North of the Gran Vía lie two districts that symbolise young, free, nocturnal Madrid. Malasaña is the district of cafés, vintage shops and music bars; Chueca is the heart of the LGBTQ+ community and one of Europe's liveliest districts. You pass from one to the other across calle de Fuencarral. It is part of the Madrid guide.
Malasaña
Its official name is Universidad, but everyone calls it Malasaña after Manuela Malasaña, a fifteen-year-old girl killed by French troops during the uprising of 2 May 1808, when the people of Madrid rose against Napoleon. The heart of the revolt was the Monteleón barracks, where today the plaza del Dos de Mayo opens, with the barracks arch and the monument to captains Daoíz and Velarde.
In the 1980s Malasaña was the centre of the Movida madrileña, the creative explosion that followed the end of the dictatorship: bands, fanzines, Pedro Almodóvar's films and Ouka Leele's photography were born here, in legendary venues like La Vía Láctea, which still exists. Today the district keeps that spirit, though gentrified:
- Vintage and independent design shops on calle del Espíritu Santo, calle Velarde and calle del Pez.
- Cafés for breakfast and brunch, bookshops, galleries, workshops.
- The Museum of Romanticism and the Conde Duque cultural centre in the old baroque barracks, with summer concerts.
- The baroque church of San Antonio de los Alemanes, entirely frescoed, and calle de San Bernardo.
- Rock, indie and electronic music bars that come alive after midnight.
Chueca
Chueca, officially Justicia, was a run-down district in the 1970s. From the 1990s the gay community opened bars, shops and restaurants, completely renewing it: today it is a stylish, colourful district welcoming to all, centred on plaza de Chueca, full of terraces.
- San Antón market, on three floors, with food stalls and a rooftop terrace.
- Fashionable shopping streets: calle de Augusto Figueroa, famous for shoes, and calle de Hortaleza.
- Calle del Almirante and the streets towards Salesas, more refined, with boutiques and chef-led restaurants.
- The Palacio de Longoria, one of Madrid's rare modernista buildings, and the church of Santa Bárbara.
- The Madrid History Museum, on the border with Malasaña, on calle Fuencarral.
Madrid Pride
Every year in early July Chueca hosts Madrid Orgullo (MADO), one of Europe's largest Pride events, with concerts in the squares, street parties and the big Saturday parade along the Paseo del Prado, drawing over a million people. In 2017 Madrid hosted WorldPride. In 2005 Spain was one of the first countries in the world to recognise same-sex marriage.
Nightlife
Malasaña and Chueca are, with La Latina and Huertas, the heart of Madrid's nightlife: you start with cañas and tapas around 9pm, dine late, move to music bars after midnight and end in a club or at dawn with churros. See Madrid nightlife.
Tips
- If staying here, choose an interior room or a well-soundproofed hotel: at weekends the noise lasts until late.
- For Sunday brunch book or arrive early.
- During Pride local hotels fill up months ahead.
See also all neighbourhoods and markets and shopping.