Why Madrid is a good city to be alone in
Doing things alone is normal here. People eat alone at bars, sit alone on terraces and go to the cinema alone, and nobody looks twice. The city is walkable, safe at night by European standards, and things happen late, so there's always somewhere open.
The trick is knowing which solo plans are just nice, and which ones put you around other people often enough that something might come of it. This guide covers both.
Solo plans that are just good for you
These won't make you friends. They'll make you like your life here, which matters just as much in the first few months.
- Madrid Río on a bike or a skateboard. Ten kilometres of park along the Manzanares in the southwest of the city. Grab a BiciMAD and go on a weekend morning, when half of Madrid is out. Flat, easy and full of locals, not tourists.
- Free museum hours. The Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen all have free entry slots in the evenings or on certain days. Check the current times on each museum's website. Going alone means you can leave after 40 minutes without anyone minding.
- Sunset at Templo de Debod or Cerro del Tío Pío. Debod is the famous one and gets busy. Tío Pío in Vallecas is where locals go, with a view over the whole city.
- A long lunch at a bar counter. Order a menú del día at a proper neighbourhood bar on a weekday. Sitting at the bar is the most Madrid thing you can do alone.
- El Rastro on a Sunday morning, then vermouth. Wander the market, then grab a vermouth in La Latina. Solo vermouth at the bar is completely normal.
- Cine de verano or VO cinema. Madrid has a lot of original-version cinemas, and in summer, outdoor cinemas. Ideal solo plans.
- A day trip by train. Toledo, Segovia and Alcalá de Henares are all an easy train ride away. Going alone means you set the pace.
Solo plans where you'll actually meet people
These are the ones to prioritise if you're new. Each has the thing that turns strangers into friends: the same faces, regularly.
- Run clubs. Free, weekly, and always end with a coffee or a beer. You don't need to be fast.
- Group classes at your local polideportivo. Municipal sports centres run cheap classes (padel, swimming, yoga, dance) full of people who live near you.
- Climbing gyms. Bouldering is social by design. You stand around between climbs and talk to whoever's next to you.
- Language exchanges. Good for a first conversation, not great for second ones. See our guide to language exchanges.
- Volunteering. Food banks, animal shelters and English-language charities always need people, and you see the same volunteers every week.
- Small recurring events. Book clubs, board game nights, pub quizzes and community events where the same people come back each week. Big one-off parties are fun, but you rarely see anyone twice.
How to make solo plans less awkward
- Bring a reason to be there. A book at a bar, a sketchbook in the park, a camera on a walk. It gives you something to do with your hands and an easy opening line.
- Sit at the bar, not a table. Bar staff talk to you. People next to you talk to you. Tables are for groups.
- Go early to events. The first 20 minutes, before groups form, is the easiest time to start a conversation.
- Say yes to the "we're going for a drink after" invite. That's where the real conversations happen.
- Go back. One visit to anything tells you very little. Three visits tells you if it's for you.
When I moved here in 2016 I met a Spanish girlfriend early on, and she brought me into her group of friends. Meeting one local and then their friends is still the best shortcut I know. But Madrid only started to feel like home when I found the international crowd. My first real friend here came from work. Same office, same faces, every single day. That's the whole secret: keep showing up to the same place and eventually, boom. These days my favourite solo plan is Madrid Río on a weekend morning, on a BiciMAD or a skateboard.
Tom, founder of Guiris de Mierda, in Madrid since 2016
A solo weekend that works
- Saturday morning: run club or a class at your polideportivo.
- Saturday afternoon: a museum during free hours, then a walk through Barrio de las Letras.
- Saturday evening: a community event, a quiz or a language exchange. Stay for the drink after.
- Sunday: El Rastro, vermouth at the bar, long lunch, nap. Very Madrid.
One more thing. In summer, Madrid lives at night. Terraces fill up after 10pm and the streets stay busy until late. If you only go out in daylight, you're seeing half the city.
