Café Central

Café Central has been the home of jazz in Madrid since 1982. For more than four decades it occupied a café on the Plaza del Ángel, near the Plaza de Santa Ana, and in that time it hosted around 15,000 concerts, featuring leading Spanish musicians and many international jazz names. It became one of the best-known jazz clubs in Europe and a regular stop for visitors who wanted live music in an intimate room rather than a big concert hall.

In April 2026, when its lease at the Plaza del Ángel came to an end, the club moved a short distance to new premises in the Ateneo de Madrid, the historic cultural institution on Calle del Prado, under an agreement that allows it to keep its programming and spirit. The move was marked on 15 April with a final concert at the old site and a New Orleans-style musical procession, the Funeral y Resurrección del Jazz, which led audiences through the streets to the new venue, where the club reopened the next day. Musicians closely associated with the club's history, such as Jorge Pardo, Joshua Edelman and Guillermo McGill, were among those lined up for the new programme.

The programme covers jazz in its many forms, with a regular calendar of concerts by Spanish and international musicians. Check the programme page on the website for the line-up, set times and tickets, as these vary by artist. Arriving early is a good idea for popular names, and it is worth booking ahead where tickets are sold online.

The club opens every day from 17:30 until 00:30, which means you can stop in for a drink earlier in the evening before the music starts. It suits music lovers of all ages, couples looking for an evening out, and solo travellers, as the focus is on listening rather than socialising. Because the venue is new, details such as seating and food service may evolve, so check the website or call before planning a dinner around it.

The Ateneo is on Calle del Prado in the Barrio de las Letras, between the Plaza de Santa Ana and the Paseo del Prado. Antón Martín and Sevilla metro stations are around five minutes' walk away. The bars of Calle de las Huertas and the Plaza de Santa Ana are close by for drinks before or after the show.