Although Madrid empties out in summer, there are some dates marked on the calendar when the city vibrates with the spirit of the verbenas of the villages. Streets festooned with Manila shawls, open-air concerts, squid sandwiches and lemonade are the stars of the August festivities in the capital.

If you are one of those who stay during this month, we will help you to get to the liveliest areas of the festivals by Metro.

We kick off the season on 7 August with San Cayetano in the Rastro and Embajadores area. To get to the Plaza de Cascorro, around which most of the events are organised, all you have to do is take the Metro to La Latina or Embajadores stations.

The festivities continue in the neighbourhood of Lavapiés with the festival of San Lorenzo, which takes place every 10 August. To get to the stages in the Plazas de Nelson Mandela and Agustín Lara, where many of the events take place, the ideal way is to go by Metro to the Lavapiés or Tirso de Molina stations. 

The final bang of the festivities comes with the Virgen de la Paloma on 15 August, one of the most popular and most crowded. The Plaza de la Paja and the surrounding area, Calle Toledo up to Plaza de las Vistillas and the streets around the parish church of the Virgen de la Paloma are the key points in this festivity. La Latina and Puerta de Toledo stations are the closest in this case.