Bar
1. Café Madrid
A historic cocktail bar in the old town with roots in 1940, credited as the birthplace of Agua de Valencia and once a meeting point for the city's artists and writers.
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2. La Terraza del EME
The rooftop bar of the EME Catedral Mercer hotel, facing the Cathedral and the Giralda, with cocktails, cold tapas and DJs on Friday and Saturday nights.
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3. Museo Chicote
Spain's first cocktail bar, opened on Gran Vía in 1931 by Perico Chicote, with an Art Deco interior and a guest list that once included Hemingway and Ava Gardner.
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4. Paradiso
An El Born speakeasy reached through a fridge door at the back of a pastrami bar, named number one in The World's 50 Best Bars in 2022.
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5. Boadas
A tiny Art Deco cocktail bar by La Rambla, opened in 1933 by Miguel Boadas and still devoted to expertly made classic cocktails.
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6. La Carbonería
A sprawling bar in a former coal yard on the edge of Santa Cruz, open every night with live music, short flamenco performances and an informal crowd.
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7. Radio City
A music hall in El Carmen since 1979, known for its Tuesday flamenco nights, live bands at weekends, reggae, funk jams and resident DJs.
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8. Salmón Guru
Diego Cabrera's creative cocktail bar in the Barrio de las Letras, known for inventive drinks, a playful neon-lit interior and a food menu.
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9. Café Central
Madrid's best-known jazz club, founded in 1982, which moved in April 2026 from the Plaza del Ángel to new premises in the Ateneo de Madrid.
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10. Casa Anselma
A small, late-night Triana bar where the owner, Anselma, leads spontaneous sevillanas and flamenco, with no cover charge and a packed local crowd.
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11. Jamboree
A cellar music club under the arcades of Plaça Reial, mixing nightly concerts of jazz, blues and more with late club nights.
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12. Jimmy Glass Jazz Bar
El Carmen's long-running jazz club, celebrating 35 years in 2026, with live concerts on two to four nights a week and its own jazz festival.
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13. Café del Duende
A small flamenco venue near the Botanical Garden staging authentic performances since 1998, with shows from Thursday to Sunday.
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14. Dr. Stravinsky
An El Born cocktail bar that calls itself a laboratory, distilling and infusing many of its own spirits for an ambitious, ingredient-driven menu.
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15. Garlochí
A late-night bar opened in 1978 and decorated wall to wall with Holy Week imagery, known for its Sangre de Cristo cocktail of sparkling wine and grenadine.
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16. Teatro Kapital
A large nightclub in a former theatre near Atocha, with several floors of different music, from mainstream dance and reggaeton to karaoke and cocktail bars.
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17. Bar Americano
The Art Deco wine and cocktail bar of the historic Hotel Alfonso XIII, a stylish setting for a pre-dinner drink beside the Alcázar and the university.
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18. La Venencia
A time-worn sherry bar in the Barrio de las Letras that serves only sherry from the barrel, with tabs chalked on the bar and a strict no-photos rule.
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19. Loco Club
A 300-capacity live music club west of the old town, hosting more than 200 concerts a year by international, Spanish and local bands.
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20. Razzmatazz
A large Poblenou music venue with five rooms, hosting touring bands in the evening and multi-room club nights afterwards.
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