Capturing the essence of La Movida Madrileña – a countercultural motion that emerged throughout Spain’s transition to democracy in 1975 – is as difficult as defining the buoyant artistic scene shaping Madrid immediately. Each resist easy categorisation, united by an unyielding forward-looking spirit. One of the simplest ways to expertise the town’s modern-day zeitgeist is by exploring its next-generation galleries, daring hospitality ventures and disruptive cultural hubs. Whereas the town is justly celebrated for its Beaux-Arts structure, centuries-old artwork collections, and vibrant tapas tradition, Madrid continues to reinvent itself. Listed below are ten issues to do to faucet into the town’s newfound power.
What to see and do in Madrid, Spain
The place to remain
The Madrid Version
(Picture credit score: Nikolas Koenig)
The Madrid Version heralds a brand new chapter within the capital’s luxurious hospitality scene – extra outré and vibrant, but no much less detail-driven. Its 200 rooms and suites, some with terraces, showcase the Version model’s unmistakable daring, modern model. Additionally current are vibrant meals and beverage choices, which embody Oroya, the rooftop restaurant helmed by chef Diego Muñoz. Dramatic contrasts of sunshine and shadow, uncooked textures, and refined finishes outline the property’s visible language. Spearheading the design: founder Ian Schrager, minimalist maestro John Pawson, and Paris-based designer François Champsaur, whose mixed genius brings recent power to the outdated coronary heart of Madrid.
The Madrid Version is situated at Pl. de Celenque, 2, 28013 Madrid, Spain.
The place to eat and drink
Gilda Haus
(Picture credit score: Pictures by German Saiz. Courtesy of Gilda Haus)
Madrid-based Codoo studio may need been impressed by Gianfranco Frattini, Nanda Vigo and different Nineteen Seventies Italian design pioneers, however this Madrid cocktail bar is maybe most distinctive for the metallic, high-gloss shade of pearl orange that floods its ground, partitions and ceiling. Complemented by mirrored surfaces and touches of electrical blue, the house is vivid, voluminous and seductive, its ornament celebrating purposeful city design, from the office-style tube lighting to the chrome steel furnishings, whereas carpeted flooring and velvet curtains add a hotter contact. AR
Gilda Haus is situated at C. de San Mateo, 6, 28004 Madrid, Spain.
Mo de Movimiento
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Lucas Muñoz Muñoz Estudio)
Bringing a flavour of environmental consciousness to Madrid’s eating scene, the Lucas Muñoz-designed Mo de Movimiento focuses on adaptive reuse and sustainable power. The upcycled interiors embody lighting items recovered from junkyards and seating cast from rubble and wooden reclaimed in the course of the web site’s renovation. A low-consumption temperature system makes use of water-filled terracotta pots to chill the air, whereas power from the kitchen is reused for underfloor heating throughout colder months. AR
Mo de Movimiento is situated at C. de Espronceda, 34, 28003 Madrid, Spain.
SDD2
Experimental sharing plates are served on this startling setting that mixes the power of a slaughterhouse and a science lab with its white polythene counters, freezer-style lighting and multicoloured industrial bins within the ceiling. Moreover uncooked tuna jerky, aubergine with eel or cockles with seaweed, cuts of veal and Iberian pork go properly with the show of meat hooks and butcher’s knives. The house owners additionally just lately opened Sala Cero – a extreme, chrome steel eating house designed with Madrid-based studios Yyplusplus and Caliper. AR
SDD2 is situated at CC. de la Virgen de los Peligros, 8, 28013 Madrid, Spain.
What to do
Albarrán Bourdais
Housed in a former Loewe atelier relationship again to the Nineteen Twenties, Albarrán Bourdais maximises the usage of its high-ceilinged, multi-level, 600-square-metre house to current cutting-edge modern exhibitions, with artists usually invited to create site-specific installations or immersive experiences. Superflex, Héctor Zamora and Pedro Cabrita Reis have been exhibited over latest months, whereas a brand new solo present by Polish artist Angelika Markul – identified for her large-scale installations that vary from sculpture to video – is open till July 2025. AR
Albarrán Bourdais is situated at C. del Barquillo &, C. de San Marcos, 28004 Madrid, Spain.
Cine Doré
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Madrid Design Competition)
Cine Doré is probably going one of the placing neighbourhood cinemas on this planet, with residents of Atocha-Antón Martín lucky to get pleasure from easy accessibility. This Artwork Nouveau venue, which served as a set in Pedro Almodóvar’s Hable Con Ella (2002), was initially constructed within the early Twentieth century as a ‘socio-cultural’ corridor. In 1922, Spanish architect Críspulo Moro Cabeza reworked it right into a cinema. After a 26-year hiatus, it reopened in 1989 as the house for Filmoteca Española, the nationwide movie archive – since when it has performed host to a wide range of Spanish and worldwide movies of their unique variations. Its unique brick-orange façade, in the meantime, tells the story of resistance and renaissance of Twentieth-century Spain.
Cine Doré is situated at C. de Sta. Isabel, 3, 28012 Madrid, Spain.
La Capsule spa at Brach Madrid
(Picture credit score: Pictures by Guillaume de Laubier)
Discovered throughout the bustling arteries of Gran Vía, a second of calmness awaits at Brach Madrid resort, the Evok Assortment’s second outpost after Paris. La Capsule spa is a soothing sanctuary that boasts a 20-meter indoor pool and cutting-edge therapies marrying holistic practices with superior applied sciences, together with a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, infrared sauna or LED photobiomodulation remedy. The 400 sq m house is a imaginative and prescient of gold and pure white by Philippe Starck.
La Capsule spa is situated inside Brach Madrid, Gran Vía, 20, 28013 Madrid, Spain.
Solo Independencia
Increasing on the capital’s golden artwork mile (the Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums), Solo Independencia takes a daring leap into modern artwork. Conceived as an ‘worldwide artwork undertaking’ by Spanish entrepreneurs Ana Gervás and David Cantolla, Solo is dedicated to ‘fostering, supporting, and sharing immediately’s art work.’ Its assortment spans figurative portray, kinetic sculpture, sound artwork, new media, and AI creations, forming an otherworldly universe showcasing over 270 artists, together with established names similar to Ai Weiwei, Takashi Murakami, and Kaws, alongside rising skills like Filip Ćustić, Ana Barriga and Smack. The gallery’s futuristic but versatile design is the imaginative and prescient of architect Juan Herreros.
Solo Independecia is situated at Pl. de la Independencia, 5, 28001 Madrid, Spain.
The place to buy
Galería Canalejas
(Picture credit score: Pictures by Daniel Schäefer. Courtesy of Galería Canalejas)
Moments away from the emblematic Madrid de los Austrias (the town’s outdated quarter), Galería Canalejas rises throughout the identical grand edifice because the 4 Seasons Madrid, the place we additionally suggest reserving a keep in case you are after unparalleled luxurious. As soon as often known as the Palacio de la Equitativa, the brand new buying centre was dropped at life by the Spanish agency Estudio Lamela, whereas the subtle interiors had been created by Parisian studio Carbondale. Over 8,000 sq. meters of Nationwide Heritage façades and greater than 16,000 historic artefacts, together with Artwork Deco stained glass, intricate railings, marble accents, and ornate friezes, had been preserved in the course of the growth. At its coronary heart, an enthralling café pays tribute to the normal kiosks of nineteenth and Twentieth-century Madrid. In the meantime, three elegant flooring showcase an array of upscale style, magnificence and jewelry boutiques, together with Hermès, Jil Sander, and Rolex.
Galería Canalejas is situated at Pl. de Canalejas, 1, 28014 Madrid, Spain.
Wow Idea Serrano
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Culdesac)
A division retailer however not as you realize it – this multi-brand retail undertaking goals to merge bodily and digital experiences for a brand new era of buyers, with fascinating, unbiased style and tech labels housed in a visually placing setting. Barcelona-based Exterior Reference designed the unique Wow on Gran Vía, whereas a second, seven-storey outlet within the swish Serrano neighbourhood is the work of Madrid’s Culdesac, who created sculptural shapes, ambient lighting, fluid areas and modular furnishings that enables for versatile shows.
Wow Idea Serrano is situated at C. de Serrano, 52, 28001 Madrid, Spain.
A model of this text appeared within the April 2025 concern of Wallpaper*.
Supply: Wallpaper
