If you love to dance, stay up late, drink and have fun until the sun comes up then Madrid has got you covered! To this day I still think my best clubbing nights were in Madrid.
If you are anything like I was prior to going to Madrid, then Madrid's nightlife is going to be a game changer! I wasn't even 21 when I went to study abroad in Madrid so this was all completely new to me and I can easily say moving to San Francisco when I got home and going out there was not nearly as fun as going out in Madrid. Not even close. Sorry SF I still love you.
“it's not uncommon to see a crowd of people in their club clothes just before 6 am waiting for the gates of the metro station to open”
Clubs
First things first, please don't show up at a club before 1 am. No one will be there and it will probably be kind of lame. They do have cheaper drinks and entry before 1 but its also not as fun before 1 so you should probably just go pregame somewhere else. Clubs usually close around 5:30 am - 6 am, and the metro reopens at 6 am so you can either stay out till the metro reopens to get back to your destination (I often just did that, it's not uncommon to see a crowd of people in their club clothes just before 6 am waiting for the gates of the metro station to open), take a cab, or walk. I walked home alone plenty of times in Madrid and I was a 20 year old female and didn't have any issues so I would say it is generally pretty safe.
Kapital
Metro station: Atocha
So Kapital is probably on every website you will ever find when looking for clubs to go to because it is gigantic and is super entertaining. Unlike a lot of the other clubs in Madrid, even if you are a girl, you probably won't get in for free. However, if you can find someone who has it, there are discount codes (and I think it comes with a free drink too?) you can use to get in for cheaper. I would definitely dress a little nicer at the club, don't go super casual. Girls you can still get away with a cute top and jeans and some cute shoes (not your adidas or converse) but I think its more fitting with the vibe to wear a dress or skirt or something along those lines. Boys, I feel like I saw most guys wearing button up shirts. Make sure you check out every floor! The main floor has great dancers and performers playing instruments live and your usual club edm music. Then there's also a hip hop floor, a karaoke floor, a floor for Spanish music, a terrace hangout on the top floor and other floors for bars and other music.
Joy Eslava
Metro station: Sol, Opera, Callao
I spent waaaaaaayy too many nights in this club. But I really don't regret it all because I had a blast every single time. I think this club has definitely changed a lot since I would go there in 2016/2017, but I have faith it is still a good time. It is smaller and definitely more ratchet than Kapital is but that is kind of what makes it really fun.
This is a club you can get into easily for cheap with a promoter or for free if you know someone. I think I only paid the first time I went there. There are VIP booths all around the club but there is also VIP access to the stage. There is usually a group of people on stage dancing, drinking, and smoking hookah, and I can attest to the fact that being on stage is way more fun than being anywhere else in the club. It's less crowded so you can dance (lol at me grooving in this video) and you are more likely to get free drinks and hookah. Who doesn't want that? Joy is also right next to the best churro place ever, San Gines (see my #food post), so head over there after for some post club churros :)
Space Monkey
Metro station: Alonso Martinez, Tribunal
It’s a smaller dance club/bar but it’s really fun on Fridays or Saturdays, the bartenders do dances on top of the bar and there’s this wheel you spin to pick what shot you should do and yea its just fun if you don’t want to commit to a hard core night but still dance and have fun :)
Opium
Metro station: Gregorio Maranon
This club is probably the closest Spanish club to Vegas, at least in my experience. You definitely should dress up nice here! I only went here once but I had a good time, definitely not as crazy as Kapital or Joy. If you want a classy night where there's sparkling champagne bottles being serviced and classy dancers around you and cool lights flashing then you will probably like it. I only got into this club free because my friend knew a promoter (shoutout thanks Nicole) there, so I would recommend that as the easiest way to go but obviously if you are just visiting and don't know people you probably have to pay or get on a guest list or something.
Now there are PLENTY of other clubs to go to in Madrid trust me, these were just some of the ones I went to in my experience there. Happy clubbing :)
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