Nightlife

Few countries know how to party like Spain. By the way they carry on in Madrid, you would think partying was invented by Spaniards. There is no shortage of places to get your drink on, dance up a storm, or stay out until the wee hours of the morning (or late afternoon, should that be your bag).

As in any city, Madrid’s party scene is divided by zone. Here’s the low down:

Huertas
This area is extremely popular with foreigners and the streets and plaza are lines with bar after bar after bar. Barhopping is clearly a favorite pastime here, and revelers’ decisions are often helped along by people standing out in the street handing out fliers and inviting you to shots of fruity liqueur in many a bar. From jazz to pop to commercial music to Irish pubs, this area is a good time guaranteed. With so many options, you’re biggest dilemma may be deciding which bar to do to!
Metro Sevilla (L2), Metro Tirso de Molina, Metro Anton Martín (L1)

Chueca
Chic, cosmopolitan and painfully hip, Chueca is Madrid’s gay neighborhood. You can really find a bit of everything here: old, dirty bars with cheap drinks, expensive and sophisticated cocktail bars, and everything in between. The nightlife in this neighborhood is very mixed and can be very fashion on the one hand but also seedy on the other.
Metro Chueca, Metro Gran Vía (L5)

Alonso Martinez
This is an inexpensive area most frequented by students. Young people begin their night early with a big ‘ole botellon in the plaza (i.e. a huge congregation of people drinking), and then they disperse into the many bars and discos in the area.
Metro Alonso Martínez (L4, L5, L10)

Moncloa
 This is another popular area for students to party. Young people head to an interior patio lined with dozens of bars, each blasting different kinds of music and each with drink specials of varying (and suspicious) cheapness.
Metro Moncloa (L3)

La Latina
This neighborhood is popular among the 20s and 30s crowd, and is overflowing with countless stylish restaurants and bars where punters slurp down their mojitos and mixed drinks for about eight euro a pop and up. There is no shortage of great places to go in this hood, and the vibe is extremely trendy.
Metro La Latina (L5)

Castellana/Torre Europa
The chicos ricos (that’s the crowd with money) can be found uptown in bars lining the Castellana, in Salamanca neighborhood and around Torre Europa/AZCA. The posh kids will be wearing polos and button down shirts, sweaters draped over their shoulders and pearl earrings. You can’t miss ‘em. These bars often impose a strict dress code, and those who aren’t up to par won’t make it through the door. Don’t even ask how much a drink costs. It doesn’t even matter really, because these kids don’t buy by the glass, they buy by the bottle.
Metro Santiago Bernabeu (L10)

 

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