2026 brings with it an agenda of urban transformations that will mark a before and after in the physiognomy of the city. Major public works, residential developments and strategic reforms in key points herald a new era for the capital, which seeks to adapt to the challenges of mobility, sustainability and population growth.
This article reviews the most important projects that will see the light of day (or will follow their course) in 2026: from the long-awaited transformation of the Castellana-Chamartín axis, to new Metro lines, Cercanías interventions, shopping centers and expanding neighborhoods. We take a look at the keys that will shape the Madrid of the immediate future.
The end of some works and the beginning of others.
Madrid is preparing for a year of major urban transformations that will partially restore mobility and change the urban landscape. Among the new developments are the return to normal of Metro line 6, the completion of the expected burying of the A-5 by the end of 2026 and the delivery of the first keys in Los Berrocales.
The other two large new neighborhoods, Madrid Nuevo Norte and Valdecarros, will begin construction next year.
The Parque Castellana project, which began in 2025, and which will completely change the northern core of the capital, will begin its second phase with new traffic cuts that remain to be seen.
New shopping centers in the region
In parallel to urban planning and mobility changes, Madrid will see the growth in 2026 of a new generation of shopping centers that consolidate a hybrid model between consumption and leisure. Projects such as La Maquinilla, in Colmenar Viejo, or Señorío Plaza, in Illescas, expand the offer in the periphery with spaces that mix stores, restaurants, bowling alleys and even climbing walls. The aesthetics, already recognizable, respond to what some urban planners have defined as “consumer theme parks”, with white surfaces, artificial lakes and a presumptuous vocation of experience beyond shopping.
The concerts to look forward to in 2026
The 2026 concert calendar in Madrid confirms that the city will continue to be one of Europe’s great musical epicenters. The year comes loaded with international tours -with names like Rosalía, Bad Bunny, Linkin Park or Hans Zimmer- and expected returns such as Agorazein, La Oreja de Van Gogh with Amaia Montero or El Último de la Fila. They are joined by new voices on the national scene such as Judeline, Guitarricadelafuente or Sanguijuelas del Guadiana, who are already sold out. The line-up points to another historic year for live music, with a diverse, cross-cutting agenda spread across the capital’s major venues.
Madrid fills up with festivals in 2026
The music festival season in Madrid will unfold again in 2026 with an offer that spans almost the entire year. From the Inverfest cycle, which runs until February, to the big summer events like Rio Babel and Mad Cool, the city and its surroundings are consolidating themselves as a key pole for national and international live music. With line-ups that include names such as Nick Cave, Katy Perry, Foo Fighters, Amaia or The Offspring, Madrid reaffirms its prominence on the festival circuit, combining emerging talent, global stars and a production that never stops growing.
Major exhibitions coming in 2026
© Finnish National Gallery / Hannu Aaltonen
In terms of exhibitions, 2026 will be, on the one hand, a year of discovery of international artists who so far have not had major retrospectives in Spain, as is the case of the Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershøi, the “Swedish Sorolla” Anders Zorn and figures such as Assurbanipal, the great and forgotten king of the Assyrian Empire.
On the other hand, the season will feature the work of women artists such as Helen Levitt and her poetic look at New York through photography, Ana Locking with her vision of fashion as a story and Lola Lasurt with the pictorial reconstruction of a forgotten dance.
Theoretical last year for polluting vehicles
Although 2026 was supposed to mark a turning point in the implementation of the Low Emission Zone (ZBE) in Madrid, the City Council has decided to extend the moratorium for cars without an environmental label registered in the city for another year. The measure, justified by the “low impact” of these vehicles, has been harshly criticized by the opposition, which denounces a setback in the fight against pollution. The new postponement reopens the debate on the viability of the environmental calendar and postpones, once again, the horizon of a city free of polluting emissions.
Taxes in 2026
The Madrid City Council has already announced how taxes will change in the coming year. From now on, the Tax on Vehicles of Mechanical Traction (IVTM), also known as “the little number”, will be calculated according to the environmental labels of the vehicle, rewarding the least polluting ones.
On the other hand, the new garbage tax will take into account the number of registered residents in each dwelling, so that ten different rate brackets will be established .
Finally, the general IBI tax will be lowered again for the fifth consecutive year,from 0.428% to 0.414%. According to the consistory’s estimates, taxpayers will save more than 30 million euros compared to 2025.
The pedestrianization of the historic district of Barajas
Among the major works that will transform Madrid in 2026 are also those with great impact at neighborhood level, such as the one that will pedestrianize the historic center of Barajas. The works will affect 13 streets and three squares (including Plaza Mayor), and will remodel more than 8,500 square meters and 2.3 kilometers of route until 2028. The works have a total execution budget of 8.6 million euros.
In this area, the regeneration of Saturno square, the urbanization of Condesa de Osuna square and the improvement of the area known as ‘el barrizal’ in the Airport neighborhood will also be carried out.
The emptying of the Retiro pond.
2026 will also be the year in which the refurbishment of the Retiro pond will be carried out, with an investment of 113,679 €: the Madrid City Council has set in motion the procedures to carry out a comprehensive refurbishment that will involve emptying the water.
The last time this took place was in 2001, and objects of all kinds emerged from the depths of this body of water: from umbrellas and shopping carts to cell phones and litter garbage cans.
Article written by Isabel Nieto, M Ángeles González, Elena Francés and Alberto del Castillo.