Amazing things to do in Madrid in July

Complaining about the temperature is useless: Madrid in July is the way it is. Warm, torrid, spelling. We know it’s hot but, in response, the city responds by getting splendid and giving us unique experiences. As a sample, here are some of the best plans for this July.

Summers in the Park (from July 10)

The Community of Madrid starts a new free summer initiative. Under the name of Summers in the Park (not in vain, it will be held during July and August in Santander Park), it will include two arts: cinema and theater. As for the summer cinema, it will be every Wednesday at 10 p.m. (with titles such as Robot Dreams, Golpe de Suerte, El sol del futuro or Vidas pasadas); as for the theater, it will be on Saturdays at 8.30 p.m. with performances of Lullaby, Transhumancia, Y los sueños, sueños son and Viajes de Bowa.

📍 Santander Park (Paseo de San Francisco de Sales, 39)

Berlin Wall. A World Divided (all month)

It has been in Madrid for months and continues to generate curiosity, admiration and amazement. The Berlin Wall. A World Divided commemorates the construction and fall of the Berlin Wall. But it is also a reflection on borders, division and that gap in European history that today continues to generate conversation.

Inside, one of the most amazing pieces are the original 20 meters of the Wall; but among the more than 300 objects, we will find from the concertinas that divided the city (and the country) as well as a spy tunnel and many other elements symbol of a division that marked a before and after in history.

📍 Castellana 214 Hall (Fundación Canal, Canal)

💸 Tickets: from 12 €.

Erwin Olaf. Narratives of emancipation, desire and intimacy (until July 14).

Each photograph, a canvas, a scene from a film, pure cinematography. Erwin Olaf ‘s work is that of a renovator, an innovator, a master of composition and color. His photographs deal with themes such as loneliness, hyper-individualism, incommunication… images full of uneasiness and discomfort that point to an activism inherent in all his work (social, political, even ecological). The exhibition, which is part of PHotoESPAÑA 2024, is divided into three parts (emancipation, desire and intimacy) and we will be able to complement his photographs with videos and video installations that Olaf created from the 1980s to the 2020s.

📍 Fernán Gómez. Centro Cultural de la Villa (Colón)

14.4 (until July 28)

This is the story of Ahmed Younoussi, this is a story of migration. Ahamed tells it in first person, as the protagonist of this story and as an actor in this play: thus, the play 14.4, tells how with only 9 years old, he arrived in Spain hidden in the underside of a truck and how two worlds so close (between his native Morocco and Spain only 14.4 kilometers separate us) can become so different. With Sergio Peris-Mencheta in the direction and Juan Diego Botto in the dramaturgy.

📍 Max Aub Hall (Matadero, Plaza de Legazpi, 8; Arganzuela)

Summer cinemas (all month)

Outdoors, between buildings, trees or in impressive courtyards: Madrid’s summer cinemas are a summer must. An excuse like any other to see again the titles of our childhood, the most awaited premieres or those films that always pull nostalgia with popcorn in the moonlight.

Autocine Madrid Race is the definitive plan, with its 350 parking spaces, to remember the great movie hits. But you can’t miss the Cine Caliente de los Veranos de la Villa ( the program is about to be published), Fescinal (starting on June 27 until September included) and Cibeles de Cine ( from June 27)…

📍Various locations

Film series at the Mirador of the Royal Collections Gallery

Still with more summer cinemas to be announced, there is one that is making its debut in the city: the one at the Galería de las Colecciones Reales. Celebrating its first anniversary, it proposes several sessions of cinema al fresco in its Mirador. Tickets cost 2’77€.

July 1, La Corona Partida
July 2, Alatriste
July 3, Esquilache
July 4th, The first globalization

Access through Almudena square

A year of the Royal Collections Gallery (all month)

The youngest museum in Madrid has paintings, sculptures, armor or tapestries signed by artists such as Velázquez, Goya or Caravaggio and celebrates this first anniversary with different activities (free and paid). Among those that are still available (in addition to the summer cinema), on 5 and 6 will be held the classical music concerts of the “Magical Nights”: you can visit the museum behind closed doors and walk through its rooms with a soundtrack set in the time of the works in each room.

📍Calle de Bailén, s/n (Downtown)

Magic nights: 40€. General admission to the museum: 14€.

MADO 2024: activities and the big Pride demonstration (until July 7).

Next July 6 at 7pm, Madrid (and all of Spain) will take to the streets to make visible and demand equal rights for lesbians, gays, transsexuals, transgender, bisexuals, intersexuals and more. The demonstration is the culmination that crowns another edition of MADO 2024, making Madrid the capital of Pride for another year.

But there is much more: on July 3 starts the opening speech, on July 4 is the tremendous heel race down Pelayo Street, on Friday July 5 will be the Human Rights Conference (Madrid Summit 2024) and on July 7, will be the closing ceremony.

📍Different locations.

Summer Scenes Festival (from July 5th)

133 municipalities will become stages (until September 1) for 180 free, diverse and open cultural activities. With the program still to be unveiled, the Community of Madrid defines it as “an essential multidisciplinary event, a dynamic proposal for inclusion and accessibility that will bring together the best of live arts during the summer months”.

📍Different locations.

Classical music concerts among olive trees (all month).

From June 26 to August 31, from Wednesday to Saturday and opening its doors at 19.00h, the Olivar de Castillejo becomes a natural (and olive) auditorium where greats of classical music resound on summer nights. An orchard near the financial heart of Madrid, AZCA, where you can enjoy a snack, a drink… and an unforgettable evening.

📍Calle de Menéndez Pidal, 3 bis (Chamartín)

Brutalista’s summer “camp” (Tuesdays to Thursdays)

In July, Pablo López and Samuel Heras offer at Brutalista tavern a summer camp for wine and food lovers, available from Tuesday to Thursday evenings.

Great wines by the glass, including natural wines and labels from renowned wineries, will be available for tasting, along with iconic Brutalista dishes such as fried quail and eel with miso. Each evening will feature a selection of wines and dishes, priced between €5.5 and €10, with a complimentary half glass of house blend manzanilla.

📍Juan Álvarez de Mendizábal, 34 (Argüelles)

Verbenas populares (all month)

Colorful banners, chicken, snails, carnations in the hair and whatever it takes: Madrid in summer is a big verbena. And we don’t want to miss any of them.

It all starts in Tetuán which, from July 5 to 7, celebrates its festivities of Nuestra Señora de las Victorias (in the park Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún), to continue with the celebrations of Carmen de Chamberí (from July 12 to 16) that will fill the square of the same name and the Olavide square with lights, performances and children’s activities.

📍Various locations

UMusic Hotel Madrid: bingo, brunch and pool party with a lot of Pride (July 4, 5 and 6).

Ay, Madrid. The Madrid we like the most: free, full of color, vindication… and irreverent bingos and brunches! UMusic Hotel Madrid launches during this celebration of Pride with a Bingo Party by Drag Brunch on July 4th (at 7.30 pm on its rooftop). That is: there will be bingo games with fun prizes, of course, but much more party and much more show with dancers and drags for three hours.

The following day, on July 5, another celebration: a Drag Brunch at 13.00h in the hotel’s own restaurant with dancing, singing, fireworks, lipsynch show, acrobatics… all while you enjoy your brunch with an open bar of mimosas!

And on July 6th at 12.00h, the UMusic Hotel pool will open its doors to the Babe, watch. Pool Party What is this? Its organizers define it as “an event full of energy and style” and its name refers to the great inspiration: Baywatch. Lots of music, lots of drag, three hours of partying with food, drinks and its corresponding cool dip.

📍Calle de la Paz, 11 (Downtown)

Felipe VI 2014 – 2024. A decade in the history of the Crown of Spain (all month).

Ten years of reign. A round number, a decade of moments that are reflected in the corridors of the Royal Palace these days. The exhibition Felipe VI 2014 – 2024. A decade of the history of the Crown of Spain, narrates in images the milestones of the monarch’s reign.

📍Plaza de Oriente (Center)

💸 Admission: 20 euros (the generic ticket of the Royal Palace gives access to the exhibition).

Magnetic Terrace (from July 5).

One of the things we like most about summer is having the opportunity to climb to the skies of Madrid, to those rooftops that, during the winter, are closed. One of the ones we like the most, for its cultural program, always so underground and advanced, is the Casa Encendida. Every summer, it opens its Magnetic Terrace, with a full program of summer movies and live music. You can check it out here.

Ronda de Valencia, 2 (Embajadores)

Lope a la fresca (July 5, 12, 19 and 26)

The Casa Museo de Lope de Vega proposes, in its garden, theatrical sessions every Friday of July at 9:00 p.m. with free access until full capacity is reached. This museum picks up the expression “a la fresca” to return to an ancestral custom as simple as enjoying the night air of the torrid Madrid summers to share words, to share experiences. In this case, quiet chats, declaimed verses, live music concerts, theatrical encounters… Check here for the complete program.

📍Calle de Cervantes, 11 (barrio de las Letras)

Dinosaurs of Patagonia ( from July 18)

CaixaForum Madrid is such a vibrant space that, in addition to holding al fresco evenings with different activities for its already legendary “Summer Nights”, starting on July 18 a new exhibition that is a journey into the past: what were the dinosaurs of prehistoric times like? What species inhabited Patagonia?

📍 Paseo del Prado, 36 (neighborhood of the Letters)

McDonald’s Double Monopoly arrives (until July 21)

The most awaited promotion arrives at McDonald’s and, to celebrate it, the iconic Monopoly tickets are converted into real money only until July 21. Yes, what you read. Go to THE McDonald’s Monopoly BANK located in a pop-up at Gran Via, 46, show the MyMcDonald’s App and get your Monopoly tickets!

You can use these tickets to pay for a delicious and refreshing finger-licking McFlurry®, or a medium soda with ice in the restaurants at Gran Vía, 55 or Montera, 47.

You choose what to invest your winnings in! Remember that only the colorful Monopoly® tickets that made us dream so much and also make us go bankrupt are accepted as a payment method, for a limited time only. For a limited time only,don’t miss out!

🗓️ Until July 21
📍Gran Vía, 46
💰OnlyMonopoly cash!

Las Noches del Botánico (all month long)

What a location, what a poster. What a thrill, Madrid. In July, the Botanical grows even more with a string of national and international artists that will keep us hooked to this location. Like James Blake, Loreena McKennitt (who will do a double bill), María José Llergo, The Cult, Take That (sold out from the first minute), James Blunt, Pixies… And many, many more.

📍Complutense Avenue, s/n (Complutense University)

The month of Vallekas: the festivities of the Karmela and the Batalla Naval (from July 11 to 14)

Finally, one of the backbone activities of the spirit of Vallekas is back: the Batalla Naval. This is about getting wet, getting wet, enjoying the streets of the neighborhood between wetting and wetting. Vallecas beach is like that. It will be on July 14 from 16.00h, putting an end to the self-managed Fiestas de la Karmela (which will start on the 11th with its usual popular paellas, charangas, ginkanas…).

📍 Vallecas Bridge

Veranos de la Villa (all month)

In 2023, the Veranos de la Villa brought together 162,000 spectators who spread out in the torrid Madrid months on 31 stages to enjoy the proposals of 814 artists in more than two hundred shows. An intense agenda of concerts, plays, dance, zarzuela, circus, exhibitions and children’s activities will be announced as of June 14.

📍 Various locations

The swimming pools of Madrid (all month)

How lucky we are that Madrid has the largest swimming pools in Spain. They are those of Riosequillo, in Buitrago de Lozoya, which will open its doors on June 14. The rest of the municipal swimming pools of Madrid have already opened their doors, due to the increase of temperatures in the city, since last May 15. They do it in two shifts: from 10.00 to 15.00h and from 16.00 to 21.00h.

On indoor pools, the Marqués de Samaranch, Centro Integrado Arganzuela, Francisco Fernández Ochoa, La Masó, Hortaleza, Luis Aragonés, Wilfred Agbonavbare and Raúl González will open from July 1.

Tickets will be sold online through the City Council’s Sports Web Portal or the Madrid Móvil application, but you can also buy them at the door (only 5% of the box office, so be proactive). Choose yours and take to the water!

📍Several locations

MadCool (from July 10th to 13th)

Pearl Jam, Dua Lippa, Sum 41, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Killers, Avril Lavigne… are some of the names that populate a star-studded line-up. In this new edition, MadCool returns this time to Polígono Marconi de Villaverde, a new location for a classic of the Madrid summers.

📍Calle Laguna Dalga with Avenida Real de Pinto (Villaverde)

The getaway and the dip (all summer)

One summer day you wake up and think: I need to get out of here. Sometimes this happens in Madrid. As much as we love it, we are urged to say goodbye to it for a few hours, days or even weeks, to miss it and rush back. We can think of no better place to disconnect from the asphalt than the Embalse de Bolarque, an inland beach about 100 kilometers from the capital.

With an access price of 6 € from Monday to Friday and 10 € on weekends and holidays, this corner of Guadalajara offers hiking trails, kayaking … and the dip you need.

📍Almonacid de Zorita (Guadalajara)

Like a lizard on the terraces of Madrid (all summer)

Whether on rooftops, patios or at street level, terraces are the Madrid sport par excellence. Any time of the year is good to celebrate Madrid outdoors, but in July, the best thing to do is to stand under a good umbrella and the warmth of a cocktail. We prefer the sky over Madrid seen from the top of Casa Suecia, for example, or the coquettish terrace of Frida, in the heart of Chueca. Which one will you choose?

📍Various locations

Brihuega (mid-July)

The lavender fields of Brihuega will reach their maximum splendor in mid-July. A spectacle of nature of intense purples and unparalleled perfume just 100 kilometers from Madrid.

In addition, between July 12 and 13 will be held the Lavender Festival, a double concert with Maldita Nerea and Rozalén, who will perform their hits surrounded by these endless fields of lavender…

📍Brihuega (Guadalajara)

Candlelight (all month)

Hans Zimmer, Coldplay, Ludovico Einaudi, Queen, Vivaldi, ABBA, Imagine Dragons… Candlelight, the classical music concert series that reinterprets the greatest hits of different genres in a magical setting of hundreds of candles, returns this July. Everything has a place in these unique evenings in special locations in Madrid (such as the Four Seasons Hotel, the Ateneo…).

📍 Various locations

💸 Tickets: starting at 15 €.