Hello there. My husband, two teenage sons (16 and 18) and I are going to be in Madrid for 9 days in the middle of June. I teach Spanish and have been to Madrid before, but only for 2 day visits as part of touristy EF (student) trips and always with 35+ teenagers with me. We have rented an apartment near the Plaza Herradores for the entire stay but are also spending one night in Toledo. While we intend to see the main sites like the Prado and the Palacio Real, we are also hoping to live a bit like locals. We love food and our boys are very much into music (guitar, bass and drums) so hoping to see some Flamenco and find other places for any live music. (We are ok staying up late!) So I am looking for recommendations for restaurants, music venues or other off the beaten path things to do as a family to really experience life like Madileños.
¡Muchas Gracias!
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7942 posts
Our last visit to Madrid was in the fall, during Zarzuela season, and we caught a memorable performance, but June won’t work for that. Back in June 2002, on a 1-day visit between plane flights, I was strolling thru central Madrid, and in the gardens just east of the Palacio Real was a huge, free, open musical gathering with different bands on different stages. One young kid in a jazz band did trombone solo that made the crowd gathered around the stage erupt into wild applause. I just stumbled onto it, and don’t know if that’s still a regular thing, or was a one-time occurrence in Madrid.
But doing a quick internet search just now, it looks like several music festivals are going on in/around Madrid this June, but many seem to be elwctronuca or punk, and you and your kids may or may not be looking for that. However, there’s apparently also a Suma Flamenco Festival (https://www.flamencotickets.com/festival-suma-flamenco ) which might be just what you’re looking for. We’ve seen flamenco performances in Sevilla, and I caught a touring troupe in Santa Fe, NM years ago, but haven’t experienced it myself (yet) in Madrid. I know Rick Steves’ guidebook describes flamenco venues in Madrid, and hopefully others on this forum can provide more music places.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7160 posts
Not that there are not locals near Plaza de Herradores, but there will probably be an equal number of tourists too. If you want to live like a local (whatever that really means) try to find places away from the major tourist area, which seems to be exactly where your apartment is. Maybe, contact the tourist bureau in Madrid to see if it can recommend places where the is live music away from the Plaza Mayor, Palacio, Puerta del Sol area. Once there, I’m certain the locals could recommend places too.
Posted by
S.F. Bay Area, CA, United States
1878 posts
Cafe Central is a jazz venue that is worth a look. It’s on Plaza Santa Ana which is an interesting area as well.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7889 posts
Depending on family interests, I'd mention the most overlooked art museum, Palacio des Bellas Artes. Also the two convents that are only open by advance appointment and tickets, quite hard to get. We went to the Descalzas (sp.?) to see the art the women gave when they joined.
I have often felt that many "touristy" places in Madrid, like the churros place Rick recommends, to have a good proportion of local customers, too. I'm not sure you can avoid other tourists in June, even at a music club. I trust you understand that "late" in Spain can mean 4AM!
Posted by
OP
42 posts
Thank you to everyone who replied to my post. The jazz and flamenco are right up our alley! Cyn...thanks for finding that festival, definitely going to plan on attending some of those shows. I remember taking my students out to a disco in Madrid years ago...we could not even get into the venue until 12:30 at night.