💅 What's on in Madrid: November 7
Religious festivities, a play about Jack the Ripper, another food route and more!
Madrid | Issue #121
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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend
It’s a long weekend again!
And you can thank this city’s strong Catholic roots for that one (more on that below).
This weekend, we get to celebrate La Virgen de la Almudena with flowers, choirs, and a 100-meter pastry in Plaza Mayor. If that’s not what you’re into, you still have other interesting options, like where luxury meets culture across the city’s top hotels or a ruta that serves up offal done right.
If you’re an art lovers, don't miss a nostalgic, pop-infused tribute to Madrid and a chilling take on Jack the Ripper at Teatro Español.
Happy weekend!
But first, a word from this week’s sponsor
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Our friends at Nomad Book Club will guide you through the city’s literary past on museum visits and walking tours — and into its vibrant present with book launches, poetry workshops, and events featuring up-and-coming writers.
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1. ⛪️ Celebrate the Virgen de la Almudena festivities
Repent, sinners and non-Catholics! It’s Nov. 9 this weekend, which means we all get together to drink, binge eat and dance piously contemplate the patron saint of Madrid, Virgin Santa María de la Almudena (even if you’re a heretic).
A Catholic big deal. With a mix of solemn tradition and joyful street life (i.e. drinking) the celebrations center around the Cathedral of Santa María la Real de la Almudena, where the Archdiocese hosts a triduum of masses (google it, kids!), a grand open-air Mass on Sunday morning, and a procession that carries the Virgin’s image from the cathedral through the city’s historic core and back (drinking there is strongly discouraged though).
This is one of Madrid’s most beautiful and quintessentially madrileño celebrations. It’s a mix of faith, food, and festivity. After the Sunday mass and procession, you should head over to Plaza Mayor, where at 12:30 p.m., the city’s top chefs will hand out 3,000 free portions of the famous Corona de la Almudena, a sweet bread-shaped pastry that weighs 300 kilos and stretches 100 meters long.
If you miss it, don’t worry: every pastry shop in town will be selling their own versions (and yes, there’s even a competition for the best one).
And the partying goes beyond the church. There are live concerts, parades, and floral offerings across the city. You can check City Hall’s official program below, which includes performances by local groups, and the Patronas 2025 concert series (22 women-led acts in iconic venues.
Bottom line is that, beyond the Catholic overtones, the Almudena festivities are a weekend-long celebration of female artistry and Madrid nightlife, so all religions are welcome.
🖥️ What: Feast of the Virgen de la Almudena
📍 Where: Multiple venues across Madrid
📅 When: Nov. 7–9, 2025 (main events on Sunday)
🎟 Tickets: Free activities; concerts vary by venue
2.🏨 Hotel Week Madrid 2025: Experience the city like a (rich) guest
Great, now that we all have been cleansed of sin, we can all go back to worshipping the real religion of the 21st century: luxury!
Starting today, more than 50 hotels across Madrid are opening their doors to locals and visitors for a week of concerts, cocktail tastings, art tours, and culinary events, all part of the ninth edition of Hotel Week Madrid.
This year’s theme, El lujo de ser de Madrid (“The luxury of being from Madrid”), invites everyone to rediscover the city’s hotels not as tourist-only spaces, but as vibrant cultural hubs.
This is your chance to explore Madrid’s most iconic hotels (from the Ritz to the Urso) without checking in. Expect over 100 activities spread across 11 categories: gastronomy, music & theatre, fashion, mixology, wellness, art, literature, family activities, and more.
You can take a cocktail masterclass in a five-star bar, join a guided heritage tour, or attend a live jazz performance in a hotel lobby that’s probably seen more history than many museums.
Are you into Michelin-starred menus, rooftop DJ sets, or just curious to peek behind the velvet curtains of Madrid’s grandest addresses? Then this is the perfect excuse to play tourist in your own city, right after confession.
🖥️ What: Hotel Week Madrid 2025
📍 Where: Over 50 hotels across Madrid
📅 When: Nov. 7–16, 2025
🎟 Tickets: Most activities are free/require prior registration. Check official website.
3.🍖 La Ruta de la Casquería is this month’s most fearless food festival
Madrid once again embraces one of its most unapologetically traditional culinary events: the Casquería Route!
This gastronomic route, now in its fifth edition, brings together nearly 40 restaurants across the Community of Madrid (so it’s not just the city!), all celebrating the art of casquería (nose-to-tail cooking) through recipes that elevate the humble to the heroic.
Now, let’s get something straight. This isn’t for the faint of heart; it’s for those who believe true cuisine is about flavor, not avoiding gross stuff. Sponsored by the legendary Casquerías Óscar, the festival spotlights the city’s great masters of offal cuisine. Expect rich callos a la madrileña, crispy zarajos (lamb intestines!), and inventive reinterpretations like stuffed pig’s trotters with guanciale (yum, probably).
Participating restaurants include Taberna Antonio Sánchez, La Tasquería, El Lince, Casa Enriqueta, La Bola, and Casa Sotero, among others — plus a few Ecuadorian, Peruvian, and Mexican spots putting their own spin on the tradition.
There’ll also be live showcooking sessions led by chefs Ramón Martín (from the new Lumbre cooking school) and David Luengo (Cocinando en Guadarrama), with wine pairings by D.O. Vinos de Madrid. Get out of your comfort zone and make it happen.
🖥️ What: 5th Edition of La Ruta de la Casquería
📍 Where: 40 participating restaurants across the Community of Madrid
📅 When: Nov. 7–30, 2025
🎟 Tickets: Dishes priced individually at participating restaurants
4.🔪 Jack the Ripper takes the stage at Teatro Español
At the Teatro Español, the fine line between fiction and reality blurs in Jack the Ripper (Yours Affectionately), a chilling play directed by Javier Sahuquillo and written by Ignacio García May (Torquemada, Sofía, or La gota de sangre).
The production, which ends this weekend, reimagines the legend of Jack the Ripper not as a true-crime tale, but as a disturbing theatrical experiment about creation, madness, and obsession.
Set in Victorian London, Jack the Ripper follows a young doctor and theater enthusiast who tries to convince the legendary actor Henry Irving that Naturalism (theatre’s movement toward total realism) can go too far.
His proof? An “experiment” to create a character so authentic that no one can tell if he’s real. But as women begin to die in Whitechapel, the question becomes terrifyingly literal: has the theater given birth to a monster?
Jack the Ripper is part philosophical thriller, part psychological drama; an exploration of art’s dangerous power to imitate (and perhaps invent) reality.
🖥️ What: Jack el Destripador (Afectuosamente suyo)
📍 Where: Teatro Español, Calle del Príncipe 25, Plaza de Santa Ana, Madrid
📅 When: Through Nov. 9, 6:30 p.m.
🎟 Tickets: From €10
5. 🗺️ Luis Pérez Calvo maps the city’s soul at CentroCentro”
Last but not least, CentroCentro presents an expansive exhibition by Luis Pérez Calvo, one of Madrid’s most distinctive contemporary artists. He’s known for reimagining Spain’s popular culture from the 1960s through the 1980s and blending drawing, collage, painting, and ceramics into a vibrant visual universe that feels nostalgic and somehow current.
Pérez Calvo was born in Lavapiés in 1962 and grew up surrounded by comic books, trading cards, and the everyday magic of neighborhood life (shop signs, TV shows and the circus).
His art merges this popular imagery with high art references, like Bazooka gum wrappers meeting Goya’s black paintings, or Looney Tunes wandering through Carabanchel. His melancholic world celebrates Madrid’s cultural DNA through humor and imagination.
The exhibition brings together over 500 small-format works, or what the artist calls “cromos de artista” — collectible “artist stickers” inspired by the trading-card rituals of El Rastro.
It’s a love letter to the city’s artistic scene, and you should definitely go see it.
🖥️ What: Luis Pérez Calvo: Un mapa afectivo del arte en Madrid
📍 Where: CentroCentro, Plaza de Cibeles 1, Madrid
📅 When: Through April 26, 2026
🎟 Tickets: Free admission
📺 What to watch if you’re staying in this weekend…
🖥️ What: Dime Tu Nombre (Tell Me Your Name) | TV Show | 2025
📍Where to watch: Amazon Prime
❓What’s it about: In an abandoned town in 1997 near a Spanish strawberry town, locals and Moroccan immigrants face an ancient evil that causes terrible nightmares, remote fears, and primitive pain, regardless of their beliefs.
🤩 Why you should watch: Hailed as one of the most original Spanish series to hit Amazon Prime in years, it’s a slow-burning mix of rural drama, social tension, and psychological horror. The story begins with the arrival of a group of Moroccan laborers whose presence exposes buried prejudices and awakens something far darker beneath the town’s surface. This six-part series uses the supernatural not for jump scares, but as a mirror of Spain’s collective fears.
💬 English Subtitles: Yes.
🤤 Something to try this weekend…
🍳 Casa Dani: The holy grail of Spanish tortilla
What’s it about: Casa Dani is a local institution, the kind of place where time stands still and the tortilla reigns supreme. It’s been serving the most beloved version of Spain’s most iconic dish for years: the tortilla de patatas. Juicy, tender, and perfectly balanced between set and runny, it’s the benchmark by which all others are judged.
Why you should go: Because this place is a rite of passage. Locals swear by it, foreigners crave it, and tourists stumble out of the market declaring they’ve just found the meaning of life in the form of eggs and potatoes. Whether you prefer it con cebolla or sin cebolla, Casa Dani’s tortilla captures everything that makes Spanish comfort food unbeatable.
Bottom line: Come hungry, grab a stool, and prepare to fall in love with simplicity done perfectly. Casa Dani is Madrid on a plate.
📍 Address: Calle de Ayala, 28, Madrid
🥐 Pierre Croissant: A little slice of France in Chamberí
What’s it about: Newly opened on Oct. 30, Pierre Croissant brings four generations of French baking tradition to the heart of Chamberí. Founded by descendants of Adrienne and Paul, who opened their first bakery near Lyon in 1931, this charming boulangerie offers artisanal pastries, tarts, and cakes made “with love,” just as the family has done for nearly a century.
Why you should go: Step inside and you’ll feel transported to a small town in France: the buttery scent of fresh croissants, the golden glow of pain au chocolat, and the quiet clink of coffee cups beneath an enormous vintage clock. Everything here, from the décor to the madeleines, feels crafted to slow you down and make you smile.
Bottom line: It’s a cozy spot that proves you don’t need to cross the Pyrenees for a perfect croissant. Pierre Croissant is pure savoir-faire in Madrid.
📍 Address: Calle de Rodríguez San Pedro 54, Madrid
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