The good news? Madridās social life is back in full force, and the cityās agenda is packed with amazing things to do, which means if you want to have fun, you no longer have to travel outside of the city to some town with a name you canāt pronounce.
The bad news? Many of the things are related to the F1 Grand Prix. Itās OK if you like it. No one (except for me) is judging here. And to be fair, Madrid hasnāt had an F1 race in over 40 years, so if that makes you happy, go for it. You do you; Iāll be at some art gallery in Chueca appreciating homoerotic art with a glass of Rioja. Chin, chin!
Happy weekend!
1. š After four decades, Formula 1 comes roaring back to Madrid
Attention, straight men (and probably others, although mostly straight men)! For the first time in more than 40 years, Formula 1 is racing in Madrid again. From Friday through Sunday, the city is hosting the Spanish Grand Prix at MADRING, the completely new circuit built around IFEMA and Valdebebas; and this isnāt a one-off: Madrid has signed up to host the race every year through 2035.
The new circuit is 5.47 km long, with 22 turns, and organizers say the qualifying laps will average around 213 km/h, which apparently is, like, really fast.
Its big showpiece is La Monumental, a banked curve thatās already become the circuitās visual trademark, for some reason. Around 110,000 people are expected for the first edition, eventually rising to more than 140,000 as MADRING expands.
Unlike most F1 circuits, you can get there by Metro, train, or bus. Because donāt forget: even though the cheapest tickets are like ā¬300, this is an event for the people.
Also, hereās some good news if youāre a pleb you donāt have a ticket: Madrid has basically turned itself into one enormous F1 fan zone! Williams has taken over Callao with historic cars, professional racing simulators, games, and an F1 replica; Audiās La Monumental experience in Plaza de ColĆ³n has original racing cars and a real Formula 1 car perched on a recreation of MADRINGās signature curve; and Alpine has brought three cars (including a full-size F1 replica) to the corner of AlcalĆ” and Gran VĆa.
You can all finally fulfill your dreams of taking a photo in front of one of these cars while leaning on the hood, thumb up, so you can post it on Tinder and impress all the ladies whoāll ask, āOh, wow, do you own that?ā You knowā¦ like this.
And save Puerta del Sol for after dark. Tonight and tomorrow, the Real Casa de Correos becomes the canvas for an F1-themed videomapping show from 9:30 p.m. until midnight, combining Madrid history with Formula 1 and culminating with the sportās famous five red starting lights spreading across the faƧade.
There are F1 installations on Serrano too (at the TAG Heuer store), so even if you couldnāt care less who gets pole position on Saturday, Formula 1 is going to be pretty difficult to avoid this weekend.
š Where: MADRING + multiple locations around Madrid
š When: Sept. 11ā13
šļøTickets: Race tickets start at ā¬605 (š). Events are free.
2. š¤ Pop superstar Aitana takes over the Movistar Arena
If you need a palate cleanser after the previous post, hereās a pretty gay recommendation to balance things out. Aitana, one of Spainās biggest pop stars, is basically moving into the Movistar Arena this weekend and is bringing her Cuarto Azul World Tour to Madrid for four shows, giving you two chances to catch her this weekend (and another two if your weekend somehow extends into Tuesday).
If her name rings a bell, it may be because of her megahit Superestrella, which became Spainās unofficial anthem during the World Cup. The song got so big that, when Spain won the tournament, Aitana ended up performing it live at the Disney-esque victory celebrations in Cibeles with members of the national team dancing alongside her. Remember? It was all pretty High School Musical.
Still donāt know her? Shame on you. Aitana first became famous as the runner-up on OperaciĆ³n Triunfo in 2017 and has since gone from reality-show discovery to one of Spainās biggest female pop stars.
This tour is built around her fourth album, Cuarto azul, with newer tracks including Segundo intento, Superestrella (obvi), Sentimiento natural, and 6 de febrero, alongside the songs that made her famous.
The album has also picked up two Latin Grammy nominations, including Best Contemporary Pop Album. So yeah, sheās BIG. And donāt forget it.
š Where: Movistar Arena, Avenida de Felipe II s/n, Madrid
š When: Sept. 11, 12, 14 & 15
šļø Tickets start at ā¬55.
3. š¼ļø Go gallery hopping across Madrid with the 17th Edition of Apertura
Oh, are car racing and bubblegum pop too low-brow for you? Worry not, my fellow ascot-wearing snob, because Madridās art world is finally waking up from its summer slumber (about damn time, tbh).
More than 60 galleries across the region are opening new exhibitions simultaneously for the 17th edition of Apertura Madrid Gallery Weekend, essentially turning the city into one enormous contemporary art crawl.
Organized by Arte Madrid, the idea is refreshingly accessible. Galleries extend their opening hours and throw open their doors so you can wander in and see whatās happening in Madridās contemporary art scene without needing to be a collector (or pretending you understand what youāre seeing).
And this is a genuinely big event on the international gallery circuit. Organizers say Madridās Gallery Weekend now ranks second only to Berlinās in visitor numbers. (Fancy!)
Thereās more going on than simply walking into galleries. FundaciĆ³n ARCO is bringing back its ARCO GalleryWalks, with guided routes connecting participating spaces around the city. Thereās also an open-air sculpture exhibition at the Museo LĆ”zaro Galdiano, alongside dozens of individual exhibitions opening across Madrid.
This yearās edition puts a particular emphasis on Latin American art and Madridās growing role as a bridge between Latin American artists and the European art market, with international curators, collectors and cultural institutions descending on the city for the weekend.
In other words, itās probably the best weekend of the year to walk into all those intimidatingly minimalist galleries youāve passed a hundred times and never quite dared enter because the owner will probably judge you.
4. šŖ Lo que el cuerpo sabe: See what the next generation of circus looks like
Wait! Itās not what you think. Forget clowns and elephants. This is circus as contemporary performance art (so itās high-brow circus!). The Teatro Circo Price hosts the latest creation from Proyecto CRECE, bringing together young performers who have recently graduated from some of the worldās leading circus schools.
The premise is that our bodies can hold memories and emotions that our minds havenāt quite figured out how to express (I think my childhood trauma expresses itself through crippling anxiety, but what do I know), so the performers use everything from spectacular physical feats to tiny gestures and embraces to tell their stories (probably better than anxiety).
And the performers really are the point here. CRECE is an international laboratory for emerging circus artists, organized by Madridās Escuela de Circo Carampa, which brings young graduates together for several weeks to experiment with new ways of combining circus with other performing arts.
After 17 editions, itās become a showcase for what happens when ridiculously talented young people are given permission to rethink what a circus performance can actually be.
šWhere: Teatro Circo Price, Ronda de Atocha 35, Madrid
š When: Through Sept. 12
šļøTickets: ā¬14
5. š Back to the Book Festival: Go book shopping with Madridās indie publishers
If your bookshelves somehow still have room (lol, who are we kidding, you donāt even have bookshelves), Matadero Madrid is about to make that problem go away. Back to the Book returns to Casa del Lector this weekend, bringing together independent publishers, writers and readers for three days dedicated to books that canāt be found at FNAC.
The idea is basically an alternative, slightly more relaxed version of the traditional book fair. Independent publishers set up shop with their latest releases, but you can also spend the weekend jumping between author talks, signings, workshops, live radio and podcasts; and there will be specialty coffee and beer (whatās the point of going if not?), which seems like a perfectly reasonable way to encourage literary purchases.
And there are some pretty big names on the program. Singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas will talk about and sign her first book, NorteƱa. Memorias del comienzo, this afternoon; graphic novelist Paco Roca presents his new book El viaje on Saturday.
The weekend also features writers including Sara Torres, MĆ³nica Ojeda, Pilar AdĆ³n, Marta Sanz, Brenda Navarro and Jente Posthuma. Most talks are free, although some offer priority access with advance registration.
The program is pretty niche, too. You can hear PUTOCHINOMARICĆN discuss hyperpop, queer utopias, and internet culture, join a tour exploring the secret history of Matadero, learn how to bind your own hardcover book, attend a talk about human creativity in the age of AI, or finish Sunday with a literary beer tasting pairing texts with three different beers (apparently thatās a thing)
šWhere: Casa del Lector, Matadero Madrid, Paseo de la Chopera 14, Madrid
š When: Friday to Sunday, check website for opening hours
šļøTickets:Free admission
BONUS: š La tentaciĆ³n vive en Mad: Give in to temptation in Chueca
OK, I lied: This was the gay(ish) recommendation. If Carlos Sainz Jr. the Formula 1 cars arenāt providing quite enough eye candy this weekend, Chueca has an alternative.
Mad is Mad gallery is saying goodbye to La tentaciĆ³n vive en Mad, an exhibition dedicated rather unapologetically to the beauty, sensuality and desirability of the male body.
The show brings together seven artists from Madrid, CƔdiz, Vitoria, Lisbon, New York and Ukraine, approaching the male form through painting, photography and other visual work that ranges from tender and delicate to provocative and deliberately erotic.
The galleryās invitation is simple: embrace your inner voyeur and stop pretending youāre only looking at the brushwork.
Mad is Mad has been part of Chueca for 20 years, and the exhibition was originally conceived around Madrid Pride and its celebration of sexual freedom and LGBTQ+ visibility.
Saturday is your last chance to see it, with the gallery throwing a three-hour closing party before temptation officially leaves Mad.
šWhere: Mad is Mad, Calle de Pelayo, 48, Madrid
š When: Sept. 12, 6ā9 p.m.
šļø Tickets: Free admission
šŗ What to watch if you donāt want to leave the couch this weekendā¦
šŗ TV Series: The New Years (Los AƱos Nuevos) | 2024
šWhere to watch: Movistar+
āWhatās it about:Oscar, stuck with a crappy medical contract, is still hooked on his ex. Ana, without a partner or a job, feels lost and plans to move away. Over the next ten years, they will have to face the passage of time and the decisions they make.
Whatās it about: PerĆ³n PerĆ³n is one of Buenos Airesā most unusual restaurant concepts. Its location in MalasaƱa is the first outside Argentina. The food is unapologetically Argentine (fried empanadas, choripĆ”n, stuffed provoleta, milanesas, bife de chorizo, pastel de papas and chocotorta) while the dining room goes all-in on Peronist history.
Why you should go: Because this Madrid kitchen was trained by the restaurantās Buenos Aires chef to reproduce the original menu. Dishes have hilarious, over-the-top Peronist names like La Gloriosa and Dos Potencias se Saludan. Plus, they have malbec.
Bottom line: Proper Argentine comfort food inside what is pretty much a Peronist theme park in MalasaƱa.
š Address: Calle del Pez, 6, MalasaƱa, Madrid.
Why you should go: Because sometimes you don't need an elaborate brunch menu - you just want a good coffee and something homemade to go with it. Here, that means budĆn, gooey brownies and cookies, with coffee starting at ā¬2.50 and nothing on the drinks menu going above ā¬4.50.
Bottom line: A sweet, affordable neighborhood coffee spot in Chueca for specialty coffee, matcha and homemade treats, and another very good excuse to say cafecito instead of coffee.
Address: Calle de las Infantas 9, Madrid
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