Amazing things to do in Madrid in February

A large-scale exhibition in the city center? We were all surprised when ‘Avatar: The Experience’ arrived at Espacio Delicias, and when we experienced it firsthand, we were even more surprised. Last year, the latest film in the franchise was released , and if you were left wanting to delve a little deeper into Na’vi culture, this experience provides context, universe, and lots of detail. 

Immersive settings, original pieces, and technology that expands the imagination of Pandora beyond the screen, in a journey that can be enjoyed without needing to be an expert in Avatar (although it helps).

This retrospective exhibition traces the dizzying and wandering career of Alberto Greco, a key figure in the avant-garde. The exhibition moves from his beginnings to the consolidation of his vivo-dito concept, a performative practice in which the artist draws attention to the vitality of everyday life in the face of institutional rigidity, through a selection that ranges from his paintings and collages with a camp aesthetic to his final novel, Besos brujos.

Happy Year of the Horse! February 17 marks the beginning of a new Chinese year, which, as always, Madrid celebrates in style. With the program recently confirmed, we’re getting ready with this list of delicious restaurants to make reservations at.

The two most eagerly awaited moments are the fireworks display and the Chinese New Year parade , which will fill the Usera district with giant dragons and lions, lanterns made by children, and live music. And as a new feature, this year Madrid will install the ceremonial arches typical of Chinatowns.

Now in its 16th year, the International Magic Festival, directed by Jorge Blass, will bring together nine great magicians from around the world at the Circo Price. The festival will open with Close-up Magic, where intimacy and close proximity will be the secret ingredients for enjoying the magic of Dani Daortiz and the duo Rubi y Fer. This will be followed by the International Stage Gala: visual effects, dramatized magic, ventriloquism, and the most original illusions will shape an impressive show.

 From Wednesday to Sunday, the Friedenskirche is transformed into a canvas of light and sound in this fusion ofvideo mapping, symphonic and electronic music. FLOW offers a journey along the Vltava River, which flows through Prague, from its source to its mouth, through rapids, forests, and springs, accompanied by the symphonic music of Czech composer Bedřich Smetana.

The Guillermo de Osma Gallery presents an ambitious retrospective that analyzes the effervescent artistic scene of the 1980s in Madrid. The exhibition brings together nearly a hundred works that document the rise of figuration and its coexistence with the Transition, exploring a period of creative freedom where disciplines such as painting, photography, and design constantly fed off each other.

The exhibition highlights the consolidation of key figures in Madrid’s New Figuration movement, placing special emphasis on the work of female artists of the period and the documentary gaze of the photographers who immortalized the aesthetics of the Movida.

Candles, excitement, music, maestro! Candlelight is a series of candlelit concerts that reinterpret the great classics but also ventures into pop, rock, soundtracks, and more.

The unforgettable music of the The Lord of the Rings trilogy will fill the halls of the Wellington Hotel with a live string quartet, allowing you to enjoy the 25th anniversary of the first film in the best possible way. And best of all: let yourself be inspired by the spirit of Middle Earth… and go to the concert dressed as your favorite character! 

The rest of the month will feature tributes to Coldplay, a tribute to Luis Miguel, the Bridgerton soundtrack, special Valentine’s Day concerts… , and many others among the twinkling candlelight in incredible locations throughout Madrid.

BuzzAttack is an immersive game show where teams of 4 to 12 people compete in tests of wit, memory, music, and speed, on a set that replicates a television program.

Lights, buzzers, and dynamic games set the pace for an experience designed to get people fired up, laughing, and celebrating in style. Ideal for birthdays, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and group outings looking for something different, participatory, and competitive.

Following the success of its first edition in 2025, the Leer Juntos festival returns once again to Madrid’s bookstores with an extensive program of free activities. Between February 18 and 21, under the slogan “Life between the lines,” readers in the capital will be able to meet with teachers, educators, and authors, including María Dueñas, Sara Torres, and Diego Garrocho.

Who would have thought: you, Amelie Lens, and the darkest techno, in a special Valentine’s Day session. On the night of February 14, in a special CODE session (number 173), the Belgian DJ will be joined by other masters of the turntables (such as Welcome Back Devil) in an evening of more than 12 hours, rooms, and styles. A week later, Fabrik will celebrate the ninth anniversary of the 150 parties with leading figures such as Brennan Heart, Coone, and Paul Elstak. As a culmination, on the last day of the month, Raúl Ortiz will bring the best of dance music from the last thirty years to the La Resistencia session.

• February 14: CODE 173
• February 21: 150 by Fabrik – 9th Anniversary
• February 28: LA RESISTENCIA by Raúl Ortiz at Fabrik

From Madrid to Machu Picchu just by putting on a pair of virtual reality glasses: this experience was created with the help of fifty engineers who mapped the sacred Inca city during the pandemic. And today it stands as one of the most incredible and descriptive experiences of the Sacred Valley. For about 45 minutes, attendees will learn historical facts, unravel details of Inca symbolism, and take part in the customs of the inhabitants of Machu Picchu…

The Fernán Gómez Theater is preparing for the world premiere of The Cherry Orchard, adapted by Ignacio García May. Chekhov’s classic tells the story of the decline of a family who, caught between nostalgia for their childhood and financial ruin, are forced to decide whether to destroy their estate in order to survive. Faced with the paralysis of its protagonists, only the young Trofimov proposes the generational legacy as the only possible way to recover his family’s lost paradise.

Between February 10 and 13, a small number of attendees will be able to access rehearsals and witness how a play is created from the inside. Registration information is available here.

To mark the centenary of the Círculo de Bellas Artes headquarters, this exhibition pays tribute to Antonio Palacios and his impact on Madrid’s urban landscape. Through a careful selection of original plans, drawings, and period photographs, the exhibition unravels the building’s construction process from its conception in the 1919 competition.

The magical story of Elphaba and Glinda has already completed 100 performances in Madrid, and this musical has been a hit since the day it premiered. A must-see on Madrid’s musical scene, with the powerful voices of Cristina Picos and Cristina Llorente on stage. Adventure, vindication, love, and a lot of courage in this parallel narrative to The Wizard of Oz that has traveled around the world.

Once again,La Casa Encendida becomes the center of emerging creativity with an exhibition of the winning projects from the 26th edition of Generaciones. This competition has established itself as a vital platform for six young creators—Élan d’Orphium, Hodei Herreros, Claudia Pagès, Maya Pita-Romero, Víctor Ruiz Colomer, and Victor Santamarina—to showcase their work. An event for those who want to discover today the names that will define the contemporary art of tomorrow.

The Community of Madrid’s circus festival presents its second edition this year under the name Riesgo. Throughout the second half of the month, the Teatros del Canal will be filled with acrobatics, juggling, dance, theater, and live music in a commitment to contemporary circus as a hybrid discipline.

Four of the productions, from countries such as Belgium, France, Switzerland, and Canada, will be seen for the first time in our country during the festival. In addition, Riesgo will host a lecture by director and educator Roberto Magro on dramaturgy in contemporary circus.

This year marks the ninth edition of a festival that is all about design: Madrid will become the epicenter of initiatives, with more than 200 activities, three major exhibitions, and 300 venues throughout the city, as well as open houses at design studios and showrooms. The big news this year will be FORMA Design Fair, the first Spanish fair dedicated to collection design.

Under the slogan“ ,”the Madrid Design Festival focuses on environmental responsibility and impact, but also on transcendence and the bond between generations as the key to continuity. You can check out the full program here.

Sala Alcalá 31 is hosting No-res, an anthological exhibition that spans six decades of work by Jordi Teixidor, a leading figure in Spanish abstraction. The exhibition is structured around his 31 workbooks, displayed together for the first time, in the style of a personal diary, which has been the cornerstone of his artistic evolution since 1965.

The iconic novel by The Little Prince, beloved internationally by readers of all ages, serves as the starting point for Antoine, the musical: an autobiographical reflection of its author, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Through the values conveyed by the novel, such as freedom and innocence, the show frames the figure of Saint-Exupéry, as well as his passion for writing and flying.

The Rooftop Lírico space, on the roof of the Calderón Theater, will host the show, which won an award at the 2021 MAX Awards. Actor and singer Javier Godino (known for his participation in musicals such as Hoy no me puedo levantar, El médico, and Anastasia) will bring the character of Antoine to life, accompanied by music from the Barcelona-based group Elefantes.

As part of the JUST Latam 2026 section of the JUSTMAD Contemporary Art Fair, Fronteras móviles (Mobile Borders. Latin American Art in Circulation) offers a reflection on contemporary Latin American art and its diversity from the perspective of displacement and the constant transformation of territories and identities.

Casa de América is hosting the exhibition, which brings together pieces from different disciplines, such as painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, and textile art, from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela.

Closing out the month, the Juan March Foundation is opening a small-format exhibition based on two paintings, The Sky and Hell, created by a follower of Bosch for a triptych that has since disappeared.

These pieces engage in dialogue with contemporary works of surrealist and fantastical aesthetics, in a vindication of the Dutch painter’s imagination. Through this temporal crossover, the exhibition explores how moral satire and dreamlike visions coexist today with the new frontiers of artificial intelligence and technology.

In the midst of the era of scrolling and AI, is it possible to stop and think about what technology is doing to us? La Casa Encendida presents An Offline View, a film series that invites us to put down our phones and take a hard look at technocapitalism. Through a selection of films and discussions, the series explores everything from our fascination with AI-generated images to the mental exhaustion caused by the attention economy.

“Please, this is real life, not a sequel to Mamma Mia.” This is the first glimpse of Alberto Conejero’s new play, a tragicomedy about the individual inside and outside the family. Three Nights in Ithaca stars three sisters who travel to Greece for the funeral of their mother, who abandoned everything to move there twenty years ago. During the trip, they will not only discover what happened to their mother, but also who they really are.

The Dos de Mayo Art Center Museum kicks off its 2026 program with a focus on female talent and the avant-garde. The center in Móstoles is simultaneously presenting two exhibitions that invite reflection on space and desire. On the one hand, Minor Architectureby Ester Partegàs offers a circular journey that eschews the classic retrospective to connect three decades of work.

On the other hand, the museum hosts Una y otra vez, the first monographic exhibition in Spain dedicated to Dorothy Iannone. A pioneer in placing eroticism and female desire at the epicenter of art, the exhibition traverses the Boston artist’s vital universe through paintings, collages, and sound pieces that, in their day, defied any hint of censorship.

Babylon Park is THE indoor leisure park that has everything. Attractions, arcade games, and spaces to share time with family or friends without having to worry about the weather outside.

It works well with children, preteens, and adults, and is especially suitable as a convenient alternative for staying active when the weather is bad.

Dopamina Club offers a great night out for indie rock lovers ( especially Spanish indie rock, as big bands like Los Planetas and Los Piratas are idolized here). On Fridays, there’s an 8-hour non-stop party (from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.) where the hits keep playing while we enjoy a beer… and some gildas. On Saturdays, it’s the same but in afternoon mode: the club opens at 6pm, the ideal time to “go out and relax.” Of course, if we change our minds and feel like going all out, the party goes on until dawn.

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum presents the first major retrospective in Spain of Vilhelm Hammershøi. The Danish painter, known for his cold, minimalist interiors bathed in an almost unreal Nordic light, arrives in Madrid with nearly a hundred works that invite contemplation. Under the title The Listening Eye, the exhibition explores the atmosphere of absolute silence and apparent calm that defines his work, establishing connections with masters such as Edward Hopper and the great Dutch painters of the 17th century.

This museum brings together 170 full-scale reproductions of some of the urban artist’s best-known works. Among them are those that have most recently appeared around the world: iconic images, direct political messages, and the sharp humor that has made Banksy a global phenomenon. 

The exhibition covers his most common themes—war, consumerism, power, surveillance—and contextualizes them in the country where they were created, even rescuing works that have been destroyed or disappeared.

José María Sicilia is the artist behind Nights and Days, the new site-specific proposal from the Casa de Alba Foundation that intervenes in the most emblematic rooms of the Liria Palace, such as the library, the ballroom, and the salons of Eugenia de Montijo, inviting visitors to discover the daily life of the palace from another perspective.

Sicilia brings together a series of works created specifically for this purpose, conceived from attentive listening and observation of the history preserved in the place, intertwining with the architecture and memory of the building.

As usual, one Sunday a month, the Real Teatro de Retiro welcomes young and old alike to a fun and educational introduction to classical music. Taking the operas programmed at the Teatro Real as its starting point, the series ¿Te suena…? introducesplayful elements into the traditional concert format, so that all members of the family can learn to listen to and enjoy music equally.

On this occasion, the session ¿Te suena Julio César? explores the sound universe of Handel’s opera Julio César, which will be performed on February 19 and 21 in the Main Hall of the Teatro Real.

If you’ve ever thought you could solve a crime better than any judge, this February you have three opportunities to prove it with The Jury Experience. It’s not just about watching a play: from your seat, you can be part of the jury, analyze testimonies, and examine forensic evidence to reach a verdict.

From an ethical dilemma about the responsibility of AI to a high society scandal full of greed and betrayal, each of this month’s events presents a radically different enigma: independent cases where the audience has the final say.

The ICO Museum is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a series of three exhibitions that pay tribute to its history. The first of these exhibitions opens this February under the title Transiting the 20th Century. Drawing and Sculpture in the ICO Collections and will pay tribute to the origins of the institution with part of the collection that gave rise to it.

The exhibition offers an essential overview of 20th-century art, with works ranging from the avant-garde of Pablo Picasso and Juan Gris to representative contemporary artists such as Susana Solano, including figures such as Eduardo Chillida and Carmen Laffón.

February arrives in Madrid with a red-hot musical agenda. The capital confirms its status as a musical epicenter with a mix ranging from renewed flamenco to international pop and urban rhythms. With the Inverfest cycle still in full swing and the big arenas packed to the rafters, here are some of the live shows you can’t miss to warm up:

• February 1: Ángeles Toledano
• February 5: Hinds
• February 5 and 6: Sidonie
• February 10: The Last Dinner Party
• February 16: Miles Kane
• February 17: Nathy Peluso
• February 22: Judeline
• February 27: Wavves