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MADRID

Madrid is home to everyone. Madrid is the one place on earth where you feel at home when you step off the plane. We say Madrid is yours because everyone wants a home they can call their own, and that’s Madrid: home to everyone, everyone’s home.

If you want to feel like you were born in Madrid, just come and live here. One thing Madrid does very well is make you feel like that. It’s a space for living, a place for shelter, a place where the roads take you somewhere, where you find shade in summer and light in winter.

Madrid is a cosmopolitan city nowadays. Many different cultures and many different ways of seeing the world. One thing hasn’t changed. In a city where tolerance is a way of life, you feel at home because nobody asks you “where are you from?” It’s a city with a buzz, the buzz of life. The rhythm of the city means life, the streets never seem to sleep and whatever you’re doing it’s never too late to do it.

Three of the most important art galleries in the world (El Prado, the Thyssen-Bournemisza and the Reina Sofia) are all in ten minutes walking distance of each other. The Paseo del Arte or Art Walk is a stroll around the best in the history of art.

The Museo del Prado has one of the most complete art collections in the world. Here you can see the works of great painters such as Velázquez, Goya and El Greco. In the Reina Sofia the main attraction is Picasso’s Guernica, and after that works by Miró, Kandinsky, Dalí, Tápies and Antonio López. At the Thyssen gallery, masterpieces from the European Gothic and Renaissance periods mix with works by Hopper, Bacon and Freud.

Everyone seems to want to be cooler than everyone else, to carry the flag of the new. Madrid has always striven to be at the forefront of new creative tendencies. Its fame for openness and tolerance has made it a place where musicians, designers, fashion designers, photographers and film directors can find ideas and inspiration. The result of this creative hothouse is that Madrid is now a place to be reckoned with on the international art circuit.

In Madrid you’re in the right place to find answers to questions. It’s difficult not to in a city where so many artists get together, where there’s so much creative life. Where the sight of some of the most famous works of art in the world forms part of your daily routine, where paintings that were once hidden are now proudly displayed.

We have a laid back attitude to timetables. Eating is a pleasure for us and we like to do it in our own time and after lunch conversations are something we love. If you’re new here, try our lifestyle, you might like it. Start off with breakfast at around eight in the morning. Don’t forget a coffee break about 11.00. An aperitif at one. Then lunch at three. A light snack at six in the evening and finally a light dinner. That’s the idea, but if you want to chop it and change it a bit, that’s fine. But whatever you do, don’t miss out on a siesta: that really is good for the soul. Some things we do might surprise you. When you go for dinner with friends, don’t look too surprised when everyone helps themselves to what’s on your plate. The payback is you can help yourself to what’s on theirs.

Tapas: the Dictionary of the Spanish Language defines tapas as “a small portion of food that is served to accompany a drink”. It’s a Spanish custom that’s become an international phenomenon. But tapas are more than just a snack. They are a way of enjoying life, of making friends. A tapas session is all about talking, mostly arguing heatedly about what delicious tapa you’re going to have next!

The basic idea of a good tapeo is similar to a pub crawl, you go from bar to restaurant to bar, trying and sampling what each place has to offer. Madrid is full of the best in tapeo. Don’t miss out on areas like La Latina and Conde Duque. There you can find everything from the most traditional type of tasca to modern designer tapas bars.

You must try some of this. The traditional cuisine of the city is a mixture of influences and styles. It retains traces of the Moorish occupation of the city, especially in the delicious almond based desserts. It’s based on simple but imaginatively prepared stews and soups, with dishes like the cocido, a stew served in three courses. A vital ingredient for a good cocido is the water, which must be from Madrid, regarded as the best in Spain. No city can get much more inland than Madrid, but it’s famous for excellent fish dishes like besugo a la madrilèna (roast bream), or the famous squid sandwiches that you can eat in bars near the Plaza Mayor.

Restaurants like La Bola, Botín, Lhardy, Lucio, Landó, are real eating experiences where you know you’re in the right place for food that never goes out of style. Remember that in almost any restaurant with a fixed daily menu you’re guaranteed delicious traditional cooking at almost bargain prices.

Madrid is regarded as having a night life that is like no other. Clubbing is a way of life here. For that matter, any other thing you can do at night has somewhere to do it here. Night life in Madrid is a mixture of all the latest tendencies: the most minimalist chill out zones, the wildest clubs, the most Gothic discos, the roughest bars, the craziest after hours, the most nostalgic dance halls. There are as many Madrids as there are lifestyles, as there are tastes. And if you can’t find what you like, try inventing it here, and nobody will mind, because everyone wants a home they can call their own, and that’s Madrid: home to everyone, everyone’s home.

Ego

Located in the Salamanca district, this club became famous as a haven for sports celebrities, and is now the place to be for young people up to the age of thirty. It has two floors with different ambiences. One is a drinks bar with a more relaxed feel, with black vinyl seats art deco wall furnishings and a large back lit metal and wooden bar. The music here is international pop. Downstairs, where the dance floor is located, young well-off university students move to the sounds of high quality commercial house mixed by the resident d.j. Luis. Other nights of the week, such as Wednesday, the French promoter Bonami sets a different style with hip hop, funk, reggaeton, reggae and R and B. for a high class public.

Pacha

In the eighties Pacha was home to the vibrant subculture scene of the city. Today it is more a place where designer jeans mix with designer t shirts and trainers and where almost anything goes and anyone who wants to enjoy a night out in Madrid can do so without feeling out of place. It has two opening hours: early evening for youngsters, late night for a more select adult clientele. The music is a mix of indie, electro and chill out, with enough space to not feel crowded out, and the famous “Madrid Heaven”, a large outdoor terrace. Here Madrid’s rich and famous mingle with tourists and locals to make a potent mix under the same roof. Record presentations and parties for Madrid’s rich and famous are just some of the events that take place here. Once a month on Sunday night, the Mambo session is a new and refreshing mix. On Wednesday nights once a month there is “The Players”, with the best in hip hop. Thursdays you have “Pachá La Cama”, that shows you how many different ways there are to enjoy a night out. Fridays, “The Luxury Night” with DJ Tobias, and Saturdays, non stop house in The Lust Nite.
Address: Barcelo, 11. District Centro. Metro: Tribunal

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Fortuny

A small three floor neo-classical palace is home to this discotheque-restaurant where the couché set meet. The traditional architecture and well-preserved elegance are the keys to its success. The Mediterranean cuisine is a speciality of the house. Javier Merino figures as one of the best known of its owners. Strict door policy.
Address: Fortuny, 34. District Chamberi. Metro : Ruben Dario.

Cool

The most forward looking music that night time Madrid has to offer is what makes this club special. Once known as the Rock Club, it is now under the management of Fun System Modern and the interior has now been given a galactic look. Cool now offers two weekly clubs in one: Sunflowers is the choice on Thursdays with a mix of jazz, funky and vocal house mixed by the resident DJ Iván Pica. Royal is more of a gay scene with Latin, tribal, dark and what can only be the very best in house anywhere in Madrid on Fridays and Saturdays.
Address: Isabel La Catolica, 6. District: Centro

Joy Eslava

Joy was already the most famous club in the capital but it still lacked a certain edge that makes the best known clubs in the world what they are: famous. That edge in music, look and artistic direction was given by two stalwarts in the night life scene: David X and Piti. The new look Joy has an original and spectacular stage show with guaranteed fun and a touch of good/bad taste (freak drag queens included) that has been adapted to the 21st c. (organised by Junior Brazil). The show doesn’t fall into the trap of so many other bad taste 80s revivals and is well worth seeing. The best known faces in cinema, TV and fashion can be seen here dancing to techno house mixed by the resident DJs Nami Zuker, Roberto Rodriguez, David Penn and Toni Bass.
Address: Arenal, 11. District : Centro. Metro : Sol.

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Gabana

In times when glamour is beating a hasty retreat, Gabana 1800 is still way up there on the list of what’s what in the dolce vita in Madrid. The owners have always had a pretty clear idea of what they want: the best in public relations and a discretion that is necessary for a club where some of the most famous names in Spain go to enjoy a night out. Their efforts have not been in vain, King Juan Carlos’ niece celebrated her birthday party here. With the strictest door policy in Madrid, what was once simply a dance floor has become the most chic place south of the Pyrenees.
Address: C/ Velázquez, 6. District : Salamanca. Metro : Principe de Vergara

La Nueva Fontana

The Fontana club is part of the Nueva Fontana luxury complex, a space that holds La Naveta seafood restaurant, the Azabara restaurant and the club where you can spend a night in luxury and sophistication. The Chanel style decor pays homage to the 40s and is in the hands of Tomás Alía. People with money to burn is the best way to describe the clientele, and the music is commercial Ibiza house mixed by the well known Victor Nebot. Excellent service and people with class in a high class ambience.
Address: Hernani, 75. District : Tetuán . Metro: Nuevos

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Moma 56

Walls have been torn out to create an interior style that belongs to a Doris Day film, where each apartment was one space, but taken to the nth degree. Here you can see everything, which is great from an aesthetic point of view. Painted an explosive passion red with an occasional touch of white, the club has selected a first class team and made use of the talents of Carrousel Events for the best in product presentations. The club has a restaurant on each side, and maintains a cosmopolitan minimalist style, but at the same time manages to mix all this with a sharp pop look in orange combined very knowingly with white globe lamps. The music is the latest and the best in commercial pop.
Address: Jose Abascal, 56. District: Chamberi. Metro : Gregorio Marañon.

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