Monday, September 26, 2011
The Hole
It's not circus, nor cabaret and neither is described as burlesque. The Hole mixes these three elements in a decadent and intriguing new musical show at the Teätro Häagen Dazs Calderón. According to the show's creators, it promises to seduce the audience and offer plenty of surprises. Tickets cost from 25€ upwards, and you can opt for the special The Hole Experience Package, which gets you up close to the stage and cava and strawberries on arrival for 95€. Here's a link for tickets.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Madrid's Museum of Romanticism welcomes Puskin
The Museum of Romanticism has just inaugurated its autumn exhibition- The Russian Romaticism in the Era of Puskin, which includes some of the best known works of the 19th century painter. You can visit the exhibition until 18th December and entry is free. The museum is at Calle San Mateo 13, nearest metro stations are Tribunal (L1, L10) or Alonso Martínez (L4, L5, L10).
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Entertainment in Madrid
Madrid is a city full of life and is slowly becoming a model capital for great shows and musicals for both madrileños and visitors. Look out Broadway!
The best place for glitzy entertainment is Gran Vía here you will find plenty of theatres staging world class musicals, cinemas and nightclubs. Malasaña is where young carefree madrileños come to party, whilst in Chueca the ambient is gay friendly. Madrid has many concert venues and plenty of big names from the national and international music scene come here to perform. If you are looking for cultural entertainment, you will find classical concerts, dance performances and as well as plays. Don't forget to keep checking here where we post our entertainment and culture picks for the coming weeks.
Musicals
For musicals the best place to go is Gran Vía. Recently big name hits such as Mama Mia!, High School Musical and Les Miserables have all been here. Whilst they are in Spanish, you can at least still sing along! The Rialto, Lope de Vega and Teatro Coliseum are the best known and are all on Gran Vía. The Teatro Haagen Dazs near Sol and Tirso Molina is also recommended. Expect to pay around 20€ for a decent seat.
Theatre and dance
In Madrid you will find a wide range of opera, plays and dance performances on offer. However if you plan to see a play, most performances are in Spanish, although sometimes there are shows in English. If you want to see something typically Spanish, why not visit the Teatro de Zarzuela where you can see a traditional Zarzuela or operetta. In general expect to pay around 15-30€ for a seat although sometimes you can get tickets for much less or even free! Here's some of our recommended theatres:
Teatro La Latina, Metro La Latina (L5)
Teatro La Zarzuela, (for typical Spanish opera) Metro Sol (L1, L2, L3)
Teatro Real, (the Opera House) Metro: Ópera (L2, L5, R)
Teatro Español, (on Plaza Santa Ana), Metro: Antón Martín (L1)
Teatro Bellas Artes, Calle Alcalá, metro: Sevilla
Cinema
Unlike the theatre, in most cases the cinema should not pose too many linguistic problems for non Spanish speakers as most films made in English are subtitled for Spanish audiences. In the centre you will find plenty of cinemas, a great deal of them have being going for years and still maintain their old charm. Cinema tickets in Madrid cost around 7€. Here's our pick:
Cine Ideal, Metro: Tirso de Molina (L1)
Cine Capitol, Metro: Callao (L3,L5), right on Gran Vía
Renoir Princesa, Metro: Ventura Rodriguez (L3)
Renoir Plaza de España, Metro: Plaza de España (L3, L10)
Cines Callao, Metro: Callao (L3,L5), right on Gran Vía/Plaza Callao
Fans of independent film might like to try:
The Cine Doré Metro Antón Martín (L1). This is the national filmoteca.
Cine Bellas Artes Metro Sevilla (L2)
Nightclubs
In Spain most nightclubs don't get going until around 2am or 3am and stay open until the break of dawn. This is why you will see madrileños eating churros (long doughnuts eaten with hot chocolate) on their way home from a night out. Entry to a nightclub usually costs around 15€, but often includes a drink. Note that for some places you need to be quite formally dressed to enter. If dancing until dawn is not your thing, neighbourhoods like La Latina, Salamanca or Las Letras have plenty or bars (some more rowdy than others!) where you can have a more relaxing time with a drink. Bars here are often cafes during the day so quite often you can get food here later on, however some of these bars only open at night and tend to be more for dancing and live music.
Nightlife tends to differ in the different neighbourhoods, for example in Malasaña you will find the nightlife is very young and informal. Chueca is gay friendly and anything goes; it normally goes crazy at the weekend. Sol and Gran Vía tend to have the big clubs and tourist orientated nightlife. On the other hand Salamanca has more upmarket entertainment options for those with a big budget. Here are some suggestions how to have a typical madrileño night:
Bars
Sol: here the bars are very much geared towards tourists, which might not be for everyone's taste! The best streets here for nightlife are Espoz y Mina, Calle de la Cruz and Calle Victoria. A few places we recommend are Las Bravas (Espoz y Mina 13), La Abuela (Espoz y Mina 28), Venta el Buscón (Victoria 5), Bodegas Melibea (Espoz y Mina 9). Again you can just wander around here and see what takes your fancy as there is plenty on offer.
La Letras: a bit less touristy than around Sol but still has an excellent range of bars to suit all tastes. You can't go far wrong with Plaza Santa Ana, Calle Echagaray and Calle de las Huertas. Our top picks include the roof top bar of the Hard Rock Hotel, Café Central (very good free jazz every night) and the Cerveceria Alemana all on Plaza Santa Ana. La Fidula (Huertas, 57) Tabernas Meceira on Plaza de Jésus is also great (it is typical Gallician and has excellent food), and Café Matute (Plaza Matute) has a lovely terrace in the summer. For the top end, try the bars in The Ritz Hotel (Plaza de la Lealtad) or Hotel Palace (Plaza de las Cortes)
Malasaña: Café la Palma (Palma 62), Sala Taboo (San Vicente Ferrer 23), and Tupperware (Corredera Alta de San Pablo, 26) are all legendary in Madrid and play music at weekends, closing in the very small hours. They're perhaps not the best place for a quiet drink! If you're looking for a fun night, you're bound to find something walking around and seeing where the crowds of young madrileños go. Picnic (Minas, 1) and El Pez Gordo (Pez, 6) are a couple of fun bars. Take the metro to Tribunal (L1, L10) or Noviciado (L2) to reach these places.
Chueca: here you will find gay friendly nightlife. Plaza de Chueca on Friday and Saturday nights is usually a hotbed of activity and there are plenty or terrace bars. Some recommended bars are Soho on Plaza de Chueca and Truca (Gravina 10). The Gay Guide Madrid website has more on gay friendly entertainment and is in English. Metro: Chueca (L5).
Lavapiés: El Automático, El Economico, La Buga del Lobo are all on Calle Argumosa, metro Lavapiés. La Caña right next to the Reina Sofia on Calle Santa Isabel is another great place. Metro Atocha. All of these places have great food and terraces in the summer.
La Latina: this area is full of bars! Here night life is more low-key and an excellent choice if you are looking for a few drinks. Cava Baja, Plaza de Paja and Calle Almendero are great spots. We recommend El Viajero (has a roof terrace, Plaza de Moros), El Tomás (Cava Baja 42), Posada de la Villa (Calle San Bruno 3), Lamiack (Cava Baja 42), and La Musa on Plaza de Paja has a modern vibe. Metro: La Latina (L5).
Salamanca: here nightlife is a bit more exclusive and definitely a bit more expensive. There perhaps isn't the concentration of night-time entertainment as there are in other areas however a lot of the restaurants offer cocktails after dark. A couple of places we think are worth a visit are,
Lagoa (Serrano 85- metro Gregorio Marañón) and Bonsai (Jose Ortega y Gasset 66, metro Lista). You could also try some of the more upmarket hotels such as the Serrano Royal (Calle Marqués de Villamejor 8, metro Rubén Darío, L5) or the Hotel Wellington (Velázquez 8, metro Príncipe de Vergara L2, L9 or Velázquez L4) for drinks.
Nightclubs
Here's our pick of Madrid's best clubs:
Boite Calle Tetuán 27, Metro Sol (L1, L2, L3)
Joy Eslava, Calle Arenal, Metro: Ópera (L2,L5,R) A popular one with tourists and has something on every night
Sala Sol, Jardines 3, Metro: Sol (L1, L2, L3). Rock concerts are held here often. Look out for big names.
Pacha Madrid, Calle Barceló, Metro: Tribunal. The Madrid version of the well known Ibiza club.
Serrano41, Calle Serrano 41, metro Serrano. Upmarket club in exclusive Salamanca.
Independance, Calle Santa Engracia 26, Metro Alonso Martinez (L4, L5, L10). Very popular spot with the hip crowd.
Ohm on Plaza Callao 4, and Liquid at Barquillo 8 in Chueca are two popular gay clubs.
And not forgetting: Chocalatería San Ginés on Calle San Ginés (near Sol) is the madrileños' favourite place to get churros and chocolate after a night out. Expect it to be packed out at 6am!
The best place for glitzy entertainment is Gran Vía here you will find plenty of theatres staging world class musicals, cinemas and nightclubs. Malasaña is where young carefree madrileños come to party, whilst in Chueca the ambient is gay friendly. Madrid has many concert venues and plenty of big names from the national and international music scene come here to perform. If you are looking for cultural entertainment, you will find classical concerts, dance performances and as well as plays. Don't forget to keep checking here where we post our entertainment and culture picks for the coming weeks.
Musicals
For musicals the best place to go is Gran Vía. Recently big name hits such as Mama Mia!, High School Musical and Les Miserables have all been here. Whilst they are in Spanish, you can at least still sing along! The Rialto, Lope de Vega and Teatro Coliseum are the best known and are all on Gran Vía. The Teatro Haagen Dazs near Sol and Tirso Molina is also recommended. Expect to pay around 20€ for a decent seat.
Theatre and dance
In Madrid you will find a wide range of opera, plays and dance performances on offer. However if you plan to see a play, most performances are in Spanish, although sometimes there are shows in English. If you want to see something typically Spanish, why not visit the Teatro de Zarzuela where you can see a traditional Zarzuela or operetta. In general expect to pay around 15-30€ for a seat although sometimes you can get tickets for much less or even free! Here's some of our recommended theatres:
Teatro La Latina, Metro La Latina (L5)
Teatro La Zarzuela, (for typical Spanish opera) Metro Sol (L1, L2, L3)
Teatro Real, (the Opera House) Metro: Ópera (L2, L5, R)
Teatro Español, (on Plaza Santa Ana), Metro: Antón Martín (L1)
Teatro Bellas Artes, Calle Alcalá, metro: Sevilla
Cinema
Unlike the theatre, in most cases the cinema should not pose too many linguistic problems for non Spanish speakers as most films made in English are subtitled for Spanish audiences. In the centre you will find plenty of cinemas, a great deal of them have being going for years and still maintain their old charm. Cinema tickets in Madrid cost around 7€. Here's our pick:
Cine Ideal, Metro: Tirso de Molina (L1)
Cine Capitol, Metro: Callao (L3,L5), right on Gran Vía
Renoir Princesa, Metro: Ventura Rodriguez (L3)
Renoir Plaza de España, Metro: Plaza de España (L3, L10)
Cines Callao, Metro: Callao (L3,L5), right on Gran Vía/Plaza Callao
Fans of independent film might like to try:
The Cine Doré Metro Antón Martín (L1). This is the national filmoteca.
Cine Bellas Artes Metro Sevilla (L2)
Nightclubs
In Spain most nightclubs don't get going until around 2am or 3am and stay open until the break of dawn. This is why you will see madrileños eating churros (long doughnuts eaten with hot chocolate) on their way home from a night out. Entry to a nightclub usually costs around 15€, but often includes a drink. Note that for some places you need to be quite formally dressed to enter. If dancing until dawn is not your thing, neighbourhoods like La Latina, Salamanca or Las Letras have plenty or bars (some more rowdy than others!) where you can have a more relaxing time with a drink. Bars here are often cafes during the day so quite often you can get food here later on, however some of these bars only open at night and tend to be more for dancing and live music.
Nightlife tends to differ in the different neighbourhoods, for example in Malasaña you will find the nightlife is very young and informal. Chueca is gay friendly and anything goes; it normally goes crazy at the weekend. Sol and Gran Vía tend to have the big clubs and tourist orientated nightlife. On the other hand Salamanca has more upmarket entertainment options for those with a big budget. Here are some suggestions how to have a typical madrileño night:
Bars
 |
| Typical Madrid bar in the Huertas neighbourhood |
Sol: here the bars are very much geared towards tourists, which might not be for everyone's taste! The best streets here for nightlife are Espoz y Mina, Calle de la Cruz and Calle Victoria. A few places we recommend are Las Bravas (Espoz y Mina 13), La Abuela (Espoz y Mina 28), Venta el Buscón (Victoria 5), Bodegas Melibea (Espoz y Mina 9). Again you can just wander around here and see what takes your fancy as there is plenty on offer.
La Letras: a bit less touristy than around Sol but still has an excellent range of bars to suit all tastes. You can't go far wrong with Plaza Santa Ana, Calle Echagaray and Calle de las Huertas. Our top picks include the roof top bar of the Hard Rock Hotel, Café Central (very good free jazz every night) and the Cerveceria Alemana all on Plaza Santa Ana. La Fidula (Huertas, 57) Tabernas Meceira on Plaza de Jésus is also great (it is typical Gallician and has excellent food), and Café Matute (Plaza Matute) has a lovely terrace in the summer. For the top end, try the bars in The Ritz Hotel (Plaza de la Lealtad) or Hotel Palace (Plaza de las Cortes)
Malasaña: Café la Palma (Palma 62), Sala Taboo (San Vicente Ferrer 23), and Tupperware (Corredera Alta de San Pablo, 26) are all legendary in Madrid and play music at weekends, closing in the very small hours. They're perhaps not the best place for a quiet drink! If you're looking for a fun night, you're bound to find something walking around and seeing where the crowds of young madrileños go. Picnic (Minas, 1) and El Pez Gordo (Pez, 6) are a couple of fun bars. Take the metro to Tribunal (L1, L10) or Noviciado (L2) to reach these places.
Chueca: here you will find gay friendly nightlife. Plaza de Chueca on Friday and Saturday nights is usually a hotbed of activity and there are plenty or terrace bars. Some recommended bars are Soho on Plaza de Chueca and Truca (Gravina 10). The Gay Guide Madrid website has more on gay friendly entertainment and is in English. Metro: Chueca (L5).
Lavapiés: El Automático, El Economico, La Buga del Lobo are all on Calle Argumosa, metro Lavapiés. La Caña right next to the Reina Sofia on Calle Santa Isabel is another great place. Metro Atocha. All of these places have great food and terraces in the summer.
La Latina: this area is full of bars! Here night life is more low-key and an excellent choice if you are looking for a few drinks. Cava Baja, Plaza de Paja and Calle Almendero are great spots. We recommend El Viajero (has a roof terrace, Plaza de Moros), El Tomás (Cava Baja 42), Posada de la Villa (Calle San Bruno 3), Lamiack (Cava Baja 42), and La Musa on Plaza de Paja has a modern vibe. Metro: La Latina (L5).
Salamanca: here nightlife is a bit more exclusive and definitely a bit more expensive. There perhaps isn't the concentration of night-time entertainment as there are in other areas however a lot of the restaurants offer cocktails after dark. A couple of places we think are worth a visit are,
Lagoa (Serrano 85- metro Gregorio Marañón) and Bonsai (Jose Ortega y Gasset 66, metro Lista). You could also try some of the more upmarket hotels such as the Serrano Royal (Calle Marqués de Villamejor 8, metro Rubén Darío, L5) or the Hotel Wellington (Velázquez 8, metro Príncipe de Vergara L2, L9 or Velázquez L4) for drinks.
Nightclubs
Here's our pick of Madrid's best clubs:
Boite Calle Tetuán 27, Metro Sol (L1, L2, L3)
Joy Eslava, Calle Arenal, Metro: Ópera (L2,L5,R) A popular one with tourists and has something on every night
Sala Sol, Jardines 3, Metro: Sol (L1, L2, L3). Rock concerts are held here often. Look out for big names.
Pacha Madrid, Calle Barceló, Metro: Tribunal. The Madrid version of the well known Ibiza club.
Serrano41, Calle Serrano 41, metro Serrano. Upmarket club in exclusive Salamanca.
Independance, Calle Santa Engracia 26, Metro Alonso Martinez (L4, L5, L10). Very popular spot with the hip crowd.
Ohm on Plaza Callao 4, and Liquid at Barquillo 8 in Chueca are two popular gay clubs.
And not forgetting: Chocalatería San Ginés on Calle San Ginés (near Sol) is the madrileños' favourite place to get churros and chocolate after a night out. Expect it to be packed out at 6am!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Fashion from the Renaissance Era
The Italian Cultural Institute in Madrid is currently housing El esplendor del Renacimiento (Renaissance Splendor), a exhibition which shows off a collection of 30 elegant outfits dating from the Renaissance period, including coronation gowns and a dress featuring a pattern designed by Leonardo da Vinci. The pieces on display contain very sophisticated examples of fine needle and brocade work as well as intricate goldthread weaves and embroidery. You can see the exhibtion until 30th September and the Italian Cultural Institute is located at Calle Mayor 86, just around the corner from the Palace and cathedral, nearest metro Ópera.
Friday, September 16, 2011
The National Ballet of Cuba come to Madrid
The Cuban National Ballet, led by the world famous Alicia Alonso will be in Madrid this month to present Swan Lake and Cinderella at the Teatros del Canal. This particular production will be a special one as the company will be celebrating 65 years since they first performed it.
You can catch the production at the Sala Roja. Cinderella will run 23, 24, 25 September and Swan Lake between 28th September and 2nd October.
You can catch the production at the Sala Roja. Cinderella will run 23, 24, 25 September and Swan Lake between 28th September and 2nd October.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Back to work with the Hotel Emperador
Getting back to work at the long summer break is always tough, but to help make it a little less painful, the Hotel Emperador is offering exclusive after work drinks on Thursdays during the month of September. You can come and enjoy the best cocktails- mojitos, DJs and excellent views of Madrid. They also have another exclusive promotion where you can make use of the Business Classic Room, WIFI and gain access to Emperador Club, where you can relax in the open bar with free snacks and drinks. To find out more about these promotions, visit their website.
Spanish Creators in New York
For those of you interested in Spanish culture and creativity, the Spanish Consulate in New York has put together an interesting webpage featuring interviews with known Spanish creators from the world of cinema, fashion, music, theatre art and dance. The first interviews online include Antoni Muntadas, Elena del Rivero and Juan Uslé, architect Ana María Torres, musicians Ricardo Llorca y Cristina Pato, movie director Martín Rosete, chef Marc Vidal and writer Eduardo Lago amongst others.
Here's a link to the webpage: http://www.spainculturenewyork.org/beta/cms/spanish-creators/spanish-creators-in-ny/
Here's a link to the webpage: http://www.spainculturenewyork.org/beta/cms/spanish-creators/spanish-creators-in-ny/
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Cortefiel celebrate Vogue Fashion's Night Out in Madrid
Madrid is one of the most important fashion centres in the world. The
Grupo Cortefiel celebrated the Vogue Fashion's Night Out in Madrid in three of their shops on
Calle Serrano: Cortefiel, womensecret and Pedro del Hierro. These are the shops you shouldn't miss when you are in Madrid.
Madrid Fashion Week
The fashion world will have its eyes on Madrid over the coming days
as it celebrates its 54th fashion week. Big names in Spanish fashion
such as Adolfo Dominguez, Agatha Ruíz Prado and TCN will be amongst the
45 designers showing off their spring-summer 2012 collections on the Cibeles
catwalk. Hoomage will also be paid to the late Spanish fashion designer Jesús del Pozo. Futhermore, the event offers opportunities for 40 young
designers to present their designs to the fashion industry in a effort
to encourage new Spanish talent. The event places great emphasis on
social media, with a blogger zone and the Soy Cibelino Competition on
Facebook.
The event takes place at the IFEMA (Feria de Madrid) between 16-20th September.
The event takes place at the IFEMA (Feria de Madrid) between 16-20th September.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Les Ballets de Monte Carlo present Sleeping Beauty
Les Ballets de Monte Carlo present a ballet version of the Perrault's Sleeping Beauty with a contemporary twist. The production is choreographed by Maillot, considered as one of the most talented and imaginative choreographers of the modern day, who has also worked on productions of Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella. The shows runs between 6th-11th September at the Teatro Real. Tickets start at 9€ and can be bought online here.
ArteMadrid Apertura
One for lovers of art! Over the weeknd of 15-17th September around 50 of Madrid's independent art galleries, big and small, will open up and host an exciting programme of events inlcuding talks, workshops and the chance to see some private collections. To see the full prgramme visit, http://www.artemadrid.com/
Shrek the Musical
Everyone's favourite green ogre Shrek will be coming to the stage of the teatro Nuevo Apolo from 21st September in a fun packed musical. The show is based on the storyline of the first movie and will include the orginal songs from it. It looks like a great show for both the kids and adults!
Ticket prices start at 25€ and can be bought at Entradas.com
Ticket prices start at 25€ and can be bought at Entradas.com
Friday, September 2, 2011
Vogue Fashion's Night Out
Madrid's most exclusive event of the year, Vogue Fashion's Night Out will be making a return on Wednesday 7th September, when around 340 designer stores in the Salamanca district will be opening their doors until late into the night for special events, cocktails and more! There will also be many celebrities making an appearance and the streets will have a very sophisticated party vibe. The event is free, but if you wish to come along, you'll need to sign up on the Vogue website.You can also find the list of particpating stores on the website.
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