As soon as you get to know Madrid you know that constant change is its stable form: the city’s way of being. In 2025 the capital will continue to deepen its cultural range with new exhibition spaces, new permanent collections and an almost unmanageable amount of temporary exhibitions. Among so much novelty there is also a place to celebrate what endures, what has survived for generations, such as the Cuesta Moyano or the Palacio del Capricho. Welcome to what remains and what is yet to come.
New cultural space in Plaza de España
Those passing through Plaza de España these days (and there are quite a few of us) will come across the works inside the building of the former Real Compañía Asturiana de Minas. With more than 4,700 square meters, from 2025 (it is estimated that the opening will be in the middle of the year) it will contain a new exhibition space. The building, declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1977, is owned by Mutua Madrileña. With the aim of creating a new cultural and social space, its different rooms will house exhibitions as well as an auditorium for musical performances, theater and film screenings.
Enlightenment, an immersive show based on Vivaldi’s ‘The Four Seasons’.
The artistic collective Projektil brings the show Enlightenment to Madrid. Conceived as an immersive experience, this show is the result of the collaboration between the latest technologies in projection and a classic like Antonio Vivaldi. These creators convert the four seasons of the seventeenth century composer in light, color, images. They will do it in the church of the German-speaking Evangelical Community from January 25.
First season of Centro Danza Matadero
Matadero’s Nave 11 has a new tenant: Centro Danza Matadero. A space of 3000 square meters by and for dance in any of its disciplines (urban, classical, flamenco, contemporary…). The programming of the first season, directed by María Pagés (dancer and choreographer Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts in 2022), will start in February 2025 with 124 performances scheduled for 26 shows and 600 artists. Check here for the complete program.
Opening of the Palacio del Capricho Museum
Madrid is expected to welcome a new museum in 2025. One that has been awaited and longed for by the residents of the Barajas district (and Madrileños in general) since it will involve the rehabilitation of the abandoned Palacio del Capricho. This new museum space is conceived as a tribute to Josefa Pimentel Téllez Girón, IX Duchess of Osuna, who ordered the construction of the palace in the 18th century together with its spectacular garden.
This project of rehabilitation and museumization of the space, has gone through several comings, goings and controversies. Finally, according to the forecasts of the Madrid City Council, “the museum will open its doors during the second half of 2025“. With an estimated investment of 6.9 million euros for the entire Palacio del Capricho, the creation of this museum is one of the main objectives for this new year.
A year of festivals
The idea of eternal return applies to thoughts, feelings, ideas and music festivals. The festival wheel turns, turns and turns and yet another year Madrid becomes a less bad place to spend the summer because of or thanks to festivals.
All options for all audiences. EMD and people like Dimitri Vegas or Nervo? Well, you have the Don’t Let Daddy Know -although this one is in February, you won’t have to wait for summer and you can buy your tickets at this link.
Three of the festivals that have partially announced their lineup for 2025 are Mad Cool (you can check it out at this link). Also Noches del Botánico(in this other one).
Without forgetting that electronic paradise that every summer comes, ironically, to the City of Rock in Arganda del Rey: A Summer Story. So far, the festival has confirmed Hardwell, Reinier Zonneveld, Alignment, Daria Kolosova, Nicky Romero, Joyse and Quintino. Season tickets are already on sale. Fine cinnamon.
Unlimited suburbs for 20€.
On July 1, 2025, Cercanías will implement a single monthly season ticket for €20, valid for all zones and hubs in the country. This model replaces the free pass in force until June 30, marking a new stage in public transport subsidies.
In addition, there will be 40% discounts on conventional medium distance, free of charge for children, and special fares for young people, with 50% discounts on state trains and buses. State buses will also offer discounts of up to 70%. A commitment to a more accessible and sustainable transport that will benefit millions of travelers throughout Spain.
Works on line 6
If you want something, it costs you something: so says the proverb, the self-help book and the transport councilor could well argue. Line 6 is to be entirely renovated to reduce travel times, train noise and install driverless trains and a new type of doors.
Line 6 from June to September will close the section between Moncloa and Méndez Álvaro stations. From the end of September to December, the stations between Moncloa and Legazpi will be closed.
La Cuesta de Moyano turns 100 years old
Madrid is that city lucky enough to have had a permanent book fair for a century. In 1925, a series of booths of about 15 square meters were set up selling books for 15 cents. One hundred years later, thirty booths continue to sell books of all kinds: literature, art, essays…. The booksellers of Moyano are the children and grandchildren of the founders of this fair and today they are part of the Soy de la Cuesta Association, dedicated to revitalizing the place with activities throughout the year.
A new permanent exhibition space… dedicated to Banksy
Among the oddities of this year that is already here, the opening of a new museum has slipped in: Banksy Museum opened its doors on January 2 in Arganzuela. Inside, more than 130 replicas of works by the street artist in a space that functions as a tribute to the figure of Banksy. In addition, the place aims to be an open door to reflection on current urban art.
Exhibitions in Madrid this 2025
Flamboyant. Joana Vasconcelos at the Liria Palace.
From February 13, one of the most renowned contemporary artists will install her major works at the Palacio de Liria. The Portuguese Joana Vasconcelos will intervene the halls and gardens of the central mansion, mingling with the Velázquez, Goya, Rubens, Titian or Murillo that hang on the walls of one of the most important private collections in the world. Vasconcelos is an expert at making her work flow with the centuries, helping the viewer to see classical spaces in a new light.
The Thyssen exhibitions in 2025
© Lisbon, Calouste Gulbenkian Museum
In 2025, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum will once again be a meeting point between classical art and the avant-garde. This year’s exhibitions trace a journey from the Venetian elegance of Guardi to the explosions of color of Warhol and Pollock.
- Marina Vargas: Revelations. From February 10 to May 4, 2025.
- Tarek Atoui. At-Tāriq. February 18 to May 18, 2025.
- Marcel Proust and the arts. March 4 to June 8, 2025.
- Warhol, Pollock and other American spaces. From October 21, 2025 to January 25, 2026.
- Guardi and Venice in the Gulbenkian Museum collection. From February 3 to May 11, 2025.
Madrid Metropolis. The dream of Antonio Palacios
The exhibition Madrid Metropoli. The dream of Antonio Palacios is a deep look at the architectural legacy of the man who imagined a monumental and modern city, but rooted in its identity. In a journey through his most emblematic works such as the Palacio de Cibeles, the Círculo de Bellas Artes or the Hospital de Maudes, this exhibition will guide us through the urban axes that articulated the architect’s vision: Calle de Alcalá, Puerta del Sol, Gran Vía and the Prado-Castellana axis.
Exhibitions at the Reina Sofia Museum in 2025
Of the nine exhibitions to be hosted by the Museo Reina Sofía in 2025, five will be entirely devoted to women artists: the work of Huguette Caland, Laia Estruch, Marisa González, Maruja Mallo and Marta Minujín will populate the halls of the art center in a monographic and dedicated way.
The year will kick off with the first major retrospective in Europe of Lebanese Huguette Caland, A Life in a Few Lines (from February 19 to August 25). The year will continue with Hello Everyone, by Laia Estruch, a compendium of all the works of the Barcelona artist that will be installed from February 26 to September 1. On May 21, it will be the turn of Marisa Gonzalez, with a retrospective of the career of this Bilbao-born artist who received the Velazquez Award in 2023.
Perhaps, one of the most awaited exhibitions in 2025 will be that of Maruja Mallo. The exhibition will bring together some 80 works by the Galician artist, including paintings, drawings, writings… and will open its doors on October 8. The year will end with an immersive experience designed by Marta Minujín and Rubén Santantonín, Menesunda according to Marta Minujín, starting on November 5.
Alice’s Worlds, at CaixaForum
This is not an exhibition about Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; nor about Lewis Carroll. It is an exhibition that analyzes the impact of this story from generation to generation. The influence of Alice’s imagination has reached, in these almost 160 years of life (the book was published in 1865 and translated into more than 170 languages), all the imagined artistic disciplines such as fashion, film, photography, theater … even science. It will run from April 3 to August 10, 2025.
New exhibitions at Fundación MAPFRE
Six exhibitions are coming to the Fundación MAPFRE building in Recoletos. Photography and painting will be the two main protagonists of the 2025-2026 season. We will be able to enjoy the best portraits of Raimundo de Madrazo and surrealist paintings of the 20th century, as well as landscapes, stories and feelings captured by the camera of great professionals such as Sakiko Nomura or Edward Weston.
- 1924. Other surrealisms. From February 6 to May 11, 2025.
- Sakiko Nomura. Tender is the night. From February 6 to May 11, 2025.
- José Guerrero. About the landscape. From June 5 to August 24, 2025.
- Felipe Romero. Bravo. From June 5 to August 24, 2025.
- Edward Weston. From September 18, 2025 to January 18, 2026.
- Raimundo de Madrazo. From September 18, 2025 to January 18, 2026.
Inauguration of Señorío Plaza
Cinema, supermarket, clothing stores, children’s play area… The new shopping center that will open in the spring of next year will have what it takes to succeed. Its strategic location between Madrid and Toledo, enormous size (90,000 square meters) and variety of services will make Señorío Plaza an ideal place to enjoy a day of shopping with the family.
Opening of the Cajal Museum
Madrid pays tribute to the first doctor to give Spain a place on the international scientific scene: Santiago Ramón y Cajal, father of neuroscience. It does so with the opening of the Cajal Museum, where 28,000 relics of the researcher will coexist, including drawings, books and medical instruments. It will be a living testimony of the many concerns of this key figure in the history of medicine.
The Pérez Simón Collection will have a permanent residence in the Belgian Sawmill.
One of the great exhibitions last year was dedicated to the figure of one of the great art collectors, Pérez Simón. Among the works that we were able to enjoy at CentroCentro, we found works by Murillo, Rubens, Goya, Van Dyck, Canaletto, Pisarro, Gauguin, Monet, Zuloaga, Alex Katz, Takashi Murakami, Rothko… A selection of works by 70 artists. However, the collection of Juan Antonio Pérez Simón is much more. Considered one of the most outstanding private art collections in the world, it has more than 4,000 pieces including paintings, sculptures, decorative arts… From the second half of 2025, work will begin on the Belgian Sawmill, which will be adapted to house this collection on a permanent basis.
This article was written by María F. Carballo, Helena Menéndez, Alberto del Castillo, Elena Francés and Carmen Seco.