Madrid, let the fiesta continue!

May 21 2013

by Laurence Ogiela / TÊTU

Constantly compared to Barcelona, Madrid also has assets that attract tourists in general, and gays in particular. If the capital of the kingdom of Spain, planted on its high plateau, does not have the charms of a seaside resort, it is largely worth its rival by its creativity and its parties.

First of all, Madrid is home to three of the most beautiful museums in the world: the Prado, Spain's equivalent of the Louvre, the Reina Sofia Center for Contemporary Art (nicknamed Sofidou in reference to the Pompidou Center), and thethe Thyssen-Bornemisza museum, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, has the largest private art collection in the world.

Next to this cultural golden triangle, the city's main park, El Retiro, a sort of local Central Park, is invaded by people on sunny days. You can meet families with strollers, sweaty joggers, lovers in boats on the lake and guys on the prowl. Even though the most famous spot in Madrid is the Casa de Campo, in the west of the city.

But to taste the spirit of the movida, dear to the Madrid filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, and to discover the Spanish capital as an authentic Madrilenian, there is nothing like strolling in the alternative district of Malasaña and in the very gay streets of Chueca. this is where the Madrid movida was born in the 1980's, and even today, it is where all the avant-garde creators hang out: designers, musicians, filmmakers...

The Plaza Mayor, in the heart of historic Madrid © DR

At the Fuencarral market, the street that separates the two neighborhoods, fashion victims can indulge in their favorite sport: window shopping. On the Chueca side, Barquillo and Marqués del Monasterio streets are the stronghold of young designers. On the Malasaña side, the alternative and hedonistic center of Madrid, you can expect to run into Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz at any moment in a tapas bar or a vintage store. In fact, the Bardem family owns a famous tapas bar in Chueca, La Bardemcilla (Augusto Figueroa, 47).

Because after the social movida of the 1980s, Madrid is experiencing another one, one of design and gastronomy. The many trendy restaurants that have opened in recent years are a testament to this. Ironically, many of them are owned by Catalans, such as Grupo Tragaluz, which owns the trendy Bar Tómate (Fernando El Santo, 26) and Luzi Bombón (Paseo de la Castellana, 35) near the Rubén Darío metro station, or the Vi Cool restaurant of Catalan star chef Sergi Arola, on the lively Calle Huertas.

In the center of Chueca, the completely revamped San Antón market is always busy. This old market hall has become a gastronomic design center where you can taste all kinds of traditional or original tapas. It's also a good place to start flirting before embarking on a crazy night out.

Remember that Spaniards are late-nighters, and parties don't start until 10 pm. Start your journey in the tapas bars or cervecerías to enjoy tortillas, patatas fritas and gambas a la plancha, accompanied by a glass of wine or a caña (a half).

Continue with a tour of the copas bars until 3am before moving on to the nightclubs and even the afters. Madrid is in a permanent state of alert, and the party atmosphere is everywhere. In fact, the Madrilenians are nicknamed los gatos because they spend the night outside, like cats.

Chueca Square is the starting point for any gay party in Madrid. Pick up the gay freebies Shangay and Odisea at the gay bookstore A Different Life to find out about the parties. From the terrace of the cocktail bar La Mariquita (pedal and cockle in Spanish) or the tapas bar Angel Sierra Taberna, you can enjoy everything that passes by before deciding to follow them.

Then it's a matter of navigating from bar to bar and from bar to club in the adjacent streets of Libertad, Barbieri and San Marcos. The gay circuit passes by the Liquid Bar and its video screens, the Why Not? which looks like a tiny crowded train car, the LL Bar and its drag Queens shows. We then head across the Gran Via to the Connection party or to La Boîte, just next door, or to Malasaña to the Démodé club, where Isaac and Sandra, whom we love, perform.

The Kluster party, in the Chamartin neighborhood © Laurence Ogiela

More eccentrically, at the Chango Club, in the Chamartin district, we find the Kluster party. Famous DJs, muscular guys to fall: a recipe that has proven itself. In the morning, before going to bed, don't forget to go and enjoy a chocolate with churros, either at Chocolatería San Ginés (Pasadizo de San Ginés 5) or at Mama Inés (Hortaleza 22), two well known places for hungry night owls. And, if you're still alive on Sunday morning, you can always go bargain hunting at the Rastro flea market...

Find all the gay and gay-friendly addresses in Madrid in the Madrid gay guide.