Amazing things to do in Madrid in May

The month of May has always been a month of celebration that starts with a long bridge and culminates in the middle of the month with the festivities of San Isidro, one of the patron saints of the city that will fill the streets with fairs, chotis, rosquillas, chulapas and chulapos.

And beyond San Isidro, May is full of events and plans to enjoy the good weather and the best cultural offer: from concerts and popular festivities to sporting events or free visits. Don’t miss them!

San Isidro (from May 3rd to 15th)

Parades of giants and big-heads, the reading of the proclamation, the pilgrimage in the Pradera de San Isidro, the rosquillas tontas y listas, the carnations, the chulapas and chulapos, the free outdoor concerts throughout the city… San Isidro is back and the most Madrilenian celebration to honor the saint Labrador is back. The program is already here as well as the complete list of all the free concerts for San Isidro. But what we already know is the name of the person who will give the opening speech on May 8 from the balcony of the Casa de la Villa: Dani Carvajal.

📍 Location: Various locations

Podcast Station (from May 21 to 24)

More than 50 activities and recordings, live and with audience, of the best podcasts of the scene. Estación Podcast returns one more edition to Madrid to celebrate the rage and quality of this format of audio content (although there are also in video). The event is divided into three sections: Estación LIVE (live podcasts); Estación PRO (discussion tables, workshops, masterclasses…); Estación MUSIC (the new section with live concerts in venues, which has just been announced with The Killer Barbies, Vicente Calderón and CANTEO!)

We will be able to enjoy live recordings of A Pachas, Keep it cutre, Mimicidios, Sofá, manta y crimen, Así somos, Hey! and Mochila al pasado, among others.

📍 Location: Espacio Cultural Serrería Belga, CentroCentro, Metro de Madrid, Palacio de la Prensa and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC).

Jurassic World: The Experience (from May 30)

Dinosaurs? in Madrid? And life-size. And animatronic. Jurassic World: The Experience is an exhibition that summarizes great moments of the mythical film saga and gathers curiosities to learn everything about dinosaurs.

📍 Location: Paseo de las Delicias, 61 (Delicias, Arganzuela).
Tickets: sign up to the waiting list at this link to access an exclusive pre-sale.

“La Maternidad” at the Royal Collections Gallery

The Royal Collections Gallery is a walk through the monarchic history of our country. The Habsburgs and the Bourbons collected, for centuries, tapestries, porcelain, jewelry, paintings, carriages… of incalculable value that today are displayed in this spectacular museum at the back of the Royal Palace. To celebrate Mother’s Day, this great container of history and art, offers a new route, a brand new thematic itinerary that travels through the maternal figure (from the powerful queens, the essential wet nurses, the inspiring mothers of Olympus or the spiritual ones). In addition, throughout the month of May you can participate in the free guided tours (see here for the schedule).

It also offers a new type of ticket that includes 2 for 22 € (and you can convert into a ticket-gift) including this guided tour (or self-guided) redeemable until September 30.

📍 Location: Calle de Bailén, s/n (Centro)
💸 Tickets: 2 tickets for 22€.

DroneArt Show (May 22, 23 and 24)

Imagine going to an outdoor, springtime concert of classical music. A string quartet, surrounded by more than 20,000 candles, performs a program featuring the scores of Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky and Debussy. And in this magical scene, illuminated by the flickering glow of the candles and the stars of the night, hundreds of drones appear, performing a dance synchronized with the music and color, forming images such as flowers, swans or birds. This has a name: it is called DroneArt Show and it will take place in Madrid for only three days this May, in the fresh air of the great esplanade of the Zarzuela Hippodrome.

📍 Location: Avenida del Padre Huidobro, S/N, A6 KM 8 (Moncloa – Aravaca).
Tickets: from 29€.

Two great parties at Autocine Madrid

If there is one thing about Autocine Madrid that we love, is that besides watching the latest releases and the usual movies in our car and with the Madrid skyline in the background, in this great place there are always things going on. Things like the festivities of the month of May.

On the one hand, Indie’s Fest the music festival of the genre, which on May 23 (from 2.30 p.m. to midnight) will feature bands such as Niña Polaca, Travis Birds, Melifluo, Sobrezero and two DJ sets to end the night dancing (Juancasupersub and Javi Sánchez). A secret: with the general ticket (only from 15.00 to 16.30h) there will be a free open bar of soft drinks (soft drinks, beer or tinto de verano) and also paella! So we recommend punctuality.

On the other hand, Rita’s Club Rita’s Club: that is to say, the most famous Rita’s parties in Madrid are moving to a club in the center of the city. Every Saturday in May starting at 17.00h at Archy Club, a spectacular late night in Colón with live shows, DJ’s and lots of laughs.

📍 Location Indie’s Fest: Autocine Madrid at Calle Isla de Java, 2 (Fuencarral- El Pardo)
Indie’s Fest tickets: from 30€..
📍 Location Rita’s Club: Archy Club at calle de Génova, 28 (Colón)
Rita’s Club tickets: from 12€ ..

Candlelight: tribute concerts at Oasiz Madrid (May 30 and 31)

Everything you imagine is in Oasiz Madrid, also the magic of Candlelight. If you have already lived this experience, as if you want to repeat the plan with new musicians and repertoire, the next concerts take the stage in front of the lake of Oasiz Madrid. A musical tribute to Coldplay (Friday 30) and another dedicated to Taylor Swift (Saturday 31) complete the May agenda of this leisure and shopping center, one of the largest in Spain.

Spring is best experienced with music and in open spaces. And now you can enjoy these free-access concerts, a great plan!

🗓️ May 30 and 31, 21h.
📍Oasiz Madrid, Torrejón de Ardoz

The FRIENDS™ Experience: The One in Madrid (all month)

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The sets of the iconic 90’s series are installed in Madrid only until June 29. Impossible not to fall into nostalgia (and laughter) playing a game of Joey and Chandler’s foosball or sitting on the sofas in Monica’s apartment. Obviously, Central Perk is also present, perhaps the most recognizable coffee shop in the history of television? To all this, The FRIENDS™ Experience: The One in Madrid adds the secrets and ins and outs of the production of the series told by the team themselves.

📍 Location: IFEMA Madrid. Pavilion 14.1. Avenida Partenón, 5. (Barajas)
Tickets: general admission 15€.

Al Bano and Romina Power Concert (May 24)

Between the 70s and the 80s, there was no talk of anything else either in Italy or in Spain: Al Bano and Romina Power were the great musical duo of the time. Since their artistic comeback in 2013, which they made in international stadiums, it touches now, finally, Madrid.

Where? Movistar Arena, in Calle de Goya, 90 (Salamanca district)
Tickets: from 50€.

La Casa de los cuidados (May 10 and 11)

La Casa Encendida knows how to give a twist to its cultural programming. But it knows, above all, how to make neighborhood. The next May 10 and 11 will be the crowning of this, as it prepares an extensive program that deals and reflects on care and, especially “on individual fragility, making visible the importance of supporting the collective responsibility of care in the neighborhoods.

📍 Location: Ronda de Valencia, 2 (Center)

Siroco ArtLab

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Did you know that the mythical Siroco club hides an exhibition space? Siroco ARTLAB has 12 screens, an intelligent LED ceiling and an audio system with the quality that one of Madrid’s havens for night owls should have. They define it as “a space for art and culture, where the physical and digital worlds merge”. A place where they will program emerging artists and professionals in the sector in order to bring the public the latest in digital art (such as NFT exhibitions, for example). You can check the calendar here.

📍 Location: Calle de San Dimas, 3 (Conde Duque)

Cosas tenidas por pequeñeces (from May 29th)

Memory, fabrics, museums. The slums of attention is an initiative that aims to raise awareness and dust off those textile collections that inhabit the warehouses of national museums. It does so through a series of exhibitions throughout the year in different museums around Madrid. One of them kicks off on May 29 at the Museo del Romanticismo, captained and curated by Las hijas de Felipe (Philip’s Daughters).

In the exhibition Cosas tenidas por pequeñeces ( which will be open until September 21) different objects and a video in collaboration with the embroiderer Lucía Amor will be shown.

📍 Location: Calle de San Mateo, 13 (Malasaña)

Nestor reunited (from May 14)

The Reina Sofia’s exhibition analyzes the figure of the Canary Islander Néstor Martín-Fernández, in a retrospective that ranges from theatrical scenographies and costumes to the murals he created at the beginning of the 20th century. Through these pieces, we will travel through modernism, decadentism and symbolism of the artist, whose work is crossed by androgynous bodies and transgression.

📍 Location: Calle de Santa Isabel, 52 (Lavapiés)

Book Fair (May 30 to June 15)

The Paseo de Coches del Retiro is already getting ready for the 84th edition of the Madrid Book Fair. This year it will take place until June 15 and will feature a new pavilion dedicated to Ibero-American literature. In addition, this year, 2025, the Children’s Pavilion will have the seal of the Swedish house Ikea. The publishers, bookstores and creators and the number and distribution of the booths will be announced soon.

📍Paseo de Fernán Núñez (Retiro Park)

40th edition of the Madrid en Danza Festival (from May 8)

25 shows from five countries will unfold in Madrid’s halls and theaters to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Madrid en Danza Festival. In addition, there will be a special tribute and remembrance to the most outstanding artists and works of these forty editions. In 2025, the new creations of Luz Arcas, Richard Mascherin, Israel Galván, Leonor Leal, Isabel Vázquez and Daniel Ramos will be shown for the first time.

📍 Where will it take place? Different theaters and halls (Madrid)

Tapas Fair in Alcalá de Henares (May 3-9)

Last year the magic happened: Alcalá de Henares celebrated its first European Tapas Week with overwhelming success. This 2025, the second edition will be held from May 3 to 9 with tapas inspired by the gastronomy of the European continent. And, to all this, a new initiative has been added: “Los Jueves tienen miga”, one day a week dedicated to migas.

📍 Where? Different bars and restaurants (Alcalá de Henares)

Music in front of the Royal Palace (May 17, 25 and 31)

The Symphonic Band of the Royal Guard will play in the Plaza de Oriente in front of the Puerta del Príncipe, as it does every spring. The music comes out of the Royal Palace in the XXXVII Ciclo de Primavera Musical, with free admission and until full capacity (for those who prefer to enjoy the whole concert seated).

The first day is entitled “The best of our martial music”: The second day, “The best of the seventh art”, will have among its repertoire great classics of cinema such as the Symphonic March or Superman by John Williams, The Mission by Ennio Morricone or the soundtrack of Grease, by Willy Hautvast; the last day will be dedicated to “The best of dance and dance” with Coppelia by Leo Delibes, La Gioconda by Pontichelli or El relicario by José Padilla, among other compositions.

📍 Where? Plaza de Oriente (Palace)

Krunch Festival (May 15 to 18)

Krunch is a gathering of artists, artisans, small publishers, fanzines… an ode to Do It Yourself, to the subversive, to what always beats under the visible culture of the city. This edition of Krunch is full of talks, interviews, round tables, signings with authors and artists such as Ana Oncina, Aneke, Borja González and Eduardo Risso and a host of activities and workshops for the little ones. Oh, there will also be concerts, with Los Retumbes, Melliza, Stompin’RiffRaffs, Texas Red and The Headless Chimps playing on the promenade in front of the Quadernillos Shopping Center.

📍 Location: Avenida de Don Juan Tenorio, s/n (Alcala de Henares)

Marisa Flórez. A time to look (from May 14)

This retrospective of photojournalist Marisa Flórez, gathers her production from the 1970s to 2020. Her extensive career at El País, led her to photograph, with elegance and simplicity, everyday scenes with the shrewd and critical eye of someone who has to tell a story in only two dimensions. A total of 184 photographs selected from the artist’s personal archive cover themes such as politics, activism, social chronicle, art and culture.

📍 Location: Sala del Canal de Isabel II, at lacallede Santa Engracia, 125 (Chamberí)
Tickets: free

MMMAD (until May 24)

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The sixth edition of the Madrid Urban Festival of Digital Art returns with a program full of exhibitions, performances, workshops, installations, projections, conferences… under the theme Abracadabra: magic and technology. This year, it will consist of three exhibitions, four performances, five workshops, as well as digital art works that will be placed in the public space on screens spread all over Madrid.

Among the names of the creators, Alejandría, allapopp, Candela Capitán, Carles Castaño, Common Accounts, Guerreiro do Divino Amor, Lolo&Sosaku, MANS O + Joan Sandoval, Mayte Gómez Molina, Meritxell de Soto, PATIO studio (Johanna Jaskowska, Yuri Rodriguez, Felina HDB, Carlos Ojeda), Rune Bering, Simone C Niquille, Sputniko! and YESSi PERSE. All of them will transform Madrid, once again, in the epicenter of digital arts.

📍 Where? Several locations.

Antique Book Fair (May 1 to 18).

The Antiquarian and Second-hand Book Fair is back in its 47th edition. A total of 37 specialized bookstores will be located along the Paseo de Recoletos to show those hidden gems carefully guarded against the scourges of the passage of time. We will be able to find from books at one euro to first editions and original manuscripts.

📍 Location: Paseo de Recoletos (Downtown)

Record Fair (May 11 and 12)

Let’s see, here’s a headline: George DuBose, the legendary photographer of the Ramones, will be present at the next International Record Fair in a tremendous exhibition of the band. All this, in the context of a great fair with space for the best collectors, market of vinyls, CDs, posters, T-shirts, record sleeves, offers, conferences, raffles…

📍 Location: Pabellón de Convenciones, Avenida de Portugal s/n (Casa de Campo)
Tickets: from 5€.

Doll’s House ( from May 16)

The Guirau Hall of the Fernán Gómez Centro Cultural de la Villa will host the play Casa de Muñecas, Fernán Gómez Theater, until May 16. Centro Cultural de la Villa presents A Doll‘ s House, Ibsen’s classic play premiered in 1879 at the Copenhagen Theater. 150 years later, does Nora’s slamming of the door (played by María León) make sense? This interpretation of Ibsen’s classic asks itself (and the spectator) the complex symbolism of that slamming door, which served as a metaphor for women’s independence.

📍 Location: Plaza de Colón, 4 (Salamanca neighborhood)
Tickets: from 20€.

Folklores Festival (May 22 to 25)

Folklore as the epicenter of a program that vindicates tradition well understood, the essence of what we were that remains in what we are: In its fourth edition, Folklores closes a line-up with Karmento, Mayalde, Xabier Díaz y las Adufeiras de Salitre, Xurxo Fernandes, Casapalma, Vibra-Tó and Inteligencia Orgánica (IO).

📍 Location: Various venues in Madrid (CBA, Sala Equis, Café Berlín, Centro Cultural Galileo, Escuela Municipal de Música y Danza María Dolores Pradera and Teatro Eslava)
Tickets: Tickets from 10€.

Documenta Madrid (May 6 to 11)

The Madrid City Council’s International Film Festival is back and celebrates its 22nd anniversary this 2025. In these editions, the festival has “maintained its commitment to an open and plural way of understanding the documentary genre, accompanying and promoting new models and authors”.

To maintain this ambitious mission, this year it returns with its national and international competitive sections and expands its presence to different venues and spaces, in addition to the classic Cineteca de Matadero (official headquarters of Documenta Madrid): the program will reach Filmoteca Española, Museo Reina Sofía, the Escuela de Cinematografía y del Audiovisual de la Comunidad de Madrid, La Casa Encendida and Casa de México.

This year’s highlights include the screening of two lost film gems by Ricardo Bofill, never before shown; and the closing ceremony will feature the unpublished films by neurosurgeon Alberto Portera on the group El Paso.

📍 Where? Different locations.

Frida Kahlo: Live Art Experience and Gastronomic Exhibit (all month)

The figure of Frida Kahlo is unfathomable. An overwhelming personality hid a world of insecurities, discomfort and incessant self-criticism. Frida Kahlo: Live Art Experience and Gastronomic Exhibition is an installation of three environments in which, in an immersive and multisensory way, we will enter into the different levels (artistic, personal, home, even gastronomic) of Frida Kahlo. From handwritten letters to unpublished photographs, through the Live Art experience, you can book a ticket with a gastronomic menu.

📍Where to go? Paseo del Pintor Rosales, 30 (University)
💸 Tickets: Live Art: 15€; Live Art + gastronomic experience: 60€.

Free concerts at the Rivas festivities (May 15).

La Raíz, Tremenda Jauría, Fillas de Cassandra, La Bien Querida, Coque Malla and Iván Ferreiro. BAM. Rivas doesn’t play around with its festivities and puts up a tremendous lineup to celebrate its festivities in style and to the rhythm of the best live music.

📍Where to go? Miguel Ríos Auditorium, at Paseo de Alicia Alonso, s/n (Rivas).

Paolo Veronese (1528-1588) (from May 27th)

An exhibition dedicated to exploring the importance of Veronese in the Prado Museum ‘s own collection , his influence on Spanish painters and on the Golden Age. It consists of three parts: the artist’s creative process, his ability as a capobottega and his ability to represent the aspirations of the Venetian elites.

📍Where is it located? Paseo del Prado, s/n (Los Jerónimos, Retiro)

Raíces ( from May)

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The Museo del Traje commemorates and pays tribute to an ambitious exhibition (Exposición del Traje Regional) that, one hundred years ago, brought together more than 12,500 pieces of clothing, textiles, jewelry and other ethnographic objects. This exhibition laid the foundations for what is now the Museo del Traje and, in the words of the institution itself, “marked a milestone in the study and preservation of traditional Spanish clothing”.

📍Where is it located? Avenida de Juan de Herrera, 2 (Moncloa – Aravaca)

Sonia Navarro. Borders and Territories (from May 23rd)

More than forty works will be installed in the Alcalá 31 hall creating a retrospective on the work of artist Sonia Navarro, a recent recipient of awards such as the BMW Painting Prize 2023. Navarro’s artistic work is a non-stop research with materials, textiles, sewing techniques, extracting from these “labors” assigned to the feminine world, a way to talk about identity, memory.

📍Where: Sala Alcalá, 31 (Downtown)
💸 Tickets: free admission

A train ride (whenever you want)

Spring holds that promise of blooming (of allergies, too, yes), of green, colorful, fresh and cheerful landscapes. One of the ways to enjoy these views is to do it from one of the historic trains that run through Madrid.

This is the case of the Arganda steam train, which has been rolling through the Community since 1886. You can enjoy it on Thursday May 1, Sundays 4, 11 and 25 and two days in a row (17 and 18) for the festivities of San Isidro. It travels the 3,360 meters between La Poveda station in Arganda and the Laguna del Campillo halt in Rivas Vaciamadrid. Also on weekends in May (and, exceptionally, on Friday 2) the Strawberry Train returns, which travels along the Madrid-Aranjuez route to visit the strawberry orchards of the Royal Site and Villa.

📍Where? Various locations

Escape to Segovia with Titirimundi (May 13-18)

Titirimundi is that time of the year when the performing arts invade the city. That is, one of the best times of the year to visit Segovia, just a stone’s throw from Madrid, and do it with the family to enjoy the best puppet and marionette shows on the national and international artistic scene. You can discover here all the performances and book your ticket.

📍Where? several points of the city of Segovia (Segovia)
💸 Tickets: from 2€.