Tapas for dinner at a pavement café
Summer holidays are times to be informal. You can start the evening with a “picoteo” dinner, where you share some raciones and tapas in a jolly atmosphere. In summer you can do this at outdoor cafés practically everywhere in Madrid. Some of the best-known areas are the districts of La Latina and Malasaña or around the Plaza Olavide and Calle Ponzano. Some of the most fashionable spots include the terraces of the gourmet food markets such as San Ildefonso, Barceló and San Antón.
Outdoor shows
There is a vast programme of summer concerts, theatre performances and shows in Madrid, and many of these take place outdoors. Good places to look are the Matadero and Conde Duque centres, which offer acoustic concerts, DJ sessions, street art workshops, exhibitions by underground artists, dance evenings and so on, around their outdoor terrace cafés.
There are also shows in open spaces like the Buen Retiro Park, the Sabatini Gardens or the Plaza Mayor on some summer nights.