The city is installing a massive screen that will turn the square into ground zero for fans watching La Roja (a communist-sounding name for the Spanish national football team). That will be fun! There will be thousands of people, flags, beers, collective anxiety, and that very specific Madrid energy that only shows up during big tournaments. If Spain scores, you will feel it. If it doesn’t, you will also feel it. One catch: It will only be for matches taking place before 10 p.m. (The residents of Salamanca are rich, and rich people like silence, peasants.)

• If crowds aren’t your thing (or you want air conditioning and a seat), cinemas are stepping in. Cines Yelmo will be screening Spain’s matches across multiple locations in Madrid, from Ideal and Palafox to Plenilunio and La Vaguada. It’s a surprisingly great option: big screen, decent sound, and snacks. Tickets start around €8.30 with popcorn and a drink, scaling up if you want the full “Luxury” experience. Watching football in a movie theater is a thing now.

• Then there’s the classic route: bars! Madrid’s bars will basically turn into unofficial fan zones, especially in neighborhoods like Chamberí, Malasaña, and La Latina. Just find a place with a screen, order a beer, and you’re in. The louder the crowd, the better the experience. Not sure where to go? Try James Joyce Irish Pub, FRATINA Sport Bar, La Fontana de Oro, O’Connell St. Pub, Knockout! Sports Bar (this one’s far away but cool).

• And if you hate people and want to be by yourself, RTVE has you covered. The public broadcaster is going all in this year, with matches on La 1 and multiple digital streams on RTVE Play, plus extra content, highlights, and even influencer-driven commentary. It’s the easiest way to follow everything without leaving your couch.

The World Cup is here; it’s unavoidable, and for the next few weeks, this city will be living match by match. Resistance is futile.

🖥️ What: FIFA World Cup 2026

📍 Where: Plaza de Colón, Cines Yelmo (multiple locations), bars across Madrid, RTVE

📅 When: Through July 19 (Spain debuts June 15)

📺 What to watch if you’re staying in this weekend…

🖥️ What: The Marked Woman (La Desconocida) | Movie | 2026

📍Where to watch: Netflix

❓What’s it about: An unconscious woman is found inside a container at the Barcelona docks. She suffers from amnesia, and someone wants her dead. Two cops embark on a race against time to discover her identity and the secrets she holds.

🤩 Why you should watch: Because it builds a dark, fast-paced mystery led by the fantastic Candela Peña, who brings real emotional weight as a dishevelled detective chasing both the case and her own personal demons. The Marked Woman is not trying to reinvent the genre, and that’s exactly why it works. If you want an easy-to-binge thriller night, go with this one.

💬 English Subtitles: Yes.

💃🏻 Places to try this weekend…

🍽️ La Gloria de Carabanchel is the kind of taberna that makes you rethink the neighborhood

What’s it about: La Gloria de Carabanchel is Sol Pérez-Fragero taking everything that worked in Malasaña and Conde Duque—and bringing it outside the M-30. The result is a small, no-frills taberna with real soul: a handful of tables and a focus on Andalusian classics.

Why you should go: Because this is comfort food done right. The lomo de orza, croquetas de puchero, albóndigas de choco, and solomillo al whisky all hit that perfect balance between traditional and seriously craveable.

Bottom line: Proof that some of Madrid’s best spots are no longer in the center.

Address: Calle del General Martín Cerezo, 3, Madrid

🍫 Balbisiana: The pastry box that took over Madrid (and then opened a store)

What’s it about: Balbisiana is what happens when a viral dessert brand turns into a full-on lifestyle bakery. It started as those iconic blue boxes seen at every chic Madrid event, and now it is a physical café on Calle Velázquez.

Why you should go: Because this place gets the balance right: aesthetic and actually good. The best-seller is still the classic “tarta de la abuela” (chocolate and biscuit), which is basically impossible to mess up. The “balbisianas” (bite-sized fried brioche with different fillings) are also dangerously easy to devour.

Bottom line: It’s polished, it’s Instagrammable, but this time it’s not just hype. Balbisiana delivers.

Address: Calle de Velázquez, 55, Madrid

👨🏻‍💻 Viral Memes of the Week

😎 Well, El Papa and Benito almost played together

❤️ Madrid is cool, yo

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Here Are 6 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

It’s Friday again!

There’s no easy way of saying this; this weekend is gonna be a mess. Pope Leo XIV is in town for a series of religious events. And so is Bad Bunny (although not for religious events).

• Millions of people from all over Spain and Europe are expected to descend on downtown Madrid this weekend, so traffic will be a nightmare, there will be massive crowds everywhere, and long lines for literally everything.

• If you live outside the M-30, chances are your life will be a little easier. But if you live in Centro/Justicia/Chamberí/Salamanca, don’t leave the house. If you do because you need the blessing of the Holy Spirit or want to dwerk/twerk sluttily with Benito, bring some lorazepam. You will need it.

• El País has been kind enough to put together a guide with streets to avoid this weekend. Traffic will be shut down. Multiple metro stations in downtown Madrid will be closed, so plan ahead.

• Oh, and if you’re not interested in religions like catholicism or reggaeton, we have a few other options for you heathens.

Happy weekend!

1.🇻🇦 Put on your Sunday clothes, people! Pope Leo XIV is in Madrid this weekend with a busy agenda

Holy mackerel! Pope Leo XIV is landing in Spain for his Lift Your Eyes tour, and he’s ready to paint the town red yellow, and white. Madrid is his first stop, marking the first papal visit to the city in 15 years. As we mentioned above, expect big crowds, food stands, and security everywhere. Consider this Catholic Coachella. Let’s go over his very busy agenda!

• Saturday, June 6: The pope lands at Barajas airport to a full-on state welcome with King Felipe VI, followed by a formal reception at the Royal Palace with politicians, diplomats, and half the Spanish establishment. Before you ask, no, peasant, you cannot attend.

• 6 p.m.: That afternoon, he’ll visit a Cáritas center supporting homeless people (yes, he’s putting social issues front and center from day one) before things take a more unexpected turn with a Niña Pastori performance. You also cannot join.

• 8:30 p.m.: Then comes the first big crowd moment (which maybe you can attend if you push some children out of the way): the pope cruising down Castellana in the Popemobile before a massive youth vigil near the Bernabéu Stadium. Thousands are expected, with live music (Hakuna, Siloé, Besmaya), prayers, and a late-night Eucharistic adoration. If you’re a youth, then you can probably attend, but you need to register here immediately. (If you’re asking if you qualify as a youth, you’re probably not a youth).

• Sunday, June 7, 10 a.m.: The main event! Cibeles transforms into the epicenter of Catholic Spain, hosting a huge open-air Mass for Corpus Christi, followed by a procession through nearby streets. Expect your news and Instagram feed to be bombarded with stories from this event, featuring the same people who the night before were probably slutting around at Bad Bunny’s concert. (Hey, no judgement here, as both things are not mutually exclusive and this is a sex positive safe space.) Warning: you also need to register for this!

• 6 p.m.: Later that day, the Pope heads indoors to the Movistar Arena for Tejer Redes, a more curated event bringing together figures from culture, art, and business to talk about… well, networking, we guess.

• Monday, June 8, 10:30 a.m.: Monday shifts gears again, this time into full political and institutional mode. In the morning, the pope meets Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, delivers a historic address to Parliament (a first in Spain; you can watch it on TV), and sits down with Spanish bishops. Unless you are Pedro Sánchez (or a bishop), you can’t attend.

• 6 p.m.: In the evening, things swing back to spectacle with a prayer at Almudena Cathedral.

• 7 p.m.: It’s gonna be a short prayer, because one hour later he will be at a massive event at the Bernabéu featuring a 1,000-person choir, dancers, and guest artists like David Bustamante. That’s right, the freaking pope. At the Bernabéu. With a choir and choreography. Epic.

• Tuesday, June 9, 10:20 a.m.: Pope Leo bids adieu to Madrid with a final event at IFEMA with volunteers before heading off to Barcelona and the Canary Islands. Not a volunteer? Not invited.

But wait, there’s more! Because Madrid is pulling a cultural all-nighter. On the night of June 6, 15 museums across the city will open late and for free for the “Yellow and White Night”. Because a papal visit is the perfect excuse for a spontaneous 2 a.m. museum crawl.

🖥️ What: Visit of Pope Leo XIV to Madrid

📍 Where: Multiple locations (Cibeles, Bernabéu, Almudena, IFEMA, Movistar Arena)

📅 When: June 6–9

🎟 Tickets: Free (registration recommended for closer access)

2.🐕 I Love Reggaeton Madrid 2026: If you know all the lyrics to Gasolina, this festival is for you

No tickets to Bad Bunny and no interest in receiving the blessings of Baby Jesus? Fret not, we have a consolation prize for you! The I Love Reggaeton festival is back in Madrid this weekend, turning IFEMA into a massive, open-air throwback to the golden years of reggaeton and electrolatino.

• We’re talking about 30+ artists, three outdoor stages, and a lineup we don't know, but if you like reggaeton, you probably do: Tito El Bambino, Henry Méndez, Cali & El Dandee, Lorna, Juan Magán, De La Ghetto… and many more.

• The concept for this is simple and effective: pure nostalgia. The festival is designed as a tribute to the early days of reggaeton (remember Gasolina?), before it became the global monster it is today, with a fully synchronized audiovisual show and back-to-back hits that defined an entire generation.

• There are two main stages running in parallel (so yes, you will have to make tough decisions), plus food trucks, chill areas, and enough perreo energy to power the city for a week and make you forget that you couldn’t afford Bad Bunny tickets.

Reggaeton might dominate the world now, but this is about where it all started; the era that made it mainstream and gave us the songs everyone still knows by heart. Dale con dale ✌️.

🖥️ What: I Love Reggaeton Festival Madrid 2026

📍 Where: IFEMA Madrid, Av. del Partenón 5, Madrid

📅 When: June 6

🎟 Tickets start at: €51,90 (hurry up, tickets are selling fast)

3. 🎭 La Loba: Bette Davis is back (and she’s not here to be ignored, losers)

What happens when one of Hollywood’s most iconic divas walks into a newsroom and places a classified ad… for herself? That’s the pretty absurd (and quietly devastating) premise of this play now running at the Fernán Gómez.

• A magnetic Mélida Molina embodies Bette Davis with bite and vulnerability, delivering a performance that feels both like a tribute to this undying Hollywood legend (at least for the boomers).

• The setup is simple: A veteran actress (three kids, decades in the industry, and a certain reputation) demands work in a system that has already decided she’s past her prime.

• What unfolds is a sharp, often funny, sometimes uncomfortable look at how the film industry treats women once they age out of desirability, even the ones who helped define it in the first place.

• The play leans into its love of classic cinema while pulling back the curtain on its darker dynamics: ego, power, rejection, survival.

• Did you know? In 1989, Bette Davis came to Spain to receive the Donostia Award at the San Sebastián Film Festival. It was her final public appearance, her last performance.

So trust us, it’s worth watching a character like Bette Davis refuse to fade quietly into irrelevance in this stylish homage to classic Hollywood that doubles as a critique of it.

🖥️ What: La Loba

📍 Where: Fernán Gómez Centro Cultural de la Villa, Plaza de Colón 4, Madrid

📅 When: June 4–21

🎟 Tickets start at €20

4. 🩰 No tutus, no rules: SACRESIZE is the dance show redefining what a body can do

What if ballet, one of the most rigid, body-obsessed art forms out there, suddenly stopped caring about “ideal” bodies? Alberto Velasco offers a bold, unapologetic answer to that question that puts non-normative bodies front and center.

• The evening opens with SIZE, a short but striking piece where Velasco turns the “non-normative” body into something poetic, powerful and deeply expressive.

• Instead of treating size as a limitation, the choreography reframes it as a space of sensitivity and expansion, supported by an immersive audiovisual setup.

• Then comes SACRE, a reimagining of The Rite of Spring that leans into its original themes of tension and ritual but flips the narrative entirely, becoming intense and quietly subversive.

Velasco has built a career around challenging aesthetic norms (and literally wrote the book on it with Pobre, gordo y maricón), and continues to use dance as both an artistic and political tool. It forces you to rethink what dance and beauty are supposed to look like.

🖥️ What: SACRESIZE

📍 Where: Teatros del Canal, Calle de Cea Bermúdez 1, Madrid

📅 When: Through June 7

🎟 Tickets start at €20

5.🎬 FILMADRID: The coolest film festival you’ve probably never heard of is back

Tired of the Netflix algorithm feeding you the same crap over and over? Then you need FILMADRID. The city’s most quietly influential film festival is back for its 12th edition, taking over venues like La Casa Encendida, Cine Doré and Cineteca Madrid with a lineup that leans into auteur-driven cinema.

• What makes FILMADRID different is its obsession with discovery; with films that have been making waves in international festivals but haven’t yet landed in Spain. There will be experimental formats, unusual narratives, and directors who are still shaping their voice. In other words: cinema that’s actually good.

• The festival’s competitive sections, including the Official Selection and the return of SMART7, double down on that idea. SMART7, in particular, is worth keeping an eye on: a curated selection of seven European films by emerging directors that push boundaries in form and content.

• One standout this year is As liñas descontinuas (The Dashed Lines), a debut feature that brings together a 50-year-old woman navigating divorce and a 28-year-old trans man in a moment of personal instability.

FILMADRID has quietly built a reputation as one of the city’s most important cultural events by becoming that place you go to if you want to see what cinema might look like in five years.

🖥️ What: FILMADRID International Film Festival

📍 Where: Various venues across Madrid

📅 When: June 5–14

🎟 Tickets: Check website

6. 🎸 Blockparty Arganzuela: an indie, garage, and punk-fueled festival is the most fun you’ll have this weekend

Not into Catholic Coachella and trying to escape the downtown area? We have one final option for you! It involves guitars, beers, and zero religion. We give you… Blockparty Arganzuela! An open-air festival that returns to Madrid Río with a great lineup.

• Set in the Explanada Negra, this is one of those festivals where you’re close to the stage, there aren’t any barriers (literal or emotional), and a crowd that actually cares about the music.

• This year’s lineup brings together a mix of indie, garage and punk energy with acts like Die Spitz, Mujeres and Uni Boys leading the charge, alongside Fast Kinds and Sandré, all of them known for turning live shows into something unpredictable. What’s that? You’ve never heard of them? Even better.

• Oh, and there’s also food, drinks, and that great Madrid summer vibe in which the sun goes down over the river, people sit down on the ground between sets, and that feeling that you’ve stumbled into something a bit cooler than you expected.

Note: capacity is limited, which keeps things manageable, and if you’re under 16, you’re getting in for free - not a bad way to get your first proper festival experience.

🖥️ What: Blockparty Arganzuela

📍 Where: Madrid Río, Puente de Segovia s/n, Madrid

📅 When: June 6, 3:30 p.m.

🎟 Tickets start at €40

📺 What to watch if you’re staying in this weekend…

Idols (2026)

🖥️ What: Idols (Ídolos) | Movie | 2026

📍Where to watch: HBO Max

❓What’s it about: A reckless young motorcycle racer gets a chance to compete in Moto2, but must train with his estranged father, a former racer with a dark past. As he pursues his dreams, an unexpected romance challenges his focus. Think Gran Turismo with motorcycles.

🤩 Why you should watch: Because it’s great if you’re in the mood for an easy, entertaining sports film with just enough emotional weight to keep you invested. Yes, it’s full of cliches (the talented but reckless young rider chasing his dream, the reluctant reunion with an estranged father who might be the only one who can help him get there), but hey, it works. It’s the kind of film you put on, enjoy, and don’t overthink.

💬 English Subtitles: No. You can probably get the gist of it, though.

Abandoned (2026)

🖥️ What: Abandoned (Abandonados) | TV Series (Documentary) | 2026

📍Where to watch: Disney+

❓What’s it about: In 1984, three children were abandoned at a Barcelona train station with no memory of their identity or past. Unclaimed, they were adopted into loving homes. As adults, they now search for their biological parents.

🤩 Why you should watch: Because it’s perfect if you’re tired of true crime that’s all about killers and want something deeper, more human and gripping. The series starts with a mystery and quickly becomes something much more powerful: a story about identity, memory, and the lifelong need to understand where you come from. It’s about people trying to fill a void that has defined their entire lives.

💬 English Subtitles: Yes.

💃🏻 Places to try this weekend…

☕️ La Florida Cafe Bistro: where brunch turns into wine and “just one coffee” turns into hours

What’s it about: A laid-back specialty coffee spot with a sunny terrace overlooking a park, this is one of those places that quietly becomes your go-to. Natural light, good music, and a team that actually remembers your order.

Why you should go: Because it nails the basics, and then some. The coffee is properly done (yes, the flat whites are legit), the focaccia is a standout, and the rotating plato del día makes it a solid lunch option too.

Bottom line: Easy, cozy, and reliably good.

Address: Paseo del Pintor Rosales 70, Madrid

🥂 Splurge! Club Metrópolis is actually worth it

What’s it about: Club Metrópolis has landed exactly as promised: big, bold and unapologetically over the top. Part private club, part boutique hotel, one of Madrid’s most iconic buildings is now a full-on experience.

Why you should go: Because, surprisingly, you can. While some areas are reserved for members, the ground floor, basement, and even the suites are open for bookings. Start upstairs with Tasca Fina, a polished take on the classic Spanish taberna, or go straight to the Barra de Oricios, a seafood-forward counter that feels like a hidden gem in plain sight.

Bottom line: It’s flashy and a little excessive, but that’s exactly why it works.

Address: Alcalá 39, Madrid

👨🏻‍💻 Viral Memes of the Week

😎 Timeline crossover

❤️ Double feature!

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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

It’s Friday again!

And boy, are we in for a busy weekend. First of all, Bad Bunny is in town. (No tickets? Join the club!). Not only that, but La Oreja de Van Gogh is back (No tickets? Also join the club!). Ah, and there’s also Hernán Cattaneo at Brunch Electronik. It’s hard to keep up.

• Those of us who haven't pawned our grandma’s wedding ring to pay for those tickets (she’s still alive, btw) still have a ton of events to choose from.

• So grab a water bottle (it’s hot outside) and your cold wallet, and get ready to spend your hard-earned 0.00000001% of a bitcoin because why the hell not.

Happy weekend!

PS: The Pope is coming next week. Repent!

1. 📖 The Madrid Book Fair is back to decorate your bookshelf (and take your money)

Fun fact: Before the rise of the performative male, people used to read books for real! While such an activity is now considered uncool and passé (or is it?), some people here in Spain continue to enjoy it for some reason. If you’re one of those romanticizing the past by writing on typewriters and drinking regular Coke, we have great news… Madrid’s Book Fair is back!

• The city is once again entering its most dangerous season — when people pretend they’ll “just browse” at the Feria only to leave Retiro Park carrying €140 worth of books they absolutely did not plan to buy (or even read).

• The iconic Feria del Libro returns for its 85th edition, and it’s looking very interesting. After last year’s New York-themed edition, 2026 is all about humor, because apparently, we’ve looked around at the state of the world and decided laughing was the only reasonable response (either that or moving under the sea).

• And this isn’t just “haha funny.” The fair is diving into satire, irony, graphic humor, podcasts, stand-up humor, absurdism, literary comedy, and the increasingly blurry line between intellectual discussion and people wearing tin foil hats.

• Big names this year include Jonathan Coe, David Safier, Maitena, Ignatius Farray, Eva Hache, Joaquín Reyes, Pantomima Full, Bob Pop, Liniers, Kevin Johansen, Camila Sosa Villada, and Rodrigo Cortés, among many others (if you know at least one of them, congrats! You’re smart).

• There’ll also be live podcasts, debates about humor and politics, tributes to Les Luthiers and Kurt Vonnegut, and maybe (just maybe) you may run into Queen Letizia, who loves to support independent publishers and attends every year (she’s, in fact, officially opening the fair this morning).

Even if you don’t read much, the Feria del Libro is still one of the best events Madrid produces all year. It’s crowded, yes, but attending is a great act of resistance in the age of TikTok.

🖥️ What: Feria del Libro de Madrid 2026

📍 Where: Parque del Retiro, Paseo de Fernán Núñez, Madrid

📅 When: May 29 to June 14

🎟 Tickets: Free admission

2. 💔 Love, death, and dramatic teenagers: Romeo and Juliet opera is a magnificent spectacle for the eyes

Wait, never mind. Why read when you can actually see Shakespeare? Honestly, this is probably what he would have wanted. Romeo and Juliet, the timeless story of two dumb teenagers making catastrophically bad decisions after knowing each other for, like, 14 minutes, is hitting the Teatro Real this week, and you can tell there’s a big budget for this one because holy shit, that looks good (check video above).

• We’d die to see this. The Teatro Real is bringing back Charles Gounod’s lush, dramatic, and emotional opera adaptation of arguably Shakespeare’s best-known work, directed by French theater star Thomas Jolly and conducted by Carlo Rizzi.

• This production intends to impress you. The cast is stacked too, with opera superstar Nadine Sierra leading the production alongside Javier Camarena, Ismael Jordi, and Laurent Naouri.

• If you think opera is all stiff people singing near curtains, then you'd better go see Bad Bunny. This is pretty much the opposite of that. Trust us, you haven’t seen this much tension since that rattlesnake scene in Euphoria season 3 (we’re joking, this season sucks).

Even if you’re not usually an opera person, this is one of those productions that feels worth seeing just for the spectacle.

🖥️ What: Romeo and Juliet (Opera)

📍 Where: Teatro Real, Plaza de Isabel II, Madrid

📅 When: Through June 13

🎟 Tickets start at €18

3. 🇵🇷 No tickets to Bad Bunny? Sad! But if you’re into Puerto Rican culture, we have an alternative for you.

Yes, yes. We know. Madrid is going into full Bad Bunny mode. The reggaetón playlists are locked in, and all over the city, thousands (millions?) of people are crying over the fact that they will not get to see the biggest artist in the history of humanity (after Leticia Sabater, obvi).

• But while Benito prepares to unleash 10 (10!) concerts at the Metropolitano stadium that we won’t see, Malasaña is giving us peasants an alternative — a full-on Puerto Rican cultural takeover.

• This weekend, Calle Noviciado will host La Placita, a free Puerto Rican cultural festival bringing salsa and plena classes, cocktails, street food, art, coffee, workshops, DJs, and enough to make us forget that we won’t be able to come close to el conejo malo.

• The idea behind La Placita is to go beyond Bad Bunny fandom and introduce Madrid to Puerto Rico itself, not just the reggaetón, but the island’s broader culture, identity, and traditions, which makes sense, because Bad Bunny’s latest album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, basically turned Puerto Rico into main character mode this year after his performance at the Super Bowl.

And shoutout to whoever decided Malasaña was the perfect place for this, because, well, it is.

🖥️ What: La Placita Puerto Rican Cultural Festival

📍 Where: Calle Noviciado 4, Malasaña, Madrid

📅 When: May 29 – 31

🎟 Tickets: Free (but registration required, click on link above)

4. 🎬 Documenta Madrid Film Festival returns for people who love cinema and mild existential crises

There are film festivals where people show up to drink cava and pretend they understood a Serbian three-hour experimental movie about silence. And then there’s Documenta Madrid, where people also do that, but at least the films are usually pretty good.

• This international documentary festival returns this week for its 23rd edition, once again transforming the city into a paradise for lovers of documentaries, arthouse cinema, and political filmmaking.

• This year’s theme (there’s always a theme) is Tomar el pulso (“Taking the Pulse”), focusing on documentary cinema’s ability to capture reality in real time socially, politically, and emotionally. It’s incredibly intellectual. Just be aware that you are going to leave at least one screening emotionally devastated.

• The program includes international and Spanish documentary competitions, unfinished film showcases, retrospectives, and live performances. There’s even a live reinterpretation of lost footage from an unfinished Pier Paolo Pasolini documentary about sanitation workers’ strikes in Italy

Since you can’t make it to sing Titi Me Preguntó with Bad Bunny (a song that’s a late-capitalist anthem about infinite choice, emotional consumption, and the ancient Greek realization that pleasure without meaning is emptiness), then here’s your chance to sit in a dark room watching stuff about social collapse and human fragility. You’re welcome.

🖥️ What: Documenta Madrid 2026

📍 Where: Cineteca Matadero and multiple venues across Madrid

📅 When: Through May 31

🎟 Tickets: Check website

5.🎉 Aluche’s neighborhood festival turns 50

Dust off your Metro card, kids! We’re going outside the M-30 beltway for this one. If you’ve never been to a proper Madrid neighborhood festival (i.e., not for tourists), let us explain the vibe: locals running around drunk (sounds great so far), grandparents dancing better than you, someone carrying a giant beer at 1 p.m., random techno at 2 a.m. and at least one guy aggressively singing along to songs you’ve never heard of.

• Sounds fun? Great. This weekend, the legendary Fiestas de Aluche kick off their 50th anniversary celebrations, transforming the Parque de Aluche fairgrounds (in Latina, which is not the same as La Latina) into 10 straight days of concerts, folklore, dancing, DJs, fireworks, and wholesome neighborhood chaos.

• This opening weekend alone is stacked. Friday starts with the official pregón, Celtic street music, and a big orchestral dance party. Saturday brings Zumba, clown magic shows for kids (we’ll skip that one), live pop-rock concerts, and a late-night techno session for the people who miss Berghain.

• Then Sunday goes fully international, with Brazilian batucadas, folk dance festivals, and performances from groups representing Ireland, Peru, China, Paraguay, and Ecuador.

The best part of fiestas like this is the deeply local atmosphere. If you want to feel like a local, be prepared to leave Chamberí for once.

🖥️ What: Fiestas de Aluche 2026

📍 Where: Recinto Ferial del Parque de Aluche, Madrid

📅 When: May 29 to June 7, 2026

🎟 Tickets: Free admission

📺 What to watch if you’re staying in this weekend…

🖥️ What: Ravalear: Not for Sale | TV Series | 2026

📍Where to watch: HBO Max

❓What’s it about: A family business under threat in Barcelona's central (and touristy) Raval neighborhood explores how to survive an imminent buyout by an investment fund, blurring the line between resistance and criminality.

🤩 Why you should watch: Because critics say it’s one of the best TV shows of the year. And because it’s painfully relevant. Ravalear turns Spain’s housing crisis and the brutal reality of gentrification into a feverish thriller. The atmosphere, its raw realism, the pounding techno soundtrack… they all capture the feeling of modern urban Spain better than almost anything released in recent years.

💬 English Subtitles: Yes.

💃🏻 Places to try this weekend…

🇲🇽 La Xida: where Asturias meets Mexico

What’s it about: La Xida is one of those wonderfully unhinged Madrid concepts that somehow works really well: a restaurant combining Asturian and Mexican cuisine under one roof. That means sidra, guacamole, cachopo, and mole sharing the same menu.

Why you should go: Because the menu alternates comfortably between classics (Asturian chorizo cooked in cider or homemade guacamole) and hybrids like mole rojo with pitu caleya or the “Xidu” cachopo torta.

Bottom line: If you ever wonder what Asturias would look like if it had better weather and more tequila, this is your place.

Address: Calle de López de Hoyos, 11, Madrid

🍸 Grupeta is basically a Wes Anderson fever dream

What’s it about: Grupeta Bar is an all-day café and neighborhood hangout in Chamberí that feels like a combination of a vintage 1970s coffee bar and a cyclist clubhouse. The venue mixes retro aesthetics with a menu designed for sobremesa: brunches, sandwiches, torreznos, fondue, coffee, and beers. You name it, they got it.

Why you should go: Because we desperately need places like these. Good coffee in the morning, great vermú in the afternoon, and amazing beers at night.

Bottom line: If you enjoy looking like the kind of person who owns a bicycle, this is the kind of neighborhood spot you end up returning to constantly.

Address: Calle de Raimundo Fernández Villaverde 30, Madrid

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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

It’s Friday again!

And Madrid is back to doing what it does best — hot weather! Which means your weekend plans just got way (literally) cooler.

• We’re leaning all the way into it this week, either cooling off at the city’s public pools, eating your way through Madrid Food Fest (Michelin chefs!) or going full techno at Maudes Festival.

• If you’re feeling more refined, there’s a surprisingly fun Hamlet remix, a low-key marimba recital, and enough cultural options to pretend you’re balanced. If all else fails, there’s always Netflix and (again, literally) chill.

Happy weekend!

1. 🍔 Madrid Food Fest: Where street food goes Michelin

You know what? We really should promote more the long-lost art of eating and sobremesa. We’re so glued to our phones all the time, when instead we should be talking to our (possibly inebriated) loved ones. Maybe it’s time to change that, and we have the perfect activity for you and your friends.

• The Madrid Food Fest offers the unique opportunity of eating like a Michelin inspector but paying like a poor normal human. This event is what happens when some of the country’s top chefs decide to ditch their fancy tablecloths and go full street food. It’s their version of sluming.

• The Museo del Ferrocarril turns into a playground for food people (aka all of us) for one week only. There will be chefs with Michelin stars and Repsol suns, such as Miguel Carretero, Dani Ochoa, Lucía Grávalos, and Juan D’Onofrio, serving scaled-down, street-style versions of their signature dishes.

• So instead of having to make a reservation, plan logistics, and commit a sizable amount of money to an overpriced meal, the MFF offers the chance to taste the same meal while standing up, probably with something dripping down your hand. Glamorous? Nah. Cheap? Def. Delicious? Fuck yes.

• But wait, there’s more. The whole thing is designed as an experience: a market packed with artisan producers (cheeses, Madrid wines, kombucha startups, even zero-waste products), live showcookings, podcasts being recorded in real time, music, DJs, and workshops (let’s be honest, you don’t care about those unless there’s, like, samples.

There you have it. High-end cuisine, stripped of its pomp and dropped into a setting where you can try a bit of everything without committing to a full tasting menu. Madrid’s top culinary scene in one go.

🖥️ What: Madrid Food Fest

📍 Where: Museo del Ferrocarril, Paseo de las Delicias 61, Madrid

📅 When: May 23–24, 11 a.m.

🎟 Tickets start at €12.50

2. 💀 Stand-up tragedy: Hamlet, now with punchlines

Now that your belly is full and you’ve recovered from your post-San Isidro drunken stupor, maybe we could do something highbrow for a change? If you’re into it, here’s an interesting option: Hamlet, but without the existential dread and a slightly… funnier.

• The Teatro Español is staging a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic that does something borderline sacrilegious: it turns the Prince of Denmark into a stand-up comedian.

• Written and directed by Sergi Belbel, the play takes just the first act of Hamlet and rebuilds it as a one-man show starring Catalan actor Enric Cambray. And when we say one-man show, we mean it: Cambray is alone on stage, breaking down the text, commenting on it, questioning it, and, at times, straight-up roasting it.

• The innovative part is that it lowers the barrier to Shakespeare without dumbing it down. You’re still getting all of the play’s dilemmas, but filtered through humor, irony, and a very 2026 sensibility.

Instead of treating Shakespeare like a sacred, untouchable relic, this show treats it like something you can poke, question, and laugh at with. That balance is hard to pull off, and yet Belbel does.

🖥️ What: Hamlet.01

📍 Where: Teatro Español, Sala Margarita Xirgu, Calle del Principe 25, Madrid

📅 When: May 22 – June 21

🎟 Tickets start at €12

3. 🪩 Maudes Festival: Madrid’s biggest techno weekend of the year

Attention, music fans! Do you prefer basslines, lasers, and a crowd that looks like it hasn’t slept since yesterday super hot to pretentious Shakespeare stuff? Then we have great news: Maudes Festival is back! And it’s going all in.

• Taking over Parque Enrique Tierno Galván across three dates, this open-air electronic festival is becoming one of Madrid’s most immersive music experiences.

• This year’s theme (The Green Nation) leans into a kind of retro-futuristic, industrial aesthetic where techno meets environmental consciousness. Yes, it’s a rave and many people there probably don’t recycle, but it’s the thought that counts.

• The lineup is stacked with big names in the electronic scene: Fisher, Âme, The Blessed Madonna and Argy, alongside local favorites like Les Castizos. It’s a mix of heavy-hitting international sets and crowd-pleasing energy that will carry you well into the early hours.

BTW, Maudes isn’t just about techno music. There’s also art installations, branded spaces, interactive activities, and a social/environmental angle that tries to give the festival a bit more depth than your average “stand in a field and dance” situation. Have fun!

🖥️ What: Maudes Electronic Music Festival

📍 Where: Parque Enrique Tierno Galván, Calle Meneses 4, Madrid

📅 When: May 23 (Additional dates: May 30 & 31)

🎟 Tickets start at €39,95 (€32,95 if you get in before 5:30 p.m.)

4. 🪇 Conrado Moya gives classical music a marimba makeover

If techno/EDM is not for you because you think you’re better than that, fair enough. Lucky for you we have a musical option that is probably a bit more refined (read: no bass drops, no crowds, no hangover). Get ready, this is your chance to watch someone absolutely shred a marimba.

• A what now? If you thought marimba was just an annoying iPhone ringtone, you’d be wrong. And if you thought it was just a fancy xylophone, you’d also be wrong! (Although they are part of the same mallet percussion family, so points for trying.) If you’re still wondering what a marimba sounds like, think of the first few seconds of The Little Mermaid’s Under the Sea. That’s it.

• But we digress. Conrado Moya, one of the instrument’s top international performers, is taking over the Salón del Ateneo with a recital that turns the marimba into the center of a full classical experience. And not just any program; this one jumps from Bach to Gershwin to contemporary compositions, all filtered through an instrument most people still think belongs to a singing crab with a Trinidadian accent.

• What makes this interesting is that this is a kind of personal map of Moya’s artistic journey. The pieces he’s chosen are the ones that shaped him, the ones he’s grown with, and in some cases, the ones written for him. It all builds toward a Madrid premiere, Las ninfas de Nisa, which closes the night.

Want niche? This is niche. Solid cultural flex.

PS: Is Under the Sea stuck in your head now? It is in ours and can you blame us? It’s a bop.

🖥️ What: Conrado Moya’s Reminiscencias

📍 Where: Ateneo de Madrid, Calle Prado 21, Madrid

📅 When: May 23, 7:30 p.m.

🎟 Tickets start at €14,28

5. 💦 It’s officially pool season in Madrid!

Pool season is here! And it means two things: the city is about to get unbearably hot, and everyone suddenly becomes very strategic about where to cool off. The lucky ones will flee to Mallorca or Marbella, while the plebs (i.e. us) will stay in the city. The good news? The municipal pools are back, and there are lots of them.

• 22 of Madrid’s 25 public outdoor pools are already open, with the remaining three joining in early June. Prices are staying the same, with full-day tickets at €4.50 for adults—or €2.25 for a tactical half-day escape from the heat. (You’ll need to plan ahead: most tickets are sold online in advance, and the good spots go fast.)

• The system is the usual controlled chaos. You pick your slot—morning, afternoon, or full day—scan your QR code, and try to claim a decent patch of grass before someone else does. But once you’re in, it’s peak Madrid summer energy: people swimming, friends pretending they’ll “just stay an hour” and leaving at sunset.

• This year there’s also a bit more going on beyond just floating in water. The city is rolling out free “express classes” like aquafitness and stretching sessions, plus even CPR workshops if you’re feeling unexpectedly productive mid-heatwave.

If the municipal pools are packed, you’ve also got the regional ones—slightly pricier, same idea, equally necessary.

🖥️ What: Madrid Municipal Pools 2026 Season

📍 Where: Multiple locations across Madrid

📅 When: Through Sept. 6

🎟 Tickets start at €4.50 (even cheaper for kids!)

📺 What to watch if you’re staying in this weekend…

🖥️ What: Many People Need to Die (Se tiene que morir mucha gente) | TV Series | 2026

📍Where to watch: Movistar+

❓What’s it about: Don’t be misled by the title. This is actually a comedy about three women in their forties who deal with midlife chaos: addiction, career struggles, and marriage to a wealthy older man. As one friend's life unravels, their longtime bond faces its biggest challenge.

🤩 Why you should watch: Because, if you’re tired of polished, feel-good comedies where everyone learns a lesson and hugs it out, this show is your antidote. Comedian and screenwriter Victoria Martín goes full savage here, delivering a brutally honest (and often uncomfortable) look at friendships, mental health, and the quiet chaos of everyday life, where people are messy, selfish, and occasionally unbearable. It’s not here to make you feel good, it’s here to make you laugh at how bad things can get.

💬 English Subtitles: No.

💃🏻 Places to try this weekend…

👨🏻‍🍳 ABYA: Fine dining turned all the way up

What’s it about: ABYA is simply a full-blown spectacle set inside the Palacio de Saldaña in Madrid’s Golden Mile. Add caviar and luxury ingredients sitting comfortably next to a very well-executed burger, and it feels more like an art gallery than a restaurant.

Why you should go: Because it’s theatrical, over-the-top, and unapologetically extravagant, without losing sight of the food. Even if you need to splurge (seriously), and the project screams luxury, there’s a clear attempt to make it feel like more than just a place for the ultra-rich.

Bottom line: ABYA is big, bold and expensive, but it’s absolutely worth checking out at least once, if only to see what happens when ambition runs wild in a kitchen.

Address: Calle de José Ortega y Gasset 32, Madrid

☕️ WOLFØX: The Chueca coffee spot worth stopping for

What’s it about: WOLFØX is one of those places you don’t plan to find but once you do, you kind of want to keep it to yourself. Tucked away on Calle Pérez Galdós, it’s a tiny specialty coffee spot with barely any indoor space and a small terrace.

Why you should go: Because the coffee is seriously good. It’s one of those rare espressos that actually makes you stop mid-sip and go, “damn!”. Credit goes to the baristas behind the machine, who treat coffee like a craft, not a routine.

Bottom line: It’s small, it’s simple, and that’s exactly the point. Go, order an espresso or a latter, enjoy it, and leave feeling like you just discovered one of Madrid’s better-kept coffee secrets

Address: Calle de Perez Galdos 2, Madrid

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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

It’s Friday again! And guess what… It’s a long weekend. Again!

• Before you complain about our lack of productivity and other stereotypes, let us just say that we need to save energy for San Isidro this weekend, which is taking over the streets.

• There’s so much stuff to do, so little time. As in, outdoor concerts, vintage book hunting, photography festivals, lamb bocadillos that have somehow become a cultural movement, and enough cocktails, jamón, and late-night plans to keep you busy until Monday.

Trust us, you may need another long weekend next week to recover from this one.

Happy weekend!

1. 🌺 Madrid throws its biggest street party of the year: San Isidro

Madrid in mid-May is basically one big, city-wide party, and this weekend is your chance to get to know this place like never before.

San Isidro is when the city leans fully into its castizo identity. Think: chulapos, chulapas, rosquillas, limonada (the Madrid version of “lemonade”, with wine, obvi), and a mix of tradition and chaos that keeps getting better.

• 🧙🏻‍♂️ At the heart of it all is San Isidro (Isidore the Laborer) himself, Madrid’s patron saint and, apparently, a bit of a water wizard who sounds like a character from Dungeons and Dragons. Legend has it he could find water anywhere, which is why one of the key rituals this weekend is drinking from the Fuente del Santo (the Saint’s water fountain, which already existed before the 12th century) near the Ermita. Consider it a holy pilgrimage, except you may or may not be drunk.

• 🍷 Where it all began. The Pradera de San Isidro is ground zero. This is where Madrid shows up: families, groups of friends, people dressed as if they’ve stepped out of a Goya painting. You grab your rosquillas—tontas, listas, Santa Clara, take your pick—pour yourself some “lemonade” (wink, wink), and settle into the grass while concerts play in the background. Oh, and fireworks!

• 🎵 Live music everywhere. San Isidro has become one of the most interesting music lineups in Madrid’s calendar. You’ve got Fangoria, David Otero, and Demarco Flamenco playing in the Pradera, indie acts like Triángulo de Amor Bizarro taking over Las Vistillas, and a whole city-wide program (Sonido Madrid en Vivo) spreading concerts across venues. We’re pretty sure you have no idea who any of those people/bands are, but it’s time you start learning.

• 🙏 Feeling religious? There are several Catholic ceremonies for you too! (Please don’t show up drunk)

• 💃🏻 Experience castizo identity. If you don’t know what chulapo/a are, then a) shame on you, and b) it’s time you learn how to dance the chotis. There are countless locations throughout the city where people will be dancing the traditional madrileño dance, so go at least see one.

• 👹 You’ve never seen a street party like this. Gigantes and Cabezudos (see above) roam around like slightly terrifying mascots from another century, Plaza Mayor hosts big open-air concerts and so do the Jardines de las Vistillas, Matadero turns into a verbena playground, and if you need a break from the crowds, you can wander into the Feria de la Cacharrería or duck into the Museo de San Isidro to remind yourself this all has actual historical roots.

Trust us, if you want to feel like a local, then this is all you need to do this weekend.

🖥️ What: Fiestas de San Isidro 2026

📍 Where: All across Madrid (check the links above!)

📅 When: Through May 17 (main celebrations today and tomorrow)

🎟 Tickets: Free admission (most events)

2. 🏰 Not into a Castizo weekend? Candlelit movie music night in a hidden castle in Barajas

If San Isidro is too chaotic for you, fret not, we have a slightly more magical escape plan involving a castle. Did you know there’s one just a few minutes from downtown Madrid? Well, now you do. The Parque del Castillo de la Alameda de Osuna is becoming an open-air cultural stage with Las noches del castillo, a new series that blends music, cinema, and live performance at one of Madrid’s most underrated spots.

• Tomorrow, May 16, the cycle leans fully into cinematic nostalgia with “La lírica en el cine”, a candlelit concert by Matritum Cantat that takes some of the most iconic opera and classical pieces ever used in film soundtracks and brings them back to life—live, outdoors, and surrounded by a historic setting.

• It’s that sweeping, emotional music you recognize instantly but can’t quite place… until it hits you. The whole thing is designed to feel intimate and atmospheric. No massive crowds, no chaos, no chotis. Just music, candles, and that surreal feeling of watching a performance in the middle of a park next to a historic castle.

The broader program runs through mid-June with flamenco, jazz, cinema nights, and even circus shows, but if you’re picking one moment to go, this Saturday is the one that hits that sweet spot between culture and experience.

🖥️ What: Las noches del castillo: “La lírica en el cine”

📍 Where: Parque del Castillo de la Alameda de Osuna, Barajas, Madrid

📅 When: May 16, 10 p.m.

🎟 Tickets: Free admission

3. 📸 PHotoESpaña kicks off the summer season with two must-see shows that just landed in the city

It’s baaaaaack! Every summer, Madrid quietly turns into one of Europe’s photography capitals, and PHotoESPAÑA is the reason why.

• For the next four months, the city becomes a giant, walkable exhibition: museums, galleries, cultural centers, and unexpected spaces all syncing up to showcase some of the most important names in photography.

This year’s edition comes with a theme that feels particularly timely: Volver a imaginar. Translation: question everything. Reality, images, authority, the way we see the world. And nowhere is that more obvious than in two of the standout exhibitions that opened yesterday, both very different, both worth your time.

• Opening this week. At Fundación MAPFRE, Richard Avedon’s In the American West lands as one of the big headline shows of the festival. Originally published in 1985, it’s considered one of the most important portrait series ever made. But don’t expect romantic cowboy imagery. Avedon strips everything back—white background, harsh light, no context—and lets his subjects do the talking. Workers, drifters, oil field laborers. Faces that feel raw, uncomfortable, and completely unfiltered. It’s America, but not the version you usually see.

• Also opening this week. You get something much closer to home—and arguably just as powerful. Azkarate vs Azkarate, at the Serrería Belga, dives into the work of Isabel Azkarate, a pioneer of Spanish street photography and photojournalism. The exhibition plays with the idea of duality—public vs private, observer vs participant. It’s Madrid, it’s Spain, it’s everyday life—but seen through a lens that constantly questions what’s being captured.

Together, they set the tone for the entire festival: two different worlds, two different ways of seeing, both asking one question—how much of what we’re looking at is actually real?

🖥️ What: PHotoESPAÑA 2026

📍 Where: Multiple locations across Madrid

📅 When: Through Sept. 13

🎟 Tickets: Varies by exhibition (many free, others from €5–€10)

4.🥪 Ruta del Paquito: everyone’s favorite lamb sandwich takes over San Isidro

Madrid’s most unapologetically local food trend takes over the Tirso de Molina Market in Latina (which, fyi, is not La Latina) with the Ruta del Paquito (Paquito Food Route), a celebration of the city’s favorite underdog sandwich: the lamb bocadillo (aka sandwich) that’s quietly become a cult classic. You like burgers? Well, this is juicier, messier, and with actual castizo roots.

• The market turns into a full-on San Isidro scene starting on Saturday: free tastings of Paquitos, eight different stalls serving their own versions, and, because this is Madrid, a tuna roaming around playing live music while you eat. (Fyi, a tuna is a traditional musical group of university students dressed in 13th-century costumes who sing and play instruments.)

• The Paquito itself is simple in theory (lamb in a sandwich, duh), but wildly creative in practice. This year, it’s everywhere—more than 300 bars across Spain are participating, and dozens in Madrid alone are putting their own spin on it. If you’ve never tried it, this event is the perfect entry point: one place, multiple takes, zero commitment.

There’s also a bigger story here. The whole idea behind the route is to bring lamb back into everyday eating—especially for younger crowds—while quietly pushing the sustainability angle. But honestly, none of that matters once you’re holding one. Trust us, you’ll get it.

🖥️ What: Ruta del Paquito

📍 Where: Mercado de Tirso de Molina, Doña Urraca 15, Latina, Madrid

📅 When: May 16 (from 12:30 p.m.)

🎟 Tickets: Free (tastings while supplies last)

5. 📚 Antique Book Fair: Recoletos’ best book treasure hunt is back

Attention, fans of books and horror movies involving Lovecraftian stuff like The Necronomicon! If your idea of a perfect weekend includes finding a cursed book getting lost in stacks of forgotten books, this is your moment.

• The Paseo de Recoletos by Cibeles has quietly turned into one of the most charming corners of Madrid with the 48th edition of the Feria del Libro Antiguo y de Ocasión—a long-standing tradition that feels like a treasure hunt and a time machine.

• Rows of stands, run by specialist booksellers from across Spain, are packed with everything from €1 paperbacks to rare first editions from the 14th century that cost much more than you can probably pay for.

• You can go in with zero expectations and walk out with something completely unexpected: an out-of-print novel, a vintage magazine, or an old map. Something is exciting about flipping through pages that have clearly lived a life before you got to them.

🖥️ What: 48ª Feria del Libro Antiguo y de Ocasión

📍 Where: Paseo de Recoletos (by Cibeles fountain), Madrid

📅 When: Through May 17

🎟 Tickets: Free admission

📺 What to watch if you’re staying in this weekend…

🖥️ What: Band Together (Rondallas) | Movie | 2026

📍Where to watch: Movistar+

❓What’s it about: A small town on the coast of Galicia is shaken by the shipwreck in which seven of its nine crew members died. After two years of mourning, the town’s inhabitants form a rondalla and rehearse to compete against other neighbouring villages and heal themselves.

🤩 Why you should watch: If you’re in the mood for something genuinely uplifting, Rondallas is exactly that rare kind of film: a “crowd-pleaser” that actually earns the title. Daniel Sánchez Arévalo returns with a warm, beautifully written story set in a Galician town where music, grief, and community collide, weaving together small human stories about guilt, forgiveness, and healing without ever forcing the emotion.

💬 English Subtitles: No.

💃🏻 Places to try this weekend…

🥓 Restaurante Cinco Jotas: Where jamón stops being food and starts being a religion

What’s it about: Cinco Jotas Madrid is a temple to one thing: jamón. Not just any jamón, but that jamón—100% ibérico de bellota, sliced, showcased, and treated like the celebrity it is.

Why you should go: Because the recently revamped space leans into the experience, building a menu around the product with dishes that range from classic (croquetas, cured cuts) to slightly more playful (panipuri Cinco Jotas, steak tartar with camembert and anchovies). Bonus points: it’s near the Bernabéu Stadium, so yes, it’s dangerously easy to justify.

Bottom line: If you like jamón, you’ll love it. If you don’t, it may be time to reconsider your life choices (sorry, vegans!).

Address: Calle del Padre Damián 42, Madrid

🐍 Snake Bar is where your afterlunch turns into a full-blown night out

What’s it about: Snake Bar is tucked into Justicia, and you may not initially notice it, but this new cocktail spot is a full-on tribute to the 70s, 80s, and 90s, involving nostalgia, music, and pretty cool drinks.

Why you should go: Because thanks to its copper-toned, retro-glam space and a bar that feels like the center of gravity, it presents an atmosphere that makes it very easy to lose track of time.

Bottom line: If you’re looking for a place that turns “just one drink” into a full evening, Snake Bar is it. Come for the cocktails, stay for the soundtrack.

Address: Calle del Marqués de la Ensenada 16, Madrid

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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

It’s Friday again!

Guess what? Madrid is in full celebration mode (again!) and honestly, there’s no better time to lean into it.

• From the Feria de San Isidro to festivals, exhibitions, and enough plans to completely wreck your sleep schedule, this city is doing what it does best: giving you zero excuses to stay home.

• This week, we’re taking you from chulapos and rosquillas to Star Wars fan madness, underground dance, poetry, and restaurants with long waiting lists but definitely worth the wait. Basically: if you’re bored, it’s on you.

Happy weekend!

1. 🌺 Put on your chulapo outfit and pretend you understand rosquillas: San Isidro is back

Wait, is Madrid throwing yet another celebration? Yes, we just had one with the whole Madrid Day thing last week, but what can we say? We love a good excuse to party.

• Going until next weekend, Madrid hits a very specific vibe that involves religious devotion, picnic chaos, and a city-wide excuse to drink wine disguised as lemonade. That’s San Isidro in a nutshell. It's also known as the Feast of Saint Isidore the Laborer (aka the moment when locals collectively decide that the best way to honor the city’s patron saint is by dressing up, heading to a field, and day drinking).

• The heart of it all is the Pradera de San Isidro, a public park in southwestern Madrid you’ve never been to, even though things there get wonderfully unhinged. The madness began yesterday (whoops!) but things keep going until May 17, so check out the official program for the countless things to do in the city.

• You’ve got chulapos and chulapas (aka this) lining up to drink the “holy water” from the saint’s fountain (yes, that’s a thing), while others are parked on the grass with rosquillas and limonada — which, just to be clear, is not lemonade. It’s wine, lemon, sugar, and fruit. So basically it’s sangría, but who cares.

• And then there are the rosquillas. You’ll be forced to pick a side. The tontas (plain, egg-based), the listas (with sugar glaze), the Santa Clara (covered in meringue), the francesas (almond-coated)… and now even chocolate-covered ones for the modern crowd. Wrong year to start dieting.

• Beyond the picnic-core aesthetic and the live music, the city leans fully into tradition. There are religious ceremonies tied to San Isidro’s supposed miracles (he was known for finding water, which explains the whole fountain obsession), and, of course, the Feria de San Isidro — one of the biggest bullfighting events in the world — taking over Las Ventas, which we disapprove of because we’re woke (at least according to some of you on Instagram).

🖥️ What: Fiestas de San Isidro 2026

📍 Where: Multiple locations around Madrid

📅 When: Through May 17 (main event is May 15)

🎟 Tickets: Mostly free (some events like bullfighting require tickets)

2. 👽 Madrid just got its biggest Star Wars fan exhibition

Attention trekkies (kidding)! If you’ve ever argued about whether The Empire Strikes Back is objectively the best one (it is), this is your moment. Madrid has just been taken over by one of the biggest fan-made Star Wars exhibitions in the world.

• El Imperio Fan Contraataca lands in the city after touring places like New York, London, and Paris, bringing with it over 600 collectible items and 50+ sculptures dedicated to the saga.

• There are life-size figures, original-style costumes, posters, photos… basically the kind of stuff that makes you giggle like a little kid even though your doctor is already recommending regular prostate checkups.

• But the real hook here isn’t just the scale — it’s the fact that this is built by fans, for fans. Every corner feels like someone went way too deep into Star Wars lore and never returned.

Even if you’re not a die-hard, there’s something oddly satisfying about seeing that level of detail and devotion up close. And if you are a fan? Clear your schedule.

🖥️ What: El Imperio Fan Contraataca (Star Wars Fan Exhibition)

📍 Where: Espacio Delicias, Paseo de las Delicias 61, Madrid

📅 When: Through July 5

🎟 Tickets start at €13,60

3. 🇮🇹 Put your Duolingo learning to good use: Madrid’s getting very poetic (and Italian) this weekend

Not your usual Friday plan, but hear us out. For five days, a palace in Madrid is turning into a full-on poetry vortex for the first Festival of Italian Poetry. Intrigued? Read on!

• The event brings together poets, thinkers, and performers to explore how Italian and Spanish literary traditions have been quietly influencing each other for centuries. If you’re trying to look pretentious smart in front of your date, this is for you.

• The program mixes readings, debates, and performances that lean into big, slightly intimidating questions — like what nature actually means when poets get involved — alongside more grounded conversations around women, poetry, and freedom.

• And then it gets a bit more experimental, blending poetry with live music, rhythm, and performance pieces that feel closer to a live set than a lecture.

• There’s also a strong historical angle, with events marking 800 years since San Francisco of Assisi and nods to Lorca (because no Spanish cultural moment is complete without him).

🖥️ What: Festival de la Poesía Italiana en Madrid

📍 Where: Instituto Italiano de Cultura, Palacio de Abrantes, Calle Mayor 86, Madrid

📅 When: May 8–12

🎟 Tickets: Free entry (subject to capacity and you need to book it via their website)

4. 🩰 Forget the plot, just feel: this dance show is like a dream you don’t fully understand (and that’s OK)

Is an Italian poetry festival too mainstream for you? Here’s a really cool (and abstract) option.

• If you need a story with a beginning, middle, and end… this is not your show. But if you’re up for something different, then Goyo Montero’s latest piece might be exactly what you needed.

• The choreographer presents a modern dance performance inspired by Bach’s Goldberg Variations, but don’t expect anything classical in the traditional sense. This is a fully emotional, almost hypnotic experience, where 28 dancers move through a series of solos, duos, and trios that explore connection, vulnerability, tension — all the good human stuff.

• There are no characters, no heroes, no clear storyline. Just bodies in motion, shifting between tenderness and aggression, calm and chaos. A place where dreams and nightmares blend together, and movement becomes the only language that matters.

• The music plays a big role too, mixing Bach’s mathematical precision with contemporary soundscapes by Owen Belton. The result is something cyclical, almost meditative — like everything is constantly dissolving and coming back again.

It’s not the easiest plan for the weekend. But it might be the most interesting one.

🖥️ What: Goyo Montero’s Goldberg

📍 Where: Centro Danza Matadero, Paseo de la Chopera 14, Madrid

📅 When: Through May 9

🎟 Tickets start at €27

5. 💿 The city’s biggest vinyl treasure hunt is back

If your idea of a perfect weekend includes flipping through crates for hours, chasing that one record you didn’t know you needed — this is your moment.

• The International Record Fair returns to Madrid for its 28th edition, taking over Casa de Campo during the San Isidro festivities. The fair is a full-blown music playground with around 130 stands from across the world bringing everything from rare vinyl and cassettes to CDs and deep cuts across every genre imaginable.

• But it goes beyond collecting. Expect live performances, DJ sets, book presentations, and panels with people who actually shape the music scene. It’s about nostalgia and cultural dive, and an excuse to spend way too long debating whether you really need another record (you probably do, but maybe buy a turntable first?).

Whether you’re a serious collector or just someone who misses the ritual of physical music (damn you, Spotify!), this is one of those events where you walk in “just to browse” and walk out with a bag full of bad decisions.

🖥️ What: Madrid International Record Fair (28th Edition)

📍 Where: Pabellón de Convenciones, Casa de Campo, Av. de Portugal s/n, Madrid

📅 When: May 9–10,

🎟 Tickets start at €5,10

📺 What to watch if you’re staying in this weekend…

🖥️ What: My Dearest Señorita (Mi querida señorita) | Movie | 2026

📍Where to watch: Netflix

❓What’s it about: A young woman's medical discovery challenges everything she knows about herself, leading her on an unexpected path toward self-acceptance and a love that defies convention.

🤩 Why you should watch: Because it’s a sensitive, modern reimagining of a classic from 1972 that explores identity, empathy, and self-discovery without judgment, updating its themes for today’s audience. While it doesn’t try to outdo the original, it deepens it, offering a more intimate, emotionally nuanced look at a story that still feels surprisingly relevant today. Oh, and it’s produced by Los Javis.

💬 English Subtitles: Yes.

💃🏻 Places to try this weekend…

🍝 Circolo Popolare: The most Instagrammable Italian that actually delivers on the plate

What’s it about: Circolo Popolare is a two-floor Italian restaurant inside Torre Picasso that leans hard into maximalism. (Red walls, leopard-print carpets, vintage bottles everywhere, and plates that look like they belong in a design museum). It’s theatrical, and very intentionally over the top — basically built for both dinner and your camera roll.

Why you should go: Because beneath all that visual noise, the food actually delivers. The arancini are the standout and worth the visit alone: crispy, rich, and dangerously easy to demolish. And there’s something fun about a restaurant that fully commits to the experience without completely phoning in the kitchen.

Bottom line: Yes, it’s loud and engineered to go viral — but it works. Circolo Popolare is one of those rare “Instagrammable” spots that doesn’t collapse under its own hype.

Address: Paseo de la Castellana 89, Torre Picasso, Madrid

🐙 Casa Nokiate: A Chueca taberna where Spain meets Latin America and Asia

What’s it about: Casa Nokiate is what happens when a Madrid taberna decides to travel — and comes back with Guatemala, Japan, and a bit of Peru in its suitcase. Located in Chueca, it blends classic Spanish tapas culture with Latin American energy and Asian technique.

Why you should go: Because it’s not fusion for the sake of it — it actually makes sense. The menu is built for sharing, with playful, well-executed dishes like torrezno with salsa acevichada, nikkei-style tiradito, and standout appetizers like their reinvented gildas.

Bottom line: Casa Nokiate doesn’t try to be overly fancy — it just wants to feed you well and surprise you a bit along the way. It’s a solid pick for a relaxed but memorable meal in Chueca, especially if you’re into sharing plates with a twist.

Address: Calle de San Bartolomé 14, Madrid

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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

It’s Friday again (and a holiday)!

• This weekend is basically a collision of everything: history spilling into the streets with 2 de Mayo reenactments, rooftops opening up all over the city, and a lineup of cultural plans that range from thoughtful to chaotic (in a good way).

• Are you in the mood to time-travel to 1808? Or maybe sip something overpriced on a rooftop? Or just wander into whatever’s happening and call it a plan? We have great news, because this XL weekend is offering lots of possibilities (even the Madrid Open tennis tournament!).

Happy weekend 🧐

1. 🪭 Community of Madrid Day: the city goes full 1800s with history, chaos, and a massive party

Madrid’s big moment is here! If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about this city’s history but opening a book feels soooo 20th century, you’re in luck: the 2 de Mayo celebrations are here to show you what happens when a national uprising that left hundreds of people dead gets rebranded as a long weekend of concerts, sun, and fun!

• History lesson. May 2, 1808, was the day that the population of Madrid rose against Napoleon’s troops occupying the city. It didn’t go so great (Goya created one of his most iconic paintings to make sure we never forget), but fast forward several centuries, and it’s now one of the most symbolic (and fun!) dates in the city’s calendar. It is, now, officially considered the Day of the Community of Madrid.

• Across Madrid, things get very busy. The Explanada de Puente del Rey turns into the unofficial HQ of the celebrations, with live concerts, crowds, and people who say they are there to learn history, but really, they just care about the beer.

• Elsewhere, you’ve got traditional folklore performances, brass bands popping up in different towns, and even a full-on drone show lighting up the sky in La Latina.

• If you’re into animal cruelty “tradition”, there’s a bullfight in Las Ventas (honestly, very on-brand for the day).

• There are smaller, less brutal more local traditions like the Mayas festivals (not related to Mexico’s Maya culture) happening across the region, where things get a bit more folkloric as they involve a young girl adorned with flowers (often wearing a crown) who sits on an altar or in a decorated spot during May festivals.

So yeah, it’s one of those weekends where the past and present collide, and where history gets just enough of a glow-up to make you actually care. (The rest of the year, you can go back to watching Ancient Aliens on the History network).

🖥️ What: Madrid’s 2 de Mayo Festivities

📍 Where: Multiple locations around Madrid. See links above.

📅 When: May 1-3

🎟 Tickets: Mostly free entry (some events ticketed, access subject to capacity)

2. 🥁 Muskets in Madrid: the uprising returns, with a reenactment playing live in the streets

If you’ve ever wondered what Madrid looked like when things got deadly, this is your chance to see it live (except for the actual killing, obvi). The city is once again recreating the 2 de Mayo uprising, when locals decided they’d had enough of Napoleon’s troops, and things escalated quickly.

• For two days, Madrid turns into a historical film set, with committed performers, real uniforms, and gunfire. The whole thing is led by the Asociación Histórico-Cultural Voluntarios de Madrid 1808–1814, a group that’s been doing this for over 20 years, which means they’re either passionate or just really into uniforms. Or both.

• Things kick off today with reenactments in Torrejón de Ardoz and Vicálvaro, where you’ll see full-on street battles between locals and French troops. Then, tomorrow (May 2), things move into central Madrid, and that's when it gets good.

• At 12 p.m., right next to the Banco de España metro station, you’ll get a pasacalles down Alcalá (yes, actual soldiers marching through modern Madrid), followed by a dramatic reenactment at the Puerta del Sol at 1 p.m. of the iconic “¡Que nos lo llevan!” (“They are taking him away!”) moment — basically the spark that lit the whole uprising after the French troops attempted to remove Infante Francisco de Paula—the last remaining member of the Royal Family in the city.

• And then, the main event: the defense of the Monteleón artillery barracks at Puente del Rey, which is as intense as it sounds.

So if you’re into history, or just want to watch people in period costumes scream at each other in the middle of the street, this one’s for you.

🖥️ What: 2 de Mayo Historical Reenactments

📍 Where: Puente del Rey, Puerta del Sol, Torrejón de Ardoz and Vicálvaro

📅 When: May 1–2

🎟 Tickets: Free entry (access subject to capacity)

3. 🌞 Madrid a Cielo Abierto: rooftops, drinks, repeat

Indoors is for the winter. Rooftop lovers, rejoice! Madrid A Cielo Abierto is back, and for 11 days the city’s hotels basically unlock their best-kept secrets — rooftops, terraces, gardens, pools — and invite you in like you belong there.

• Now, this isn’t your average “grab a drink and leave” situation. We’re talking sunset sessions with views that make you reconsider your current apartment, rooftop workouts (yes, that’s a thing), jazz nights, open-air cinema, brunches that start civilized and end in fights similar to the ones you see on Real Housewives, and enough tardeos to justify calling it a lifestyle.

• More than 50 different plans are spread across some of Madrid’s best hotels. From the polished elegance of the Four Seasons to the effortlessly cool Only You or the classic rooftop vibes of H10 Puerta de Alcalá.

If you’ve been meaning to explore the city’s rooftops but never quite made it past the Azotea del Círculo, this is your best time to do it.

🖥️ What: Madrid A Cielo Abierto (Open-Air Hotel Rooftop Festival)

📍 Where: Multiple hotels across Madrid

📅 When: May 1–10

🎟 Tickets: Free entry/pay per drink

4. 🎭 Trauma, inheritance, and secrets nobody asked for: ‘I just want to go to France’ is a play that digs deep

If you’re in the mood for something a bit heavier than rooftop cocktails and muskets being fired, this one hits differently. Elisabeth Larena’s debut play is a story that starts like a mystery and slowly turns into something much more uncomfortable: the kind of past that refuses to stay buried.

• It all begins with a funeral and a very weird inheritance. Inés shows up at the wake of a woman she’s never met, only to discover she’s been left her house… instead of the dead woman’s own granddaughter. What follows is a slow excavation of everything that went wrong.

• As the main characters start digging into the woman’s past, they uncover a story shaped by the final years of the Spanish Civil War and the suffocating influence of Francoist institutions and the kind of ideological machinery that didn’t just control lives back then, but quietly echoes into the present.

• This play is about the emotional leftovers of a bygone era that get passed down without anyone consciously choosing them.

It leans into a female, multi-generational perspective that feels intimate, reflective, and at times a bit too real.

🖥️ What: I just want to go to France

📍 Where: Gran Teatro Pavón, C. de Embajadores 9, Madrid

📅 When: Through May 23 (Wednesday to Sunday)

🎟 Tickets start at €24

5. 🗿 Giant sculptures, hidden gardens, and a rare excuse to snoop inside Banca March

This city doesn’t usually let you wander into private gardens in the middle of the city. But for its 100th anniversary, Banca March is doing exactly that, reopening its secret garden and filling it with the kind of art that makes you stop doomscrolling.

• The star of the show is British sculptor Thomas Houseago, getting his first major exhibition in Spain. And this isn’t subtle, minimalist stuff. We mean massive, raw, slightly unsettling human figures — some pushing five meters tall — made from a mix of traditional materials like bronze and plaster. It’s like a classical sculpture that’s also part construction site.

• Houseago’s whole thing is blending influences that shouldn’t really coexist: ancient sculpture, Rodin, Picasso… and then suddenly Ziggy Stardust or Darth Vader. It’s all timeless and very now.

• And honestly, half the appeal here is the setting. The Banca March garden in Salamanca is one of those places most people walk past without even realizing it exists — a quiet, green pocket in the city centre with over 1,600 square meters of vegetation, ponds, and curated calm. It rarely opens, which makes this feel a bit like being let in on a secret.

🖥️ What: Thomas Houseago Exhibition at Banca March Garden

📍 Where: Banca March Gardens, C. de Castelló 75, Madrid

📅 When: May 1 – Oct. 30

🎟 Tickets: Free entry (access subject to capacity)

📺 What to watch if you’re staying in this weekend…

🖥️ What: Naughty Business (Cochinas) | TV Series | 2026

📍Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video

❓What’s it about: In 1998, a conservative housewife has to confront her beliefs when her husband falls into a coma, leaving her in charge of their video store on the brink of bankruptcy. She specializes in selling adult films, causing uproar in the neighborhood.

🤩 Why you should watch: Because it’s the kind of show that sounds like it shouldn’t work (conservative, small-town women in the late 90s accidentally reinventing themselves through the porn section of a video store) and yet somehow it does. It’s sharp, funny, and a nostalgic love letter to VHS-era cinema, packed with references that hit if you grew up around video stores. It’s also a slow, awkward (and often hilarious) sexual awakening told from a female perspective.

💬 English Subtitles: Yes. Oh, and also it’s not for kids.

💃🏻 Places to try this weekend…

🍔 Ponzano gets its groove back: Nolita is already the place to beat

What’s it about: Nolita is what happens when two Basque Culinary Center grads ditch New York’s Little Spain and land in Ponzano with something to prove. The concept: informal, loud, slightly chaotic, and built around “tapas viajeras” — small, bold bites with global influences but a Mediterranean backbone.

Why you should go: Because the food hits that sweet spot between playful and precise: gildas with red tuna, boquerón on brioche with blueberries, and a now-hyped ensaladilla wrapped in nori with eel. Add a tight, rotating menu, a strong wine list in progress, and a bar where everything happens in front of you, and you’ve got energy and an incredible place.

Bottom line: Nolita is exactly what Ponzano needed. Go for the food, just accept that getting a table might require some strategy.

Address: Calle de Ponzano, 11, Madrid

🎷 The show goes on: Madrid’s jazz temple refuses to die

What’s it about: Madrid’s most iconic jazz club, Café Central, closed its historic location at Plaza del Ángel… and reopened 24 hours later inside the Ateneo. After more than 40 years and 14,000+ concerts, the move marks the end of one chapter — and the immediate start of another.

Why you should go: Because it nails that very specific fantasy for people who live here: an aperitivo that turns into dinner that turns into “one last drink.” Upstairs, the rooftop leans Mediterranean and a bit more refined. Downstairs, La Galería is all about sharing plates and good energy.

Bottom line: Nothing really dies here — it just gets a new address. If you care about Madrid’s cultural institutions, this is one to show up for.

Address: Calle de Santa Catalina, 10 (Ateneo de Madrid), Madrid

👨🏻‍💻 Viral Memes of the Week

🍷 Water, meet wine

🤑 5 best moments of the blackout (btw #1 is fake news — it’s actually from the COVID lockdowns)

@javierpv_26Top 5 momentazos del apagón en España. Hace ya 1 año de este día de ciencia ficción JAJAJA #españa #apagon #humor

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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

It’s Friday again!

And it’s time to put your phone away. We’re having a very cultural weekend that involves silent films, book clubs, and street art. So gather your monocles and mount your penny-farthings, and make haste to the picture house for an evening of most agreeable diversion!

Happy weekend 🧐

1. 🎬 The Passion of Joan of Arc: Silent film, a live orchestra, and emotional damage

If your idea of cinema is The Fast and the Furious saga, caramel popcorn, and looking at your phone every five minutes, this might not be your scene. But if you’re ready for something a bit more intellectual intense, then you don’t want to miss this.

• The Passion of Joan of Arc — yes, that French silent film from 1928 you never heard of before — lands in Madrid tomorrow for a one-time-only screening that goes all in.

• Pay attention. We’re talking live orchestra, live choir, and a full immersive setup inside Cine Capitol that turns the film into something closer to a mesmerizing ritual.

• And the film itself? Not exactly light viewing. Widely considered one of the greatest movies ever made, this masterpiece by Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer strips everything down to raw emotion.

• It follows Joan of Arc’s trial and execution through a series of brutal close-ups. No distractions, no spectacle, just the face of Maria Falconetti carrying the entire weight of the story. It’s uncomfortable and weirdly modern for something that’s almost 100 years old.

We’re not done. Now add a live score.

• The Caspervek Ensemble performs an original composition (Missa Ioanna Arcensis), backed by orchestra and choir, which basically means the emotional impact goes from “intense” to “why am I crying on a Saturday afternoon.”

This is so much more than watching a film. Definitely memorable.

🖥️ What: La pasión de Juana de Arco (with live orchestra & choir)

📍 Where: Cine Capitol, Gran Vía 41, Madrid

📅 When: April 25, 12:30 p.m.

🎟 Tickets start at €24

2. 🎨 Malasaña becomes a live canvas again, and yes, you get to judge it

A long, long time ago (like, in 2010), Malasaña was all graffiti, which meant it was gross. Sixteen years later, the neighborhood has changed: it’s now all graffiti, which means it’s great! It’s gone from “place for gang members to hang out” to “open air art project”. And this Sunday, we’re all celebrating the rebranding.

• Pinta Malasaña is back, and the neighborhood is once again turning into Madrid’s street gallery, with artists literally taking over shop shutters, walls, and whatever space locals are brave enough to offer.

• Dozens of urban artists will be painting live across the streets for one day only, all at the same time. Forget those snobbish art galleries and Instagram filters. This is all about spray cans, ladders, and a crowd watching the whole thing unfold in real time.

• The concept is simple but great: local businesses, neighbors, and associations lend their spaces, and artists compete to transform them. You walk around, watch the process, and by the end of the day… you actually get a say. Because yes, there’s a public vote for the best piece, so your uneducated opinion about art finally matters! No more staring at a banana duct-taped to a white canvas. This is real art!

Beyond the painting, the vibe is very Malasaña: workshops, side activities, people wandering around with beers pretending they understand street art. It’s one of those plans where you show up, walk around, and end up spending all day there.

🖥️ What: Pinta Malasaña

📍 Where: All over Malasaña, Madrid

📅 When: April 26

🎟 Tickets: No tickets necessary

3. 📚 Books are taking over Madrid, and it’s getting out of hand (in a good way)

If you thought “La Noche de los Libros” was already a lot, welcome to the upgraded version. This year, Madrid has decided one night isn’t enough and turned it into a full-blown four-day literary takeover called LIBROMAD.

• The entire region basically becomes one giant book club this week — except instead of pretending you read Truman Capote, you get 400+ activities, 300 authors, and events happening across 100 municipalities.

• The theme this year is “Los confines de los libros,” which sounds boring but really means that books aren’t just books anymore. They’re conversations, performances, concerts, workshops, and whatever else happens, especially now that no one reads anymore.

• Libraries and bookstores become the main stage. This is reading as a social experience — something that crosses generations, mixes formats, and turns into a collective event.

Sunday’s closing event at Plaza de España is doing the most, if you need a starting point. There’s a collective reading (with hot chocolate, because Madrid knows what matters), live music, performances, and even a mini book fair.

🖥️ What: LIBROMAD - Madrid Book Week

📍 Where: All over Madrid (main event at Plaza de España)

📅 When: Through April 26

🎟 Tickets: Free entry to most activities

4. 🌏 Feeling lost? Imperio is a theatre piece that turns identity into a journey

Feeling a bit lost in life, but you’re poor, so you can’t go to Bali to find yourself and eat, pray, and love? Great. We’re offering a play that is basically a similar existential crisis… but with better lighting and choreography (sorry, but it’s true).

• Carles Fernández Giua’s latest piece lands in Madrid with a mix of theatre and dance that tries to answer one of those annoying questions we all avoid: what actually gives your life meaning, and why is it so hard to adult figure out?

• The show follows two journeys at the same time. One is physical: an artistic company traveling through China and Tibet. The other is way more personal: Yan Huang, a performer who left China and now, from Europe, is trying to reconnect with a culture she somehow understands better from afar than when she was actually living there. Pretty on brand for us, isn’t it?

• The whole piece plays with that idea — distance giving clarity, identity being something you rebuild rather than inherit, and the strange feeling of not fully belonging anywhere.

• It mixes documentary footage, movement, and poetic storytelling to create something that’s less about plot and more about… vibes (intellectual vibes, don’t worry).

If you’re in the mood to feel something slightly deeper than usual (or just want to say you went to something cultured this weekend), this might be your move.

🖥️ What: Imperio

📍 Where: Centro Cultural Conde Duque, Calle del Conde Duque 11, Madrid

📅 When: April 24–25

🎟 Tickets start at €20

5. 🖼️ Colores y Formas: Abstract art that you can actually take home

Alright, let’s be serious for a sec. If you’ve ever walked into a contemporary art show and thought, “This is too sophisticated for me,” this one might be your entry point.

• Eduardo Chillida Belzunce — son of famous Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida — is bringing together a group of artists to explore the basics of art: form, color, and space.

• The whole thing is a deep dive into abstraction (textures, structures, and pieces that are less about “what is it?” and more about “what does it do to you?”). There will be works that play with materials, shapes, and visual tension in a way that feels very intentional and very contemporary.

• You’ll find works by Pedro Txillida, María Chillida, Ignacio López, Christian Iglesias, and several guest artists — so it’s more like a collective conversation than a single vision. Different styles, same obsession: how far can you push the language of art before it stops being obvious?

The exhibition also launches Chillida Belzunce Art & Design, a project that takes those abstract ideas and drops them into everyday objects — clothing, lamps, furniture, even skateboards. (Yes, skateboards!)

🖥️ What: Colores y Formas

📍 Where: Calle de Belén, 2, Madrid

📅 When: Through May 18

🎟 Tickets: Free entry

📺 What to watch if you’re staying in this weekend…

🖥️ What: I Always Sometimes (Yo Siempre a Veces) | TV Miniseries | 2026

📍Where to watch: Movistar+

❓What’s it about: A pregnant woman navigates life as a single mom in Barcelona, facing ups and downs and trying to survive adulthood in a system that is clearly not designed to help her.

🤩 Why you should watch: Because it just… feels real and painfully relatable. Produced by Los Javis, it leans into that raw and chaotic style, but this time with a quieter, more grounded approach. It’s not about big plot twists, but about dialogue and awkward silences. If you’ve ever felt like adulthood showed up too fast and underdelivered, this one will hit close to home.

💬 English Subtitles: No.

💃🏻 Places to try this weekend…

🍸 Los Gabrieles: Madrid’s most iconic taberna is finally back, and it’s still the ‘Sistine Chapel of tiles‘

What’s it about: A historic taberna that’s been closed for over 20 years has finally reopened — fully restored and still covered in its iconic hand-painted tiles. Once a hotspot for everyone (from Ava Gardner and, allegedly, King Alfonso XIII to Lorca and Hemingway), Los Gabrieles is basically a mix of cultural landmark, flamenco haunt, and old-school eating house, now updated for 2026.

Why you should go: Because you’ll be stepping into a piece of Madrid history that almost disappeared. The space alone is worth it (it’s literally called “the Sistine Chapel of tiles”), but there’s also a proper bar scene.

Bottom line: Madrid loves a comeback story, and this might be one of its best. Come for the tiles, stay for the food.

Address: Calle de Echegaray, 17, Madrid

🍹 Drinks, tapas, and sunsets: Florida Park is doing the most (and we’re here for it)

What’s it about: Florida Park is basically what happens when El Retiro decides to get a warm-weather glow-up. It’s an urban escape surrounded by trees and sky where Madrid goes to snack, drink, and stay longer than planned.

Why you should go: Because it nails that very specific fantasy for people who live here: an aperitivo that turns into dinner that turns into “one last drink.” Upstairs, the rooftop leans Mediterranean and a bit more refined. Downstairs, La Galería is all about sharing plates and good energy, mixing classic Spanish tapas (croquetas, tortilla) with sushi, poke, and gyozas.

Bottom line: Solid music, well-made cocktails, and a crowd that’s clearly enjoying themselves in El Retiro. What else can you ask for?

Address: P.º de Panamá, 1, El Retiro Park, Madrid

👨🏻‍💻 Viral Memes of the Week

🧑‍🦲 Easier to apply sunscreen

🤑 Spanish millionaires pay (to leave)

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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

It’s Friday again!

The sun is out, terraces are full again, and Madrid is officially in that sweet spot where the city feels alive without being unbearable.

• This weekend, it’s all happening: from futuristic pizza experiments and Japanese-inspired cocktails to highbrow opera at the Teatro Real, thought-provoking festivals at the Reina Sofía, and immersive exhibitions that actually make you think. In other words, no excuses. It’s time to have fun!

Happy weekend!

1. 🌿 Put down your phone and touch grass: Madrid’s Biophest turns nature into an experience

Alright, plant people and reluctant nature lovers, this one’s for you. If your idea of reconnecting with nature is buying one of those sad basil plants at the Lidl checkout, Biophest is here to raise the bar. Matadero is becoming a full-blown ecosystem for a few days this week, blending art, science, and greenery in a way that’s actually… not weird.

• Biophest is back for its second edition, and it’s leaning hard into the idea that maybe (just maybe) we should put down our phones and reconnect with Gaia, Pacha Mama, or whatever the hell the cool kids are calling Mother Nature these days.

• The festival revolves around biophilia (sounds like a scary illness, but it actually means love of nature), bringing together artists, scientists, musicians, and botanists to explore how we coexist with the plant world. There are concerts, talks, and installations that will make you feel guilty for those plants that you found died after coming back from that trip to Cancún.

• There are also film screenings, including cult classics and documentaries about our relationship with plants, plus guided walks around the Manzanares and urban green spaces that might actually make you look at Madrid differently for once.

• The more experimental side kicks in at Nave Una, where things get weird in the best way: installations that imagine feeding plants through images instead of light, chemical “conversations” with vegetation, and even an exhibition about lettuce (yes, lettuce) that quietly exposes how dependent we’ve become on industrial agriculture.

And remember: if plants could kill you, they would. (So be nice to them).

🖥️ What: Biophest Festival

📍 Where: Matadero Madrid, Plaza de Legazpi 8, Madrid

📅 When: Through April 19

🎟 Tickets: Free (but check website to book your spot)

2. 📚 Ready for an intellectual weekend? READ Festival takes over Reina Sofía

Not into plants, but yes into pretending to like books? Great, this one’s for you. READ Madrid is basically what happens when books stop behaving and start picking fights with reality. (A line that makes no sense but sounded nice in our head, so we’re leaving it).

• This two-day festival turns the Reina Sofía Museum into a meeting point for writers, thinkers, and editors who are less interested in neat conclusions and more into tearing things apart (language, politics, memory, identity, you know… what smart people like).

• The whole idea is to rethink how knowledge is produced and who gets to produce it, with a strong transatlantic focus that brings Latin American voices into the mix.

• The themes are not exactly light reading. We’re talking about redefining “the popular” beyond populist clichés, exploring what a “furious peace” might look like in a world shaped by conflict, and using fiction, especially sci-fi and speculative narratives, as a tool to resist collective amnesia.

• But it’s not just panels where people nod seriously. The program mixes conversations, performances, and film: today, you get debates on reclaiming popular culture and the politics of language, followed by a performance that leans into censorship and provocation.

• Tomorrow goes deeper, with discussions on rejecting militarized thinking, collective grief as a literary practice, and a screening of Lucrecia Martel’s Nuestra Tierra, before wrapping with a roundtable on sci-fi as a form of resistance.

So yeah, READ Madrid is not for passive consumption. It’s for people who want to engage, argue, and maybe leave with more questions than answers. If your favorite book is 50 Shades of Grey, maybe skip this one.

🖥️ What: READ Madrid: Festival of Books and Ideas

📍 Where: Museo Reina Sofía, Ronda de Atocha 2, Madrid

📅 When: April 17–18, 2026

🎟 Tickets: Free entry until capacity is reached

3. 🗣️ Opera at its finest: Gerald Finley live at Teatro Real

Dust off your H&M clip-on bowtie, peasants. We’re going to the opera! The Teatro Real is hosting one of those nights where you sit still and feel important.

• Canadian bass-baritone Gerald Finley, one of the most respected voices in opera right now, lands in Madrid for a recital that moves through some of the heavyweights of the repertoire. His résumé is, frankly, ridiculous: Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Vienna State Opera, Salzburg Festival… plus Grammys and national honors.

• For this event, we’re talking Mozart, Schubert, Mahler, Britten… the kind of lineup that you know is important, even if you’re not a fan of the genre. Finley’s known for his versatility and emotional depth, which is a polite way of saying he can go from controlled precision to quietly devastating in a matter of minutes.

• Oh, and this isn’t just a “greatest hits performance” either. The program pulls from iconic operas like Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, Otello, and Macbeth, alongside more modern pieces like Doctor Atomic.

Remember, opera is about storytelling, tension, and knowing exactly when to hold back and when to hit you. If lately you’ve been thinking, “I should probably go to more classical concerts,” this is your moment.

🖥️ What: Voces del Real presents: Gerald Finley

📍 Where: Teatro Real, Plaza de Isabel II, s/n, Madrid

📅 When: April 18

🎟 Tickets start at €14

4. 📸 An intimate portrait of Spain across the 20th century

If your idea of Spanish history is limited to paellas and political chaos, then we’re afraid we’ll need you to recalibrate things a bit (don’t worry, this is why we’re here). The Fundación María Cristina Masaveu Peterson is offering a quieter (but sharper) look at Spain through the lens of photography with Gabinete de Obra en Papel (IV).

• Running alongside Colección Masaveu. Arte español del siglo XX, this exhibition brings together a curated selection of photographs spanning nearly a century, from the 1930s to the early 2000s. The lineup mixes generations and styles, from early photography pioneers like Antonio Arissa to contemporary names like Alberto García-Alix, capturing a country constantly in transition.

• What makes it worth your time is the range of perspectives. You’ll see everything from workers in gas stations and artists in their studios to fragmented landscapes and intimate close-ups that feel almost tactile.

• Some images hit harder than others, like Ramón Masats’ Seminario de Madrid, which somehow captures religion, football, and urban change in a single frame.

There’s also something quietly powerful about how these photos document the everyday moments that might seem insignificant but end up telling the bigger story of a country evolving through decades of tension, growth, and identity shifts.

🖥️ What: Gabinete de Obra en Papel (IV)

📍 Where: Fundación María Cristina Masaveu Peterson, Calle de Alcalá Galiano, 6, Madrid

📅 When: Through July 19

🎟 Tickets: Check website

5. 🎭 A view from the bridge: Arthur Miller’s darkest drama, updated for a new era

If the four options we presented before are not appealing enough for you, then how about some light (and by “light” we mean intense) drama from Arthur Miller? The Fernán Gómez Centro Cultural de la Villa is staging a modern take on one of his famous plays, A view from the bridge, which leans into obsession, migration, and the kind of emotional chaos that never really goes out of style.

• Directed by Javier Molina (from the Actor’s Studio in New York), this updated version by Eduardo Galán relocates Miller’s classic tensions into a more contemporary context.

• The story still centers on Eddie Carbone (a dockworker spiraling into jealousy and repression over his feelings for his niece), but now framed against today’s migration realities, drawing a clear line between 1950s New York and present-day Madrid.

• The cast, led by José Luis García-Pérez, María Adánez, and Ana Garcés, carries a story that moves from uncomfortable family dynamics to (spoiler alert!) full-blown tragedy.

• What starts as tension over love and belonging quickly escalates into betrayal, as Eddie’s obsession pushes him to report an undocumented immigrant, triggering a chain reaction that doesn’t end well for anyone involved.

This isn’t just a revival for theatre purists. The production leans into the universality of Miller’s themes (desire, identity, masculinity, and the fragile line between loyalty and destruction) while making them feel very current. Immigration isn’t background noise here; it’s the engine driving everything.

Very current, considering the times we’re living in. Also, it’s in Spanish (we figured you already knew, but just in case…).

🖥️ What: Arthur Miller’s A view from the bridge

📍 Where: Fernán Gómez Centro Cultural de la Villa, Plaza de Colón 4, Madrid

📅 When: Through May 17

🎟 Tickets start at €22

📺 What to watch if you’re staying in this weekend…

🖥️ What: Reversión (Reversal) | Movie | 2025

📍Where to watch: HBO Max

❓What’s it about: Mario sees his brother David being kidnapped. When David returns 19 days later with no memory, Mario suspects the returnee isn't really his brother. His investigation challenges his grip on reality.

🤩 Why you should watch: Because it’s good for those who are into smart, twist-heavy thrillers that mess with your head. Jaime Lorente carries the film as a man pulled into a spiraling mystery where nothing (and no one) is what it seems. Built like a set of Russian dolls, the story keeps unfolding layer after layer, with sharp visuals and a constant sense of unease driving you toward a surprising reveal.

💬 English Subtitles: Yes

💃🏻 Places to try this weekend…

🍕 Pazzi: Where robots make pizza, and people line up to watch

What’s it about: PAZZI is Madrid’s first “pazziria”, a retro-futuristic takeaway pizza spot where robots make your pizza in full view, blending Italian tradition with high-tech precision.

Why you should go: Because it’s not just pizza, it’s a show. You get fresh dough, proper Italian ingredients, and a robot assembling and baking your pizza in about five minutes right in front of you. It’s fast, weirdly satisfying, and genuinely different from your usual slice.

Bottom line: A novelty that actually delivers. Go for the robot spectacle, stay because the pizza holds up.

Address: Calle de Gaztambide, 14, Madrid

🇯🇵 For a different kind of night out: Masaru in Justicia

What’s it about: Masaru is a small, Japanese-inspired cocktail bar in Madrid’s Justicia neighborhood, focused on refined mixology, especially around Japanese whisky.

Why you should go: Because it nails the details. The cocktails are thoughtful and balanced, the lighting is low, the music comes from vinyl, and the whole place feels like a quiet escape from the city. Perfect for a date or a slow drink where you actually talk.

Bottom line: Not for loud nights—this is where you go when you want something intimate, elegant, and a bit different.

Address: Calle Santo Tomé 7, Madrid

👨🏻‍💻 Viral Memes of the Week

🧑‍🦯 We've all thought about it

😎 Bill Murray does the Prado

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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

It’s Friday again!

Holy Week is over, Madrid is back, and the weather is… doing its usual thing. We’re starting the weekend warm enough to justify a rooftop plan, only to cool down just in time to remind you that spring here is basically a trust exercise.

At least there’s tons of stuff to do: Stylish voyeurism, ancient empires, vintage impulse buys, or something more existential. The only real question is how many of them you can realistically fit in before Monday shows up again.

Happy weekend!

1.⚜️ Casa Decor is your excuse to (legally, of course) snoop around a Madrid palace

Alright, heathens. Holy Week is over. Time to go back to our usual Friday-to-Sunday habits — which, in this case, involve a bit of stylish voyeurism.

• If you’ve ever walked past one of those grand Madrid buildings and thought what does it actually look like inside?, this is your moment. Casa Decor is back, and this year it’s taken over a full-on 19th-century palace in the Barrio de las Letras—arguably one of the most Madrid locations it could have picked.

For six weeks, designers, architects, brands, and artists basically move in and transform the entire building into a series of wildly different spaces. You can find maximalist living rooms next to futuristic kitchens, next to bathrooms that look like a Stanley Kubrick movie or a five-star spa you can’t afford.

• Imagine a design playground where you can wander room to room, judging everything in front of your friends so they think you’re an interiors expert.

The building itself is part of the appeal. Located on Calle San Agustín, it was originally a noble residence from the late 1800s, later turned into a convent, and still packed with original details — marble floors, stained glass, and dramatic staircases à la Death Becomes Her, a really old but really good movie.

• In a couple of years, it’ll become a luxury hotel (ugh, we know), so this is basically your chance to see it before it turns into somewhere you’ll enter once, look at the €20 cocktails, and then say, “let’s just get a beer in Plaza Chueca”.

But yeah, it’s a big place. We’re talking dozens of spaces, hundreds of participants, and tens of thousands of Casa Decor visitors every year. Even if you’re not particularly into design, it’s one of those rare events that’s worth a visit

🖥️ What: Casa Decor 2026

📍 Where: Calle San Agustín 11, Madrid

📅 When: Through May 24

🎟 Tickets: Check website

2. 🦁 Before empires fell, they looked like this: Ashurbanipal at CaixaForum

If your idea of a cultural plan involves something slightly older than a Madrid palace, you’re in luck! The I am Ashurbanipal exhibition has landed at CaixaForum, and it’s basically a deep dive into one of the most powerful figures of the ancient world (someone, who, let’s face it, you have no idea who he was).

• Who? Ashurbanipal was the last great king of Assyria, ruling around 2,700 years ago, and not exactly known for being chill. He built one of the most formidable empires of his time through military force, but he was also unusually intellectual for a ruler (he assembled what is considered one of the first great libraries in history). So yes, muscle and brain.

• Now, while “I am Ashurbanipal” sounds like something he’d say after you accidentally resurrected him and he’s about to suck the soul out of your body, this exhibit is so much more than that, as it brings together over 150 objects from the British Museum, including reliefs, sculptures, and intricate luxury items that show both the grandeur (and brutality) of his reign.

Oh, and there’s also a more modern angle running through it. The exhibition quietly raises questions about cultural heritage, conflict, and what it means to preserve history in unstable regions. In other words, it’s not just about an ancient empire. Enjoy! (Just don’t read from The Book of the Dead while visiting).

🖥️ What: I am Ashurbanipal exhibition

📍 Where: CaixaForum Madrid, Paseo del Prado 36, Madrid

📅 When: Through October 4

🎟 Tickets start at €6

3.🏺 ANTIK is where your ‘I’m just browsing’ budget goes to die

If you’ve ever said “I’m just going to browse” and then walked out with something you absolutely didn’t need but now can’t live without (like, say, the Book of the Dead), this is your natural habitat.

ANTIK Almoneda Spring Edition 2026 is back, and it’s basically a playground for anyone with a weakness for objects with a past.

• There’s furniture, art, jewelry, clothes, and all kinds of beautifully unnecessary things (everything at least 50 years old), which automatically makes it either “timeless” or “vintage” depending on how much you paid for it.

• The fair brings together dozens of antique dealers, galleries, and collectors, which means you can go from admiring a mid-century chair to seriously considering whether you need a (probably haunted) 19th-century mirror in about five minutes.

• And no, this is not just for hardcore collectors. Every year, more people show up just to wander, get inspired, and maybe pick up something small that makes their apartment feel marginally more sophisticated. Or at least more interesting.

Last year’s numbers were strong, and this edition looks set to be the same, so expect crowds, temptation, and at least one internal debate about whether something is a great find or a terrible financial decision.

🖥️ What: ANTIK Almoneda Spring Edition 2026

📍 Where: IFEMA, Avenida del Partenón 5, Madrid

📅 When: April 11 – 19

🎟 Tickets start at €11 (online). €13 at the door.

4.👹 Goblin Party: A night market full of mischief, music, and controlled chaos

Feel like you need an exorcism after so many torrijas and Easter eggs last week? Then here’s something that fixes that quickly: Goblin Party performance lands in Madrid for three nights, bringing a mix of dance, theatre, and live Korean music that feels somewhere between a drug fever dream and a very curated cultural experience.

• The premise is simple but weird (in a good way). You’re dropped into a mystical goblin market that only appears at night, where everyday objects turn into something more valuable: memories, emotions, dreams, all up for exchange.

• On stage, that translates into a mix of movement, storytelling, and live sound, with traditional Korean instruments giving the whole thing a rhythm that feels unfamiliar but oddly hypnotic. (The company behind it, Goblin Party, is known for its playful, collaborative style).

There’s no single artistic director here; everyone performs, everyone creates, and you can feel that energy throughout. The result is something immersive and very different from your standard theatre night. (Ed. Note: there are strobe lights, so maybe don’t go in expecting a calm, meditative evening).

🖥️ What: Goblin Party

📍 Where: Teatros del Canal (Sala Negra), Calle de Cea Bermúdez 1, Madrid

📅 When: April 10–12

🎟 Tickets start at €20

5. 🎭 The Silence: Not exactly a light night at the theatre

If you’re in the mood for something easy and uplifting, this is not that. The Silence by Falk Richter is intense, personal, and very much designed to sit with you long after you leave the room. Oh, and the play is in German (with Spanish subtitles). So if you don’t feel comfortable with Spanish yet, we suggest you skip this one.

• The piece is an autofiction by German playwright Falk Richter, who turns the spotlight on his own family history. At its core is a conversation that never happened (with a father who died before reconciliation) and a difficult, ongoing dialogue with his mother.

• What unfolds is a layered exploration of buried trauma, post-war memory, family secrets, and the long shadow of silence, including the repression of Richter’s identity growing up.

• But this isn’t just a straight autobiographical confession. The play constantly blurs the line between truth and fiction, questioning memory itself and opening the door to alternative versions of the past (and maybe even different ways of living in the future).

It’s heavy, yes, but also sharp, reflective, and quietly hopeful in the questions it dares to ask.

🖥️ What: The Silence by Falk Richter

📍 Where: Teatro Valle-Inclán (Sala Grande), Plaza de Ana Diosdado, s/n, Madrid

📅 When: April 10–12

🎟 Tickets start at €18

📺 What to watch if you’re staying in this weekend…

🖥️ What: The Predator of Seville (El Depredador de Sevilla) | 3-part documentary | 2026

📍Where to watch: Netflix

❓What’s it about: One woman's quest for justice against a tour guide in Spain sparks a surge of similar claims from many U.S. students over the years.

🤩 Why you should watch: Because this true crime doc is a gripping story that goes beyond the crime itself, exposing how years of silence, guilt, and systemic failures allowed a predator to operate in plain sight.

💬 English Subtitles: Yes

💃🏻 Places to try this weekend…

🍷 No photos, no beer, no nonsense: welcome to La Venencia

What’s it about: A nearly century-old tavern in the heart of Madrid that feels frozen in time, serving exclusively sherry wines straight from the barrel.

Why you should go: La Venencia is the anti-modern bar: no beer, no photos, no tips. Orders are chalked onto the wooden bar, the decor hasn’t changed in decades, and the whole place hums with old-school Madrid energy. You come for the fino or manzanilla, stay for the atmosphere—and maybe some mojama or cecina on the side.

Bottom line: It’s not for everyone, but if you want something authentically Madrid (and a little stubborn about it), this is as real as it gets.

Address: Calle de Echegaray, 7, Madrid

🍽️ Nubel: Brunch, cocktails, and contemporary art—pick your excuse

What’s it about: A design-forward restaurant inside the Museo Reina Sofía, where food, art, music, and architecture all blur into one experience.

Why you should go: Nubel is a full sensory setup. Vibrant interiors, a constantly shifting vibe (brunch, cocktails, live music), and a terrace overlooking Roy Lichtenstein’s Brushstroke.

Bottom line: Come for brunch, stay for the atmosphere, and leave feeling like you’ve done something slightly more cultured than usual.

Address: Museo Reina Sofía, Calle de Santa Isabel, 52, Madrid

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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

Wait, what? Did we skip an issue? Is today Friday? Have you been subjected to an unscheduled time jump?

None of the above! You see, it’s the Semana Santa holiday, so we’ve combined the Thursday news edition with the Friday what-to-do one because, let’s be honest, pretty much everyone in Spain has checked out (yes, even our God-fearing politicians).

Still, because we love you, we’ve made a quick summary of some of the things that happened in Spain this week, and that pretty much no one cared about (at least until next week).

• When Spain closed its airspace to American flights involved in its war in Iran, we got all sorts of excited and thought we should write the full newsletter because THE WORLD WAS ABOUT TO END. But with coverage outside of Spain being, like, a 243-word article in Bloomberg and a veiled threat from a U.S. Congressman we’d never heard of that Spain could lose Ceuta and Melilla (a la “Those are nice territories you have there. It would be a shame if something happened to them.“), we figured maybe we were overdoing it. Marco Rubio also complained about Spain “bragging” about cutting off its airspace, but everyone was already on their way to Granada or the Canary Islands for the week, so no one cared.

• And then there was the hat. Pedro Sánchez went mountain biking after filming himself with a “Make Science Great Again” hat trolling the Orange Menace, so we suppose he wasn’t too worried about Ceuta (or Melilla).

• But Rosalía! Rosi is back on tour for eight nights in Madrid, and everyone says it’s amaze-balls. El País saw the show on “Holy Monday, which we experienced in glory“; El Confidential spoke of “tears and euphoria”; El Español said Rosi “conquered” Madrid with her “thousand faces: from mysticism to rave, from opera to saeta.”; and Telva noted her artistic shoutouts, from the Mona Lisa to Goya’s Black Paintings to Madonna’s pointy bras. (Editor’s note: Adrian saw her yesterday and was blown away by her; Ian saw the Motomami tour in 2022 and blessed it as very, very good.)

• Spanish home prices are up 14.3% in ONE YEAR. Not much else to say about that except, jeez.

• And not only did former Public Works Minister José Luis Ábalos meet one of his girlfriends, Jésica Rodríguez, in the Atocha apartment that was rented for “a party with ladies” in 2018, but she also filmed a video to celebrate his 60th birthday the next year in that very apartment. “It was here,” she said. Really, nothing more to say about that.

More news next week. For now, let’s get onto the fun, what-to-do stuff below. Enjoy the long weekend, and we’ll see you on the heretical side.

1. ⛪️ Madrid goes even more Catholic for Holy Week weekend (Part 2)

Wherever we say Jesuspalooza: Part 2 - Jesus Lives, we can’t help but think of this Friday the 13th movie poster. It’s disrespectful, so let’s move on.

Thought it was over? Think again! Last week was just a preview; this long weekend is the main feature. There are more processions, more saetas, and a now-classic giant tamborrada (see video above) on Sunday at the Plaza Mayor that we recommend you don’t miss.

The official Semana Santa program we shared last week is still good (you can download it here), so here’s a quick guide to what you can do this weekend if you want to cosplay devoteness:

Paschal Triduum. For those of you non-Latin speakers who think this is some sort of Belgian tooth paste, let us remind you that the Triduo Pascual is the period that starts with the liturgy on the evening of Maundy Thursday (aka tonight), reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil (aka Saturday night), and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday (aka Sunday night). Yeah, that’s pretty much the whole weekend.

Processions: Yes, they are still happening. And yes, the guys who look like the KKK are still stalking the streets of Madrid, so tread carefully. (

Remember to check the official program to see their routes and start times.

Maundy Thursday (today):

• El Divino Cautivo

• Nuestro Padre Jesús del Gran Poder y María Santísima de la Esperanza Macarena

• Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno “El Pobre” y María Santísima del Dulce Nombre en su Soledad

• Jesús Nazareno y Santísima Virgen de la Soledad (Villaverde)

Good Friday:

• Santo Entierro y Santísima Virgen de la Soledad (Villaverde Alto)

• El Divino Cautivo (leaves from the Almudena Cathedral)

• Jesús Nazareno de Medinaceli

• Santísimo Cristo de los Alabarderos

• María Santísima de los Siete Dolores

• Santo Entierro (Parroquia de Santa Cruz)

• Procesión del Silencio (Carabanchel)

• Stations of the Cross at Retiro Park (not a procession but still cool)

Holy Saturday:

• Procesión de la Soledad y Desamparo

Saetas: People are still singing these Andalusian religious songs from the balconies, and yes, you can go see them.

Maundy Thursday:

• 6:30 PM — Ismael de la Rosa, Casa de la Villa (Plaza de la Villa)

• 9:15 PM — Saray Muñoz, Hotel Moderno (Calle del Arenal 2)

• 9:30 PM — Ismael de la Rosa, Real Casa de Correos (Puerta del Sol)

Good Friday:

• 9:00 PM — José Fernando Caballo, Casa de la Villa (Plaza de la Villa)

• 9:15 PM — Fernando Caballo, Casa de la Villa (Plaza de la Villa)

• 9:50 PM — José “El Berenjeno”, Consejería de Medio Ambiente (Calle Alcalá, 16)

• 10:15 PM — Lucía Beltrán, Real Casa de Correos (Puerta del Sol)

Holy Saturday:

• 6:30 PM — Lucía Beltrán, Casa de la Villa (Plaza de la Villa)

Tamborrada: This show is how Madrid closes Semana Santa, but instead of silence and slow processions, it ends with noise. Lots of it.

• Organized by the Real e Ilustre Congregación de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad y Desamparo, and performed by the Cofradía de la Exaltación de la Santa Cruz de Zaragoza, it takes place on Easter Sunday and basically flips the mood of the entire week.

• After days of solemnity, mourning, and heavy symbolism, the city suddenly fills with drums, loud, rhythmic, impossible to ignore. It’s less about reflection and more about release.

• The drummers parade through the city in a kind of controlled chaos, turning the Plaza Mayor into a full-on soundscape. It’s a moment that’s less about watching and more about feeling the city vibrate.

Ruta Dulces Pasiones de Semana Santa: The Ruta Dulces Pasiones 2026 food route turns the city into a full-blown tribute to the torrija, with bakeries, pastry shops, and restaurants offering everything from the classic version (milk-soaked, fried, and drenched in sugar or honey) to more experimental takes. Click on that link for a list of all participating bakeries and cafes in Madrid.

• If you’re wondering what to eat besides torrijas to follow tradition, make sure you try Soldaditos de Pavia (an Andalusian tapa that’s fried cod wrapped in a slice of roasted red pepper), potaje de vigilia (a stew made with chickpeas, spinach, and cod, cooked slowly), and (of course), chocolate Easter eggs.

Have a blessed weekend!

2. 📷 Before Instagram, there was Oriol Maspons, and Madrid is bringing him back

This one is for people who like culture and photography (so, hopefully, you?).

At the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid is hosting a retrospective of Oriol Maspons, one of the photographers who basically helped Spain figure out how to look at itself in the second half of the 20th century (aka the Franco era), in a sharp, ironic, very human one.

• Maspons moved effortlessly between worlds: fashion, street photography, portraiture, and editorial work. One day he was capturing everyday life, the next he’s shooting for major magazines, and somehow it all feels part of the same visual language. His style is direct, sometimes playful, sometimes brutally honest, but always intentional.

• This is also not your typical “walk around quietly and pretend you understand everything” exhibition. His work is accessible, and you don’t need a degree in photography to get it. You just need eyes—and maybe a bit of curiosity about how Spain changed, culturally and socially, during those decades.

This is basically a masterclass in visual storytelling

🖥️ What: Oriol Maspons Photo Exhibit

📍 Where: Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Calle de Alcalá 13, Madrid

📅 When: Through June 14

🎟 Tickets start at €10

3. 👾 There’s a Stranger Things reunion happening this weekend in Madrid, and yes, you can meet the cast

If Semana Santa isn’t exactly your thing (or you’d rather swap incense for the Upside Down), we have options.

• Stranger Fan Meet lands at IFEMA this weekend, bringing a solid chunk of the Stranger Things cast to the city. We’re talking Noah Schnapp (Will), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas), Dacre Montgomery (Billy), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), and more, all in one place, ready to meet fans who are still not over the fact that the finale sucked show is actually over.

• The whole thing is exactly what you think it is: Q&As, autographs, photos with the actors, and a lot of people who know way too much about Hawkins. You can lean into it as much as you want (from casual curiosity to full fan mode), and yes, there will absolutely be people dressed like Eleven.