YES, WE CAN
ESCAPE
Now, we already know that this is cheating because technically it is not staying in Madrid. But nobody said that it had to be Madrid capital. A few kilometers from the city you will find natural spaces to forget about the photos of Formentera that your brother-in-law tirelessly sends you on Whatsapp. The natural pool of Buitrago de Lozoya , to which you can go by public transport, or Rascafría , for which you may have to rent a car (but there are very cheap ones by the hour) are the perfect plan to spend a day out of the city, refresh yourself and have something more than photos of your cats and deserted streets to upload to Instagram .
scratcher
CLIMB TO THE HEIGHTS
If Madrid has something good in summer, it is its terraces. They may not be the same as having a drink on a promenade with the sea breeze hitting you in the face, but if it has been said all your life that the sky of Madrid is incomparable , it's for something. Plus, they're growing as fast as frozen yogurt shops were a few years ago, and there are more and more options. From the spectacular roof terrace of the Círculo de Bellas Artes with Tartan Roof, its pop-up restaurant, through El Mirador del Thyssen, La Terraza del Urban, The Roof at the Hotel ME, the particular Gau & Café in Lavapiés or the mythical terrace of the Hotel Room Mate Oscar. There isn't a building in Madrid whose terrace you can't have a drink on. Not even the City Council is spared.
Put Madrid at your feet
MAKE NEW COMPANIES
But of course, the problem is that any of the previous plans implies company, and in Madrid in August you will have the opposite. Probably most of your friends are on vacation in paradisiacal places With whom you are not even capable of dreaming or worse, they will be traveling together living thousands of anecdotes that will later be the center of all conversations throughout the year. Don't worry because you can fight back by making new friends , and what better way to make foreign friends passing through Madrid with whom rediscover the city , laugh that they are red as crabs or brag that you know how to make paella even if you add everything you want to it. You can find them in any museum or wandering around Sol.
BECOME A TOURIST
And taking advantage of the fact that you now have new friends who don't know Madrid, sign up for those plans that you always wanted to do but never did for fear of ending up like Paco Martínez Soria in the city is not for me . Sign up at Guided tours offered by the Madrid City Council or get on the Madrid City Tours to discover the corners of the city that you still do not know. Take out your camera and immortalize all the good times with your new friends from Tokyo through Madrid de los Austrias.
Let yourself be captivated by the works of art that the museum treasures
TAKE A DIP
Although many of the terraces of the hotels in Madrid have swimming pools and you can access them, the price is still somewhat high and sometimes it gives the feeling that you are Cleopatra and you are going to bathe in donkey milk. For this reason, as an alternative, we suggest that you do a visit to one of the water parks that the city offers you . The Aquopolis in Villanueva, the one in San Fernando or the recently opened Parque Warner Beach , in the Parque Warner, are the perfect option to spend a fun day, basking in the sun and eating all the donuts you want without fear of gaining a few kilos.
The other beach in Madrid
JOIN THE SUMMER CINEMAS
If summer cinemas already have a large dose of charm, going to the summer cinema can only mean that, without realizing it, you are suddenly the protagonist of a 50s movie or even a Woody Allen one. And of course in Madrid you have many offers. The Cinema Madrid at the Cibeles Palace, Fescinal at the La Bombilla summer cinema or El Cuartel by City Lights at Conde Duque, which not only has 4K quality but also offers sessions sing-along in which the cinema becomes a musical movie karaoke . So that, taking advantage of the fact that your acquaintances are on vacation, you can bring out the musical actor in you.
A summer cinema in a former army barracks
**GRAB YOURSELF WITH ICE CREAM (AND CRY, ALTHOUGH THIS IS OPTIONAL)**
If despite everything, you are still unable to enjoy Madrid in August, American romantic comedies have taught us that the best solution is to sit on the sofa (with the air conditioning) and cry while stuffing yourself with ice cream. But since you're doing it, don't be just any one. Los Alpes (Arcipreste de Hita, 6), La Romana (Paseo de La Habana, 27) or Acquolina (Velarde, 17) are some of the many options you have to enjoy a quality ice cream that is capable of taking away your sorrows. At least for the next few days.
*** You may also be interested in...**
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Ice cream, ice cream and more ice cream