Summer has arrived and once again this year the locals are looking for the closest beach to Madrid. And yes, we all know that Valencia is the first mental image, and it is not wrong, but taking a square and a bevel to the north and south, where would we get to first by car?
The issue of the lack of beach in Madrid is exhausting. One, because of the reality of summer in the capital -with an asphalt that in the middle of the day is capable of melting flip-flops- and two, because it is something that is often thrown in the face of the locals. Madrileños are not to blame for the location of the capital, and we do not intend to invade any coastal city, just survive the summer. Have pity.
Mediterranean: Valencia
Starting with the obvious: the Saler beach in Valencia, 370 km from Madrid, by car 3 h and 40 min, (you can also get there by train and there are very cheap tickets). The migration from Madrid to the Valencian coast that happens every summer is almost part of the capital’s culture and can be understood just by looking at the nearest beach. Actually, El Saler is the name of the Albufera Natural Park, 15 minutes from Valencia city, and is composed of many small beaches, sand dunes and even a parador.
A sea of warm water, a beach of fine sand, wide and long, surrounded by nature. Little more you can ask for in the summer.
📍 370 km from Madrid.
Cantabrian Sea: Basque Country
In the Cantabrian Sea, things get complicated because objectively to Zarautz (Basque Country) it takes 4 h 25 min by car, but Suances (Cantabria) is less kilometers away, 438, exactly, although it takes two minutes more to get there. Both beaches are worth the visit, especially if you like clouds and clear skies.
Zarautz is known as “the Queen of the beaches” because Queen Isabel II spent her summers in the Narros palace, which is on the seafront, which also attracted the nobility and made the town better known. Its current tourism has changed, now the surfers are the ones who fill the waves of this beach, which, among other milestones, has the one of having hosted the first surfing championship in Spain in 1968.
📍 440 km from Madrid.
Alboran Sea: Andalusia
Straight south you reach Motril, in Granada, and the closest beach to Madrid is Calahonda. 489 km separate this small town from the capital, by car it takes about 4 h and 30 m to reach the area known as the Costa Tropical of Granada. It is made up of 73 km of coastline of sandy beaches, among which are towns as well known as Almuñecar and Salobreña, both with castles and beaches that attract national and international tourism.
Although it is now a very touristy area, for centuries it has been one of the few places in Spain where tropical plants grew, and here it was (and is) common to grow mangoes, custard apples or avocado. A paradise not so far away.
📍 489 from Madrid.