Shit Under $20 in Madrid

Tokyo-ya, Chamberí

TODAY 11:30 AM • Free

“A Japanese grocery turns into a free sake tasting on a Monday. Call it lunch. Call it research.”

Bastardo Hostel, Malasaña

TMRW 7:30 PM • Free

“Strangers give unhinged PowerPoint talks in a hostel bar. Corporate trauma, weaponised.”

Araña Club, Centro

TMRW 11:59 PM • Free-€15

“Tuesday. Midnight. Dark techno all night long. Madrid does not believe in work mornings.”

Fundación Canal, Sala Mateo Inurria 2, Other

WED 11:00 AM • Free

“Nine circles of hell, twice: Doré's woodcuts vs Rauschenberg's 1960 collage-hell. Free. Bring guilt.”

Monopol (Nômade Temple, Gran Vía 11), Centro

WED 7:30 PM • €20

“David August plays what he's been making while living in a Gran Vía hotel. Sit, listen, no phones.”

Cineteca Madrid (Matadero), Arganzuela

THU 8:00 PM • €3.50

“A movie that roasts Madrid in its title, shown in Madrid, with the director there to defend it.”

Siroco, Malasaña

THU 9:00 PM • Free

“A one-night art show on a club's 12 screens. See it, then stay for the DJ. Free.”

Cadavra, Centro

THU 11:59 PM • Free-€15

“Thursday-night techno in a basement off Gran Vía. Free before the queue gets smart.”

Madrid Comedy Lab, Centro

FRI 10:00 PM • €13.54

“Expat comics roasting Spanish dinner times, at 10pm, which proves the point.”

Sala Villanos, Arganzuela

FRI 11:00 PM • €20

“Dan Shake's disco-garage chaos plus Madrid techno royalty. Sleep is a Sunday thing.”

Museo del Ferrocarril (Mercado de Motores), Arganzuela

SAT 11:00 AM • Free

“Food trucks, vintage stalls and vermouth between old steam trains. Madrid's best Saturday.”

Espacio Próxima Estación, Other

SAT 4:00 PM • Free

“40+ stalls of fanzines, upcycled clothes and prints. The name translates to Another F*cking Market.”

Capitol Gran Vía, Centro

SAT 11:00 PM • €18

“A Cádiz comic exiled to Valencia, doing 11pm stand-up under the Schweppes sign. Very salao.”

Paseo de Recoletos, Salamanca

SUN 11:00 AM • Free

“A boulevard of old-book stalls: first editions, 1970s porn comics, maps of countries long gone.”

Sala El Sol, Centro

SUN 11:59 PM • Free

“Shakira's Madrid residency ends; the hips do not stop. Reggaeton nostalgia till close.”

Explanada de Puente del Rey, Madrid Río, Other

MON 12:00 PM • Free entry

“14 taco stands, mezcal, raicilla and sotol by the river, with prizes for Best Taco. Holiday lunch.”

Cine Doré (Filmoteca Española), Lavapiés

OCT 13 8:00 PM • €3

“Depardieu losing his head in the French Revolution, restored, for three euros. Tuesday, solved.”

Araña Club, Centro

OCT 13 11:59 PM • Free-€10

“Raw techno on a Tuesday off Plaza de España. Free before the doors get choosy. Bring a fan.”

Cine Doré (Filmoteca Española), Lavapiés

OCT 14 8:00 PM • €3

“69 deadpan Finnish minutes of a woman with nothing to lose. Darkest comedy you'll see all year.”

Sala El Sol, Centro

OCT 14 9:00 PM • €16

“Two Wilco guys making sunny 70s soft-pop in a tiny movida-era room. Dad-rock, elevated.”

Sala El Sol, Centro

OCT 14 11:59 PM • Free-€15

“A Wednesday rave in the 1979 movida temple. Your Thursday self will file a complaint.”

Teatros del Canal, Chamberí

OCT 15 8:00 PM • €9+

“Israel's Batsheva doing Naharin's Gaga: bodies moving like they've never heard of rules. From €9.”

Fundación Juan March, Salamanca

OCT 16 10:00 AM • Free

“How Franco-era Spain met Warhol, Duchamp and John Cage, and lost its mind. Free, so no excuses.”

Centro Cultural Conde Duque, Malasaña

OCT 16 8:00 PM • €18

“Norwegian ambient-jazz drift plus Texan glitch-pop in an 18th-century barracks. Headphones optional.”

Sala Juglar, Lavapiés

OCT 16 9:00 PM • €9.10

“Two Spanish punk bands, nine euros, Calle Lavapiés. Your ears are a fair trade.”

Teatro Valle-Inclán (meeting point), Lavapiés

OCT 17 11:00 AM • €12.43

“A Saturday walk through Lavapiés tracing the cigar-factory women who started Madrid's first strikes.”

Hipódromo de la Zarzuela, Other

OCT 17 12:00 PM • €20

“Thousands of dogs and their humans run 4.5km around a horse racetrack. The horses are confused.”

Madrid Comedy Lab, Centro

OCT 17 10:00 PM • €13.54

“English-language stand-up in a Huertas basement. Laugh at the guiri jokes, you're the guiri.”

Planetario de Madrid (Parque Tierno Galván), Arganzuela

OCT 18 10:00 AM • Free

“36 farm stalls under the Planetarium dome: cheese, vermouth, bread, live music from noon.”

Teatro La Latina, La Latina

OCT 18 12:00 PM • €11.47

“Spain's radio-comedy priest of chaos at noon on a Sunday. Then vermouth on Cava Baja. Obviously.”

Picnic, Malasaña

OCT 18 7:00 PM • Free

“A film podcast recorded live in a Malasaña bar about the movies that wrecked your childhood sleep.”

Librería Parent(h)esis, Lavapiés

OCT 18 7:00 PM • Free

“Julio Cortázar's fantastic stories, run like software, with live music in a Lavapiés bookshop.”

Calle 365, Centro

OCT 19 7:00 PM • Free

“Free salsa class for any level, then Bollywood. Walk in alone, leave sweaty and slightly famous.”

Café Ziryab, Arganzuela

OCT 19 8:30 PM • €17.60

“Flamenco a few meters from your face: guitar, cante, heel-thunder, one drink. An hour of goosebumps.”