Nightlife
Madrid After Dark
Vermouth bars in La Latina, indie dives across Malasaña, and clubs that do not warm up until 2 a.m. Start with the best nightlife areas guide before choosing a venue.
Best Nightlife Areas in Madrid
Choose by mood| Area | Best for | When to go | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malasaña | Indie dive bars, natural wine, and La Movida heritage | 19:00–late | Metro 1/10 to Tribunal or Bilbao |
| La Latina | Vermouth on tap, tapas bars, and Cava Baja crawls | 13:00–16:00, 20:00–late | Metro 5 to La Latina |
| Chueca | LGBTQ+ nightlife, late bars, and a stylish crowd | 20:00–late | Metro 5 to Chueca |
| Barrio de las Letras | Jazz clubs, live music, and literary-quarter bars | 20:00–late | Metro 1/2/3 to Sol or Antón Martín |
| Arganzuela | Superclubs, warehouse venues, and dancing until sunrise | 23:30–late | Metro 1 to Atocha |
Bars & Clubs
12 venues
Museo Chicote
Madrid's most storied cocktail bar, opened in 1931, patronised by Hemingway, Buñuel, and Ava Gardner, and still shaking drinks on the same Art Deco bar top on Gran Vía. A genuine museum piece that still functions as a working cocktail bar.
Teatro Kapital
A seven-floor former theatre turned into one of Europe's biggest nightclubs, with each level carrying its own DJ, music genre, and vibe, from a chill rooftop terrace with skyline views to a heaving main dance floor below. Madrid clubbing at its most maximalist.
Café Central
A jewel-box Art Deco café that's been Madrid's premier jazz venue since 1982; DownBeat magazine has ranked it among the best jazz clubs on earth. Intimate enough that even the back tables feel close to the stage.
La Vía Láctea
A dive bar that's been running since the 1980s heyday of La Movida Madrileña, walls plastered with band flyers and vintage graffiti, pool table in the back, indie and rock on the speakers. As close as it gets to Malasaña's countercultural roots still functioning unchanged.
Medias Puri
A former brothel-turned-multi-storey bar near Callao, playfully leaning into its past: velvet, kitsch, and four distinct floors that build from cocktails to a compact rooftop-adjacent dance space. One of central Madrid's most photogenic nights out.
El Junco Jazz Club
A relaxed, unpretentious jazz and swing club near Chueca with live music most nights and a late DJ set that turns the small dance floor over to funk and soul once the band packs up. A local favourite rather than a tourist checkbox.
Azotea del Círculo
The rooftop terrace of the Círculo de Bellas Artes cultural centre, 56 metres above Calle de Alcalá: the single most photographed rooftop view in Madrid, looking straight across at the Edificio Metrópolis's winged statue and dome.
Picalagartos Sky Bar
A two-floor rooftop restaurant and bar wrapped around the top of the NH Collection hotel on Gran Vía, where the 8th-floor restaurant and 9th-floor sky bar share a wraparound terrace with views straight down the avenue's Art Deco skyline.
The Hat Rooftop
A hostel sun terrace by day that turns into one of Madrid's most easygoing rooftop bars by night, a couple of minutes' walk from Plaza Mayor, with none of the entry fees or dress codes of the hotel rooftops nearby.
Dear Hotel Rooftop
The 14th-floor rooftop of the Dear Hotel on Gran Vía, right where the avenue meets Plaza de España: a plunge pool by day, and Nice To Meet You, a lounge and restaurant with 360° views, by night.
Riu 360º Rooftop Bar
The rooftop of the Hotel Riu Plaza España, set inside the landmark Edificio España on the 27th floor: Madrid's tallest publicly accessible rooftop, with a glass skywalk stretching between the building's two wings.
Ginkgo Sky Bar
A 12th-floor rooftop restaurant and bar at the VP Plaza España Design hotel, with a 360° terrace looking straight over the Royal Palace, Plaza de España, and the old town beyond, serving Mediterranean-Asian small plates alongside the cocktail menu.
Nightlife Guides
2 guidesMadrid Nightlife Areas: Where to Go Out
Madrid's best nightlife neighbourhoods: Malasaña for indie bars, Chueca for LGBTQ+ nightlife, Huertas for jazz, and where the superclubs are.
Madrid's Best Rooftop Bars
Six of Madrid's best rooftop bars and terraces, from the iconic Círculo de Bellas Artes view to the city's highest rooftop at Riu Plaza España, with hours, prices, and how to get in.
Book an Experience
Night Out in Madrid
Madrid's bar scene is sprawling and ever-changing. A local guide will take you past the tourist traps and into the neighbourhoods locals actually drink in.