Fiestas and siestas in magnificent Madrid
Discover some of the best festivals in Spain's capital.Madrid, Spain’s flamboyant capital, is known for its fantastic tapas culture, exuberant night-life and irresistible style. Getting under the skin of Madrid is thankfully not at all difficult, and with Opodo running several flights a day to the recently expanded airport of Madrid from London Gatwick, with a flight time of 2 hours 20 minutes, anything is possible.
It’s fair to say that Madrileños have perfected the art of spontaneous entertainment, and while there are a multitude of festivals in the annual calendar to tempt you, little excuse is needed for a party in the streets.
For a scheduled fiesta head to Puerta del Sol on December 31st for Nochevieja, a street party that will guarantee a sensational start to the new year.
On May 2nd each year at the Fiestas del Dos de Mayo, the central Plaza is filled with the high-spirited celebrations of the War of Independence uprising, with the Fiestas de San Isidro (honouring Saint Isidore, the patron saint of Madrid) occurring later in May for a 9 day festival. This festival showcases the best cultural aspects of old and new Madrid with concerts, parades, traditional dancing (chotis), bullfighting and much, much more. The main events are centred at the Plaza de las Vistillas, Plaza de San Andrés and Puente de Segovia in the Austria's neighbourhood, near the Plaza Mayor. At night, bars called "chiringuitos" set up shop on the busy streets and this is when the evening really begins.
