bars · Madrid
The best nights in Madrid start at these addresses — award-winning cocktail rooms, beloved locals' haunts and views worth ordering a second round for. All rated 4.5 stars or higher.
Gran Vía · $$
Perico Chicote opened Madrid's first cocktail bar on Gran Vía in 1931, and its intact Art Deco interior served Hemingway during the Civil War and Ava Gardner, Sinatra, and Sophia Loren after it. The green leather booths remain the city's most storied drinking seats.
Insider tip: Go before 11pm for conversation in a booth; after midnight on weekends a DJ turns it into a party.
Barrio de las Letras · $$
Diego Cabrera's neon-comic-book fantasia in the Letras quarter is Madrid's perennial entry in the World's 50 Best Bars, pouring signatures like the chipotle-spiked Chipotle Chillón in leopard-print glassware. The adjoining Viva Madrid, a tiled 1856 tavern he restored, is part of the same empire.
Insider tip: Arrive at the 5pm opening or book online; do a two-stop crawl with sister bar Viva Madrid around the corner.
Calle Echegaray, Barrio de las Letras · $
This dusty 1928 sherry-only bar, unchanged since Hemingway drank manzanilla here with Republican soldiers, serves five styles of sherry chalked on the wall and tallies your bill in chalk on the bar. House rules famously forbid photos and tipping.
Insider tip: Order a manzanilla with a plate of mojama, pay in cash, and keep your camera pocketed — the no-photos rule is enforced.
Calle de la Reina, Chueca · $$
Fernando del Diego left Chicote in 1992 to open this serenely lit cocktail room off Gran Vía, where white-jacketed bartenders shake what many consider Madrid's most precise classics. The house Del Diego, a vodka-apricot-lime creation, is the order.
Insider tip: It opens in the evening and peaks after midnight; come on the early side for a table and order the namesake cocktail.
Calle del Pez, Malasaña · $
Set in an 1862 townhouse on Calle del Pez, this two-floor Malasaña bar serves rigorously classic cocktails at almost neighborhood prices, earning a devoted local following and international list nods. The candlelit basement salon is one of Madrid's most romantic rooms.
Insider tip: Claim the downstairs sofas early in the evening and let the bartenders steer you by spirit and mood.
Plaza de Jesús, Barrio de las Letras · $
Its 1908 mosaic-tiled façade is one of Madrid's most photographed, and inside the formula is unchanged: perfectly poured cañas, anchovy and boquerón canapés, and elbow-to-elbow chatter. It is the classic first stop of any Letras tapas crawl.
Insider tip: Stand at the bar with a caña and the matrimonio canapé (anchovy and boquerón together); terrace tables cost more.
April–June & September–October
Euro (EUR)
Spanish
How this list is made: we only feature places rated 4.5 stars or higher with 1,000+ reviews from real travelers. Ratings and review counts are approximate and move over time — always check current numbers before booking. Photos are sourced from Wikimedia Commons under free licenses (credits in each gallery).
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Good to know
Three days covers the Prado-Reina Sofía-Thyssen triangle, the Royal Palace, Retiro, and proper tapas nights in La Latina and Las Letras. Add a fourth and fifth for day trips to Toledo and Segovia, both under 35 minutes away by high-speed train.