Music has a special role in this in this multicultural project. The capital of Spain has very many venues that offer life gigs of all types of music with musicians from all over the world. In this article we would like to present you with a quick start guide to some of the venues with life music in Madrid. In Calle de Covarrubias, 42, you will find Honky Tonk, a venue that plays Spanish rock, blues and country. It opens from 9.30pm till 5.30am.

Another important one is Moby Dick in Avenida de Brasil, 5. In this venue you will be able to enjoy many different types of music, but their main genre is rock. It opens from 9.30pm till 5am. In Calle Bernardino Obregon, 18, you will find Sala Caracol that offers shows ranging from flamenco, pop to heavy metal.

He was the master of grotesque, he developed his art exaggerating reality. Ramón María del Valle-Inclán was a real forerunner in Literature and now an updated version of his work can be enjoyed in the capital of Spain, Madrid.

The María Guerrero Theatre, situated in Calle Tamayo y Baus 4 in Madrid, presents Luces de Bohemia (Bohemian Lights) between the 20 of Janaury until the 25th of March 2012. The performances will take place between Tuesday and Saturday at 8pm and Sundays at 7pm. The theatre is closed every Monday. Lluis Homar is the person in charge to direct this master piece of theatre. This is a genre devised by the Spanish playwright Valle-Inclán that intended to embarrass the society of his time, presenting all the social problems as they were. Mariana Cordero, Nerea Moreno, Isabel Ordaz, Fernando Albizu, Ángel Burgos, Jorge Calvo, Gonzalo de Castro and Javi Coll are the actresses and actors who will be in charge of the performances full of grotesque and strange characters. Theatre goers won’t be able to stay impassive before this deformed reality that sometimes can look shocking but it will always make people feel something.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Madrid

This great international event geared towards the professionals of the fashion sector is setting the trend for fashion worldwide. The most outstanding outfits of the autumn/winter collections of the best designers in the world will be present on two catwalks: Sala Cibeles and Sala Neptuno.

Among the designers present in this show, which is a great opportunity to exhibit their work, will be Hannibal Laguna, Jesús del Pozo, Victorio & Lucchino, Davidelfin, Roberto Verino, Francis Montesinos, Andrés Sardá, Ágata Ruiz de la Prada, Amaya Arzuaga, Roberto Torretta, Juanjo Oliva y Ángel Schlesser.

The last day of the exhibition will be the chance many new designers are waiting for, El Ego de Cibeles. This catwalk will be the perfect place for these novel designers to show off their most radical, crazy and daring outfits.

One of the most typical sweet things in Spain, and especially Madrid, is hot chocolate with churros. Churros are long dough sticks deep fried, maybe not the most healthy choice, but they are really delicious, especially when accompanied by a steaming cup of thick hot chocolate. 

They say that the most authentic hot chocolate you can have in Spain is so think that a tea spoon could stand in it without having to be held.

Hot chocolate is also a very especial tradition during Christmas, not just because it helps warm up, but it is the first breakfast of the year. After New Year’s dinner, Spaniards go out all night, and after all night partying and dancing, the last thing to do before returning home on 1st of January is having a chocolate con churros.

Most bars and cafes around the town, if not all, will open quite early on the 1st of January to cater for all these party goers who stop for their traditional breakfast.

So, if you are around in Madrid for new year, or even if  you are around at any other time, don’t fail to stop at any cafe and order a chocolate con churros before returning to Hotel Ateneo.

Every year December and the beginning of January is a special time in Madrid. Christmas last until the 6th of January, when families gather together to celebrate the arrival of theThree Wise Men who bring presents to the children of the family.

The whole city celebrates Christmas in a grand way with lights decorating all the streets as well as activities and performances for the whole family.

This year, la Fabrica de Suenos (the Factory of Dreams), brings to the public the magic of the annual Christmas lottery draw. Lottery is a big thing in Spain, every week millions of people buy a ticket hoping for the best, but the Christmas draw attracts even those who don’t usually participate.

Situated in Plaza de Neptuno, just off Paseo del Prado, you will find the whole set for this year’s National Lottery advertising campaign, with a magical forest, a dream factory, the magical inhabitants of this dream world and many more surprises, and all of this up to the last day before the end of Christmas, the 5th of January.

A bit further out from the centre in the Palacio de Congresos, in Avenida de la Capital de Espana, you will find for your children a Disney show with all the most famous characters that the whole family will enjoy.

You may have trouble to get a coffee at 11 o’clock at night only because most bars will be cleaning their machines then, but you will probably find that you can get a bite to eat quite late and if what you are out for is the fun then you will be able to find places open till very late.

There are different areas for night life in Madrid. Each area has its particular personality and crowd. Walking distance from hotel Ateneo you will find Plaza de Santa Ana surrounded by an exciting network of narrow streets full of pubs and bars that will be bustling with activity from about 8pm till late.

If you want to try the other Madrid, something a bit more unique and special you can try Chueca. This former rundown borough is now the gay area in Madrid. The night life is built around the Chueca square, which in itself is a fantastic focus for fun and night life. Gay and straight enjoy dancing, drinking with friends and generally having a good time in the many venues in Chueca. The atmosphere is really friendly and relaxed.

After a few drinks you can clear your head taking a nice stroll back to Hotel Ateneo.

Walking up this avenue is also a experience in itself. It is a beautiful large street with trees and benches in its middle. If you keep walking towards the north you will eventually find your way to Paseo de Recoletos, and there in number 23 you will find another centre for art and culture,Fundación Mapfre.

This foundation strives to offer tourists and locals alike the best artistic and cultural experience possible. This month they have fill their rooms with haute-couture. This exhibition that already visited the Petit Palais de Paris is a celebration of the work and life of artist and designer Yves Saint Laurent.

This exhibition is divided in eleven themed spaces with nearly 15 haute-couture and prêt-à-porter models and over 80 drawings, pictures and movies.

This exhibition introduces the visitor to the work and mind of this great artist, who combined his quest for the perfect woman with his desire to dress as best as he could regular people.

Once in Paseo de Recoletos you can also pay a visit to the Wax Museum in Plaza de Colón, or have a nice scenic stroll back to Hotel Ateneo.

The building itself is worth a visit, as it was built at the beginning of last century in that  orange brick style so typical of Madrilian architecture. 

From Hotel Ateneo you can the Metro in Puerta del Sol and in no time at all you will be in Legazpi. From there the building in Paseo de la Chopera is only about 50 metres away.

The Matadero has different exhibitions as well as plays and music concerts that change quite often. There are several big areas and rooms with different activities and exhibitions happening all at the same time. This November, for instance, they are trying to promote sustainable transport in the city by having a whole season dedicated to that good friend of man’s, the bycicle.

The Matadero has been taken over by a whole programme of activities under the name Lo normal es muy raro (Normality is weird). With this scheme they are trying to encourage the locals to use their bikes around the city with a programme full of exhibitions, races, concerts, DJs, contests, round tables, projections, walks and workshops for everybody.

Fast-food

One of the favourite past times of students before Christmas, to celebrate the end of exams or to forget about the bad results, is gathering around Plaza Mayor and consuming endless amounts of “bocadillos de calamares”. Now, what is exactly a “bocadillo de calamares”, it is just really a roll filled with fried calamari and a bit of lemon juice. Simple but delicious. 

The area around Plaza Mayor is a special magnet for calamari lovers, and it will be for anybody staying in Hotel Ateneo  as it is just five minutes walk from it.

On the way to Plaza Mayor you will pass many other establishments that will tempt you with extensive tapas and bocadillos menus. One of these places is Museo del Jamón, the Museum of Ham, a chain of bars whose trademark are the cured pig legs hanging from the walls, not really apt for vegetarians or animal lovers! But if you love cured ham or “jamón serrano”, this is the place to get a quick bocadillo filled with ham and cheese. The Museo del Jamón in Carrera de San Jerónimo, 1 is the closest to Hotel Ateneo.

Quick and delicious fast-food, that is what many bars and cafés in Madrid stand for. Remember that their food is fast but good!

Among the best known Asturian restaurants in Madrid is La Quintana, in Calle Bordadores, 7, that serves fantastic platters to share for those with a big appetite.

Another quite interesting one is El Ñeru, also in Calle Bordadores. It has been decorated with photographs of famous personalities always accompanied by the owner. This “sidrería” or cider bar carries out for you the difficult art of “escanciar”, that is to say pour the contents of the bottle while holding it over your head into a glass held as far low as you can, normally under your hip. The bar smells of Asturias and tastes like Asturias.

In Calle Argumosa, 4, is the centre for the people from Asturias in Madrid: Casa de Asturias. In this place they have still kept alive the tradition of giving a good tapa with each drink. They serve broad beans with cockles and the best of all that their prices are very competitive.

In Calle Trujillos, 4, you will find Casa Parrondo. Here you have to have stuffed peppers from Piquillo, Cabrales cheese, chorizo prepared with cider, pies or their vegetable omelettes.