Before the festival
Arriving, getting around and getting started
Madrid in July means sun, heat and long days. The best way to enjoy it before the festival is to organise the basics without turning the trip into an endless checklist.
Before heading to the venue, check three things:
-
YOUR WRISTBAND
-
YOUR KEY SCHEDULE
-
YOUR TRANSPORT ROUTE
Wristband, accreditations and useful info
If you already have your wristband, remember to wear it before arriving at the festival. If you need to collect it or resolve an issue, always check the official points enabled at the venue.
Here is all the practical
info you may need
The journey to the festival counts too: look around — your next favourite concert might start by talking to someone on the same train carriage.
Getting around Madrid
Madrid involves a lot of walking, but not everything should be done on foot. On festival days, the ideal approach is to combine public transport, short walks and extra time.
To get around the city centre, Metro and Cercanías are usually the most practical option. If you feel like a bike ride, BiciMad has an extraordinary network of docking stations across the city, which you can see here — 100% recommended.
To get to the festival, check the recommended route from your area and remember to use the different public transport options available, both to go and to return from the festival.
Meeting points
before the festival
Meeting up with "see you in the city centre" in Madrid can go wrong.
Better to choose easy-to-find spots:
- Plaza de España, if you are coming from Gran Vía.
- Plaza de Cibeles, if you are around the Prado–Retiro axis.
- Plaza Mayor or Mercado de San Miguel, if you are in Madrid de los Austrias.
- Casa de Campo lake, if you want a calmer plan before the festival.
- AZCA / Nuevos Ministerios, if you are around Castellana.
- Madrid Río or Marqués de Vadillo, if you are coming from the south or Carabanchel.
July weather:
tips to survive in style
Madrid in July calls for shade, water and smart timing. Avoid walking too much during the hottest hours if you are going to spend many hours at the festival later.
Bring comfortable clothes, sunscreen, sunglasses, a fan if you know how to live well and a reusable water bottle if the day's plan allows it. And above all, leave room to rest.
Mad Cool lasts longer if you do not use up all your energy before arriving.
Madrid in
Mad Cool mode
The city before the first stage
Madrid has many speeds. You can start the day among palaces and historic squares, spend the afternoon on a terrace, discover a gallery in a former industrial warehouse and end the night at a concert venue.
This is the part of the guide for getting into festival mode without setting foot in the venue yet.
Gran Vía: rooftops, theatres and the photo looking up
Gran Vía is one of the most direct routes to understand Madrid: lights, theatres, shops, terraces, hotels and buildings that look down from above.
Here the plan is not just to walk. It is to look. On the rooftops you will find Diana the Huntress, the Phoenix, Atlas or the Capitoline Wolf. You can also head up to terraces like El Jardín de Diana or Picalagartos to see the city from above before returning to street level.
If you are short on time, this area works very well for a quick plan: coffee, walk, photo, something to eat and back to the metro.
Cibeles, CentroCentro and the Paisaje de la Luz
From Gran Vía you can head down towards Cibeles and enter one of Madrid's most monumental areas. Círculo de Bellas Artes, Palacio de Cibeles, Paseo del Prado and El Retiro form a perfect route for those who want culture, architecture and rest without overcomplicating things.
It is a very Mad Cool route if you do it right: intense city, a green pause and back to the concert plan.
Casa de Campo: slowing down before the festival
Casa de Campo is the plan for anyone who needs calm before diving into the emotional rollercoaster of arriving to enjoy your favourite artists. It is one of Madrid's great green lungs, with a lake, trails, views and terraces.
You can walk, run, hire a rowing boat or simply sit by the water. The lake area has several terraces and restaurants, so it works well for a quiet meal or a low-key afternoon before heading to the festival.
It is the kind of plan that saves a hot day.
Carabanchel: creativity on the other side of the river
Carabanchel is one of the most interesting neighbourhoods for understanding Madrid's creative scene today. Old factories, warehouses and industrial spaces coexist with galleries, studios, murals, singular architecture and traditional taverns.
Here you will find a very special mix: castizo tradition, contemporary art, design, popular gastronomy and new cultural projects.
For those coming to Mad Cool who want something less obvious, Carabanchel is a good plan.
Castellana and AZCA: afterwork, architecture and vertical city
Castellana is another kind of Madrid. More vertical, more financial, more afterwork. In the AZCA and Nuevos Ministerios area, offices, restaurants, terraces, shops and some of the city's key buildings coexist.
The renovated Santiago Bernabéu, Torre Picasso, La Casa de la Arquitectura, Palacio de Maudes or the Residencia de Estudiantes make this route work for those who want to mix architecture, food and culture without straying too far from the north–centre axis.
