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Summer Terraces

Madrid is blazing hot in the late spring and summer, and Madrileños seem to have a nearly relentless yearning for nightlife. As a result, the city allows nearly 2,000 bars and restaurants to create outdoor spaces for enjoying the cool, dry summer nighttime air while sipping a beer.

For formal summer dining, we recommend some of the good hotel restaurants, most of which have private and peaceful gardens or roof terraces that avoid the street noise. Possibilities include La Terraza del Casino, Faisandé Santo Mauro, El Jardín de Orfila (the restaurant at the Hotel Orfila), or the roof terrace at the Hotel Urban. Two mid-range restaurants with good terraces are Sacha and Pedro Larumbe -- the latter's roof-top restaurant turns into one of Madrid's most fashionable terraces at night.

If you just want to grab a bite or an early-evening drink, drop by the La Latina neighborhood, especially Plaza de la Paja or Plaza de San Andrés, across from the Church of San Andrés, or sit on any of the terraces at Plaza de Olavide, an enclave mostly favored by locals, near Malasaña and the Bilbao subway stop. Plaza Santa Ana is a pricier, more touristy alternative. Plaza Chueca, in the neighborhood of the same name, and the Mercado de Fuencarral (halfway between Gran Vía and Tribunal), the Plaza de 2 de Mayo, and the Plaza de las Comendadoras in the Malasaña neighborhood are always bustling and crowded with younger people.

The best nightlife is along the terraces on Castellana, especially at Ten Beach (Castellana 89 near the Picasso Tower), Regine's (Castellana 56),and Jazzanova (Castellana 8), on the roof of the ABC Serrano building (Calle Serrano 61), at the inspiring and well-hidden terrace of Café Marula (on Calle Caños Viejos 3, under the Puente de Segovia) or at the Indian- and Moorish-inspired Ananda, in the parking lot of the Atocha train station.