11 Best Nightlife in Madrid, Spain

Madrid's best-known jazz venue is swanky, and the musicians are often internationally known. Performances are usually 9–11 nightly, and tickets can be bought at the door or online.

Ask a local flamenco aficionado where to catch a rollicking, foot-stomping show and they're likely to recommend this brick-walled tablao, which is intimate enough that everybody feels like they're in the front row. A handful of Spanish dishes are available, but suffice to say, flamenco is Cardamomo's forte.

Madrid's most famous nightclub, Kapital has seven floors—each of which plays a different type of music (spun by top local and international DJs, of course)—and room for 2,000 partiers, plus a small movie theater and rooftop terrace. Dress to impress: no sneakers, shorts, or tanks allowed. VIP tables overlooking the dance floor (approximately €200 for four people) are a worthwhile splurge if you can swing it. 

The Argentine celebrity mixologist behind Salmon Guru has converted one of Madrid's oldest tabernas, built in 1856, into a see-and-be-seen cocktail hot spot. The building's architectural bones remain, from the carved-wood bar to the arched doorways to the tiled walls, but the rest, particularly the flamboyantly garnished drinks and well-dressed crowd, feels distinctly current.

Blink and you could miss this tiny, dimly lit wine bar presided over by a trained sommelier with a predilection for oddball bottles. Go on a weeknight, when you're more likely to snag a stool, and don't miss the modern tapas, which punch above their weight.

This 194-year-old bar will transport you to a typical Spanish tavern of yore. The banged-up tin washbasin, the baroque cash register, the wooden bar shelves and low tables with wooden stools—these details haven't changed in over a century. The house vermouth is the tipple to try; elbow your way to the onyx-topped bar and sip it with a handful of olives or cheese (skip the underwhelming food).

Salsa dancing is a fixture of Madrid nightlife. Even if you don't have the guts to twirl and shake with the pros on the dance floor, you'll be almost as entertained sipping a mojito on the sidelines. Entry with two cocktail vouchers costs €12.

Your favorite underground European artist has likely played at this perennially packed venue with a large subterranean dance floor and good sound and lights. 

This dusty sherry-only bar hasn’t changed a lick since the Spanish Civil War, from its no-tipping policy to its salty waiters to its chalked bar tabs. The establishment is named for the tool used to extract sherry through the bunghole of a barrel.

This sceney bar in the ME Madrid Reina Victoria is split between a bottom-floor lounge and a more exclusive rooftop terrace with 360-degree views—a boon to chic summer revelers both local and international. The doorman planted outside means you shouldn't dress too casual.

Regularly featured on best-of lists, Salmon Guru is Madrid's—and perhaps Spain's—most innovative coctelería. Come here to impress and geek out over eye-popping concoctions like the Chipotle Chillón, made with mezcal, absinthe, and chipotle syrup. The nueva cocina tapas are almost as impressive as the drinks.