Refreshing and relaxing plans for August in Madrid
This Crazy About Metro is about summer cinemas and swimming pools that help us cool off, proposals for an afternoon on a terrace, viewpoints, leisure and evenings of parties in the neighbourhoods. Because there is a lot of life in Madrid, even in the middle of August. And, of course, you can count on Metro to take you to many of these places.
1. Summer cinemas
Summer nights are meant to be enjoyed, and what better plan than watching a good film in an open-air cinema. In Madrid, you can find these big screens in places like the Parque de la Bombilla, in Moncloa-Aravaca, or in the Cine Plaza de Matadero Madrid, in Arganzuela. In addition, there are also cinemas in the Spanish capital's districts and other proposals such as the Autocine Madrid, in Fuencarral-El Pardo, very close to the Paseo de la Castellana, or the latest edition of La Estival, in Plaza de España.
2. Swimming pools
In Madrid, we have many municipal and community swimming pools where you can take a dip and cool off to your heart's content. There are 20 City Council summer swimming pools in the districts.
For its part, the Community of Madrid has swimming pools in sports facilities: Canal de Isabel II (Metro Canal and Ríos Rosas), San Vicente de Paúl (Metro Opañel and Abrantes), Parque Deportivo de Puerta de Hierro and Centro Deportivo M 86 (Metro Saiz de Baranda).
In addition, we can also enjoy the fun water jets on the beach of Madrid Río or in Santander Park, and the areas with nebulisers in Plaza de España and the pergola of La Gavia, in Villa de Vallecas.
3. Terraces
Madrid is full of terraces where you can relax in summer with a cold drink. For some time now, the rooftop terraces of illustrious buildings, such as the Círculo de Bellas Artes or the Palacio de Cibeles, among the most famous in the city, have been very fashionable. But the list of these establishments has grown considerably (we have counted more than 25 in the centre alone), to the point of becoming an attraction for all tastes. It is very difficult to recommend one, but Madrid Secreto has already done it for us.
4. Viewpoints
And if you're just looking for a good selfie, Madrid's summer skies offer excellent panoramic views from viewpoints that are well worth a visit. Among them, the Palacio de Cibeles (Banco de España), the Moncloa Lighthouse (Moncloa and Islas Filipinas) or the lesser known Cúpula de la Catedral de la Almudena (Ópera).
5. Leisure and festive evenings
And to finish with some suggestions for leisure and festivities in Madrid and its neighbourhoods. First of all, we recommend the Veranos de la Villa, which has a very interesting programme of activities until 25 August.
From the Community of Madrid, it is worth mentioning the activities for the whole family of open-air cinema and theatre in the Santander Park in the capital, as part of the programme Veranos en el Parque (Summers in the Park).
As for fairs, August is the most traditional festivals on the planet (with the permission of San Isidro): San Cayetano, San Lorenzo and the Virgen de la Paloma. The San Cayetano festivities are held in Lavapiés and end on 9 August. Its activities take place in the Plaza del General Vara del Rey and in the Plaza de Cascorro and it is a well known festival as it fills the streets with colour and joy.
The festival of San Lorenzo is held after the Fiestas de San Cayetano, from 9 to 12 August, also in the Lavapiés neighbourhood. It has two stages, one in the Plaza de Nelson Mandela and the other in the Plaza de Agustín Lara, although the fairground is located between the streets of Amparo, Argumosa, Ave María, Buenavista, Doctor Fourquet, Doctor Piga, Embajadores, de la Fe, Lavapiés, Miguel Servet, Olivar, Salitre, Sombrerería, Zurita and Valencia.
The last of the August festivities in Madrid is the festival of La Paloma, which this year has three outstanding venues: the gardens of Las Vistillas and the squares of La Paja and Los Carros. The fairground is on the streets of Almendro, Bailén, Carrera de San Francisco, Cava Baja, Gran Vía de San Francisco, Mancebos, la Cebada and Oriente.
Finally, we would also like to remind you of the neighbourhood festivities, which are being held these days in Chamberí and Puente de Vallecas, in honour of the Virgen del Carmen, and which will soon be moved to Vicálvaro, Villaverde Alto and Villaverde Bajo.
