Madrileños
tend to make not one plan for the evening but 3 or 4. The busiest
nights are Friday and Saturday (with Thursday a close runner-up),
the locals go out every night and miraculously manage to work or
study during the day.
Perhaps the secret lies in the tradition of consuming tapas, snacks
of olives, chorizo (sausages), anchovies, gambas (deep-fried shrimp)
and local specialities like callos (tripe), orejas (pig’s
ears), mollejas (sweetbreads), snails in hot sauce and bull’s
testicles. After a long night on the town, it is customary to breakfast
on thick hot chocolate and sweet fried churros (dough).
Nightlife centres on 3 major districts, Calle Huertas
(traditional Spanish music, jazz clubs and bars), Chueca
(Madrid’s gay village, which specialises in trendy restaurants)
and Malasaña (mainly bars, and clubs frequented
by a mainly young crowd).
All bars and clubs are licensed but hours are very flexible. It
can be hard to tell bars and clubs apart, since bars often have
a dancefloor and not all clubs charge for entry. Where they do,
€5–10 is the standard admission fee, which usually includes
a first drink. The legal drinking age in Madrid is 18
and the price of tipple ranges from €1.50 for a small beer
or glass of wine to €4.50 for spirits and cocktails. It is
customary to pay on leaving and certainly worth noting that few
bars accept credit cards. Tipping is discretionary.
During the month of August many venues close. There are several
listings magazines. The weekly Guía
del Ocio, published in Spanish only and available from kiosks
for €1 has information on concerts, film, theatre and other
entertainment options. It also provides restaurant listings.
The monthly What’s on, is published in English
and Spanish and is less detailed but good on the opening times and
contact details. In Madrid is a monthly English-language newspaper,
available from tourist offices, Irish bars or Barajas airport. It
is hot on the latest club news, DJs, bars and other aspects of night-time
entertainment. And it is free.
Bars
Madrid’s bars range from dark, wood-panelled taverns to the
fabulous Viva Madrid, Calle Manuel Fernández
y Gonzáles 7, with its painted tiles of Madrid scenes from
the early 1900s.
The Garamond, Calle
de Claudio Coello 10, has a castle-like interior and suits a smart
older crowd. Chicote, Grand Vía 12, is Madrid’s
most famous cocktail bar and has preserved its 1930s interior and
it is easy to imagine American novelist Ernest Hemingway
relaxing here during the Civil War. A former brothel run by gypsies,
with a tiled interior depicting Velázquez’s The Drunkards,
Los Gabrieles, Calle Echegaray 17, is now a respectable
bar for a young chic clientele.
Tapas bars cluster around Plaza de Santa Ana near Sol,
Plaza de Santa Bárbara in Calasaña and Cava Baja and
Calle de Cuchilleros, behind Plaza Mayor. One of the best is
Taberna los Austrias, Calle Nuncio 17, situated near metro
La Latina. As dawn breaks, revellers head for Chocolatería
San Ginés, Pasadizo de San Ginés 11, a Mecca
for those in search of hot chocolate and churros.
Casinos
Casino
Gran Madrid, Autovía A6, Km 29 exit from Madrid, Carretera
de la Coruna, is the only officially recognised casino in the area
and is situated outside the city, near Torrelodones and a free bus
service leaves from Plaza Espana 6. The dress code is formal and
ties should be worn, the age limit is 21 and passports are required
for entry.
Clubs
Many tourists head for the clubs around Sol and
Gran Vía, although true hedonists might
want to try out some of the locals’ haunts instead. A typical
night might begin around 2300 hrs with the exotic elite at Serrano
41, Calle Serrano 41, Independencia, Puerta
de Alcalá, or the tango-friendly Sportsman,
Calle Alcalá 65, before moving on to Fortuny,
Calle Fortuney 23, the laid-back Café del Foro,
Calle San Andres 38, or super-trendy Mármara,
Calle Padre Damián, next to Hotel Eurobuilding. There are
no admission charges here, although chic dress is recommended.
The energetic dance to techno at Pachá,
Calle Barceló 11. Gabana 1800, Calle de
Velázquez 6, is a popular venue for stylish 20 and 30 somethings,
if the bouncer allows admission.
Live
music
Madrid offers an eclectic choice of flamenco, jazz, salsa, rock,
World music and cantautores, Spanish singer-songwriters. The
Café de la Palma, Calle la Palma 62, is the venue
of the moment for cantautores, as well as flamenco and Cuban music
acts.
For more Latino sounds, fans should head for La Negra Tomasa,
Calle Cádiz 9, for live music nightly from 2100 hrs. Moby
Dick, Avenida de Brasil 5, in the Castellana district,
plays live pop and rock on weekdays and hosts DJs (reggae and rap)
at weekends. The clientele is a charming mixture of foreigners and
locals. At Café Populart, Calle Huertas
22, punters can experience everything from live jazz to swing, blues,
salsa, gospel, African and reggae. There are 2 shows nightly, at
2300 hrs and 0030 hrs. The Irish Rover pub, Avenida
de Brasil 7, imports Irish, folk and country music.
International acts play regularly at the Café Central,
Plaza del Angel 10, Madrid’s top jazz venue. Pop stars and
the best salsa bands perform at La Riviera, Paseo
Bajo de la Virgen del Puerto. |
