Madrid nightlife runs on a late clock, even by Spanish standards. Dinner is at ten, the bars fill from eleven and the clubs only get going after one. Most close around 05:30 in the week and at 06:00 on Friday and Saturday. The centre is compact: Malasaña and Chueca for bars, Huertas and La Latina for a long warm-up, Gran Vía for the big rooms. The serious techno has moved north, to Chamartín station and a basement in Chamberí, and the largest raves sit outside the city. Entry is usually €15–25. Worth knowing: the metro stops at 01:30 every night, weekends included, so plan on a búho night bus or a taxi home.
Ranked by popularity. Tap a card for opening hours, door tips, getting there and tickets.
For the drinks before and after. Hours, prices and the best nights are on each page.
The night starts later than almost anywhere in Europe. Dinner at 22:00, a bar at midnight, the club after 01:00. Walk into a club at 00:30 and you will have the floor to yourself while the bar staff finish setting up.
The metro does not wait for you. It closes at 01:30 every night, Friday and Saturday included, and reopens at 06:00. Once you are in a club you stay until the búho night buses or the first train, or you take a taxi. Plan the night around that.
There are two scenes, and they rarely share a room. Teatro Kapital, Shôko and Teatro Barceló sell tables and commercial hits to big groups. LAB theCLUB, Mondo, The Bassement and Sala Villanos are about who is playing, and you buy the ticket on Resident Advisor days ahead.
Clubs close at 06:00 at the weekend, and the chocolatería at San Ginés serves churros 24 hours a day.
LAB theCLUB brings the international names, Mondo and The Bassement go darker, and Sala Villanos covers house and disco.
Malasaña, Chueca and Huertas are dense enough to walk between ten bars without checking a map.
From Museo Chicote, pouring since 1931, to Salmón Gurú, number 23 in The World's 50 Best Bars 2024.
The big commercial clubs are set up for tables, birthdays and bottle service, and the door is used to groups.
Jazz at Café Central every night, and bands at Sala El Sol and Siroco before the club nights start.
Not for you if you want to be in bed by one. Madrid barely starts by then, and the night bus home is slow.
Cañas and tapas in La Latina or Huertas. Nobody eats dinner yet.
Dinner. Restaurants stay full until midnight.
Bars and cocktail bars. Malasaña and Chueca are at their busiest.
Last metro. Club doors are open and the queues start to build.
Peak in the clubs.
Closing. First metro, a búho from Cibeles, or churros con chocolate first.
The top floor of Chamartín station gets Madrid's biggest techno bookings. Buy on Resident Advisor and take the metro there before 01:30.
Two sets every night, at 20:00 and 22:00, now in the Ateneo building. Dinner, music, then the bars of Huertas.
€6 gets you onto the roof of the Círculo de Bellas Artes, 56 metres above Calle de Alcalá.
Calle del Pez, Calle de Velarde and the streets in between. La Vía Láctea has been open since 1979.
Sala El Sol opened in 1979 and Teatro Barceló became a disco in 1980. Both still run club nights.
The chocolatería in the Pasadizo de San Ginés, off Calle del Arenal, is open 24 hours. Churros at 06:00 is a Madrid ritual.
Lula Club, Sala El Sol and Museo Chicote are minutes apart, with the Azotea del Círculo for a first drink. Central, busy and the easiest place to get home from.
The home of La Movida. Bars on Calle del Pez and Calle de Velarde, Siroco for club nights, and a younger, indie-leaning crowd.
Cocktail bars on Calle de la Reina, drag shows on Calle de Pelayo, and Teatro Barceló and Mondo on Calle de Barceló.
The streets between Sol and Atocha are dense with bars. Salmón Gurú for cocktails, Café Central for jazz, and Teatro Kapital at the bottom of Calle de Atocha.
Tapas on Cava Baja, a mixed local crowd, then Medias Puri, Shôko or Sala Villanos for the late part.
LAB theCLUB on the top floor of Chamartín station and The Bassement in a Chamberí basement. Few bars nearby: it is all about the booking.
Fabrik in Humanes holds over 4,000 people, and venues such as The Garage and Lasociaciøn sit on the edges of the city. Plan the trip home before you go.
Most clubs are 18+ and want original ID. Some nights set the bar higher: Teatro Barceló is 25+ on Friday and Saturday, and some Lula Club nights are 21+. The commercial clubs turn away sportswear, swimwear and scruffy clothes. The techno rooms care more that you have a ticket and keep your phone in your pocket.
Expect €15–25 for a club night. Recent examples: €20 for Adam Beyer at LAB theCLUB, €23 for Motor City Drum Ensemble at Sala Villanos and €25 for a techno night at The Bassement. Big names sell out, so buy online. Bars are free to enter; the Azotea del Círculo charges €6.
The metro runs from 06:00 to 01:30 and does not run through the night at the weekend. After that, 27 búho night buses (N1 to N27) start or finish at Plaza de Cibeles, every 15–20 minutes on Saturday night and every 35 minutes on other nights, at the normal €1.50 fare. Taxis start at €3.20 at night and charge €1.60 per kilometre.
| Club entry | €15–25 |
| Beer in a club | €6–8 |
| Cocktail | €12–16 |
| Cloakroom | €2–4 |
| Búho night bus | €1.50 |
| Taxi across town at night | €12–18 |
| Churros con chocolate | €5–7 |
| Hostel bed, weekend | €30–50 |
Cañas in La Latina, a €15 club ticket, three drinks inside and a búho home for €1.50.
A cocktail in Malasaña, a €20 ticket, four drinks, the cloakroom and a shared taxi.
The Azotea del Círculo at sunset, dinner, a headline night at LAB theCLUB or Fabrik, drinks until 06:00 and a taxi.
It closes at 01:30. Ride it to the club, then plan on a búho or a taxi home.
All 27 night bus lines start or finish at Plaza de Cibeles. If you are lost at 05:00, head there.
LAB theCLUB, The Bassement, Mondo and Sala Villanos sell there, and headline nights go early.
18+ is standard, but some nights are 21+ and Teatro Barceló is 25+ at the weekend.
Arrive early or wait. 1862 Dry Bar takes online reservations if you want a sure table.
Pickpockets work the metro and busy bars. Do not fall asleep on the last train.
Built in 1930 by the architect Luis Gutiérrez Soto, it became a disco in 1980 and welcomed Andy Warhol and Prince in the nineties.
It opened on Calle de los Jardines that year and became one of the stages of La Movida.
All 27 búho lines, N1 to N27, start or finish at Plaza de Cibeles.
The jazz club left Plaza del Ángel in April 2026 for the Ateneo de Madrid building, keeping its two concerts a night.
Most close at 06:00 on Friday and Saturday and around 05:30 on other nights. Teatro Kapital, for example, runs 23:00–06:00 at the weekend and until 05:30 on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday.
For bars, Malasaña and Chueca. For a long warm-up, La Latina and Huertas. For clubs, Gran Vía and the bottom of Calle de Atocha, or Chamartín for techno.
No. It runs from 06:00 to 01:30 every day. After that you have the búho night buses from Plaza de Cibeles or a taxi.
Usually €15–25. Headline techno nights at LAB theCLUB start around €20, and smaller nights can be free with a guest-list ticket.
18+ at most clubs, with original ID. Some nights are 21+, and Teatro Barceló is 25+ on Friday and Saturday.
At the commercial clubs, yes: no sportswear, swimwear or scruffy clothes. The techno and house rooms rarely care what you wear.
See which clubs and bars are open right now, who is playing and where to get tickets. Live in four cities, with more on the way.
