10 Things to Do in Madrid in September

September is the month of calm and a return to normality: the summer holidays are over, the heat begins to subside, children go back to school and people return to their jobs.

The cultural agenda is renewed to welcome autumn, with a wide range of events, concerts, temporary exhibitions and art shows all over the city. Ready to get started? Madrid: here we go!

During the month, several local and European football championships are held, so checking the dates is a good way to get to know the impressive Santiago Bernabéu stadium, home of the Real Madrid team, which offers guided tours open to the general public all year round.

The visit includes, among other things, a panoramic view of the stadium and a tour of the team's museum.

Useful information

• Price: tours available from €12.
• Opening hours: Open every day of the year except 25 December and 1 January. Monday to Friday from 09:30 to 19:00, Sundays and public holidays from 10:00 to 18:30.
• Address: Av. de Concha Espina 1, 28036 Madrid.

September is a great month for cycling in Madrid. Temperatures drop and the atmosphere is much cooler, so a bike tour is a good idea if you want to get to know the city with other travellers and with the company of an expert local guide.

With costs starting at 25€, you can find bike tours with an approximate duration of 3 hours and with which you can visit the best known places in Madrid, plus some secret and not so touristy corners that the guides know.

Some of the places that can be included in this type of tours are:

• El Retiro Park.
• Cibeles Square.
• Puerta del Sol.
• Plaza Mayor.
• Royal Palace of Madrid.

And many more!

The "Triángulo del arte", which is also known as the "Triángulo de Oro", is the area where the three main museums of Madrid are located, which are:

• Museo Reina Sofìa: if you are a fan of contemporary art, you cannot miss the opportunity to appreciate the work of artists such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Miró, Francis Bacon, Juan Gris or Yves Klein. Here you will find a permanent exhibition with more than twenty thousand works by legendary painters and artists in terms of modern and contemporary art.
• Museo del Prado: it houses the work of great world-class painters such as Goya, Velázquez, Titian, El Greco, Rubens and Bosch, as well as other important European painters from the 16th to the 19th centuries. It is also on the list of the best museums in the world.
• Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum: located in the centre of the Paseo del Prado, its collection spans seven centuries of the history of universal painting. The collection is displayed chronologically, exhibiting works by Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh, Toulouse Lautrec and others. Explore also the wonderful journey through German Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, one of the museum's strong points.

If your idea is to visit Madrid for 5 days or more, a good idea is to take advantage of the autumn to explore the Sierra Oeste, located less than an hour's drive from the Community of Madrid. Here you can discover an important historical heritage, as well as relax in a very peaceful rural environment.

Among the many tourist experiences that Sierra Oeste offers, during the month of September you can also enjoy the Brillante Festival, a musical event with local and international artists.

Other excursions you can do from the capital are:

• A trip to Toledo: this is one of the most popular excursions, as Toledo is only an hour's drive from Madrid and is a perfect opportunity to visit the beautiful old town.
• Visit to Cuenca: still don't know the famous hanging houses? Make the most of your time in Madrid to continue discovering the treasures of Spain. In this case, the journey takes almost two hours.
• Excursion to Segovia: also just over an hour from Madrid is the beautiful city of Segovia with its famous aqueduct and delicious suckling pig.
• Tour of Alcalá de Henares: and if you want to learn more about Miguel de Cervantes and his work, this is the excursion for you.

Especially if you're visiting Madrid in September with children, this is an activity you can't miss. In August, this theme park is overcrowded, but the good thing is that the following month the influx of people decreases enormously, so you can go on more rides and avoid tedious queues.

The Warner Park in Madrid, with a total of 35 attractions, officially opened to the public in 2022 and receives around 2 million people every year. It is divided into 5 zones, each one set in different Warner Bros. and DC Comics films, but also in different landscapes of the United States such as New York or California.

I recommend you to dedicate a whole and exclusive day to the Park, starting your adventure in the morning, as it requires a lot of energy and you will end up exhausted (because in this kind of activities you walk a lot).

If you visit the city in September, I recommend you:

• Dcode Festival: since 2011, it has been held in the first weeks of September in various venues of the Complutense University of Madrid. Artists such as The Cardigans, Queen of the Stone Age, Enrique Bumbury, Vetusta Morla and many more have participated in this event.
• Festival Jardín de las Delicias: you can't miss the "window to the Spanish music scene", which usually takes place the last weekend of September at the Cantarranas venue of the Complutense University of Madrid.

You can buy your tickets for each day or for the whole weekend on the festival's official website. There are several Spanish bands that have started their way to notoriety in this event such as Izal, Rozalén, Dani Fernández. Álvaro de Luna, Miss Cafeína, among others.

In September, all the attention in Spain is focused on cycling. After 21 difficult days, Madrid is the stage that welcomes the cyclists taking part in the Vuelta a España, after a tough competition to win the "red jersey" that will mark the leader of the general classification.

The first version of the Tour of Spain was held in 1935, with a route divided into 14 stages and 3431 kilometres in total. This sporting festival closes with a flourish at the classic podium located in the heart of Plaza Cibeles, which brings together locals and visitors in a street celebration in the best Madrid style.

For a closer experience, you can also check out the options of several tour operators that offer guided tours before the grand final lap through the most important streets of the area. A tour that will take you to learn more about the noble sport, where you can have your photo taken at the finish line and on the final podium, as well as enjoying privileged places to watch the race.

Useful information

• Because it is a busy event and crosses several areas of the city, I recommend you to study the route beforehand, so you can choose a good place.
• Remember to arrive early. To enjoy the event without crowds, it is key to find a good place to watch the cyclists comfortably. It's not a bad idea to get a stool or folding chair to enjoy the ride comfortably.
• Get your camera ready and carry a good battery for your mobile phone. This is a good opportunity to take amazing pictures of your favourite athletes and the festive atmosphere of the city.
• Locate the emergency exits and medical aid stations. Follow the safety instructions at each point.

Since 2009 and during a weekend in September, the association of galleries Arte Madrid, organizes Apertura Madrid Gallery Weekend, an event that promotes a tour of free exhibitions in the art galleries of the capital.

This activity also includes guided tours of the participating galleries, as well as tours of Madrid's public spaces so that you can appreciate the works of art located in the streets, squares and buildings of the capital.

If you like to plan museums and galleries during your travels, I recommend downloading the Arte Madrid app, so you can find out about the programme and activities available during your visit to the city.

This is a plan organised by the city's Directorate General for Cultural Heritage, which has two editions each year: from April to June and from September to December. Here you can enjoy free tours around Madrid to discover the city's diverse cultural and historical heritage.

Every season, the tours are updated to adjust to the weather and to include new stops of interest to the public. Some of the places included in these guided tours by experts in history and heritage are the Hexagons Pavilion, Buen Retiro Gardens, Paseo del Prado and more.

Check the schedule of tours upon your arrival in the city and do not miss this plan that can be the perfect complement to the visits you make to the best museums in Madrid.

Of all the things to see and do in Madrid, there is also room for admirers of the digital environment, augmented or virtual reality, holography and interactive experiences. You can enjoy all this on a visit toMAD - Madrid Artes Digitales, a revolutionary centre for digital cultural development, a pioneer in this type of installation in Europe.

Here, art merges with science to offer immersive multimedia productions in large format all year round. A novel experience not to be missed, so I recommend you buy your tickets in advance.

Useful information

• Prices: the cost of the ticket varies depending on the exhibition you want to see and can be around 10€ approximately.
• Opening hours: Monday to Sunday from 10:00 to 22:00.
• Address: Matadero Madrid, Nave 16. Plaza de Legazpi 8, 28045, Madrid.

In the month of September Vogue Spain organizes an event called Vogue Fashion's Night Out (VFNO). The first edition was held in 2009, as a reaction to the severe economic recession in Spain.

The event transforms the elegant Salamanca district into a fashion catwalk, where clothing and accessory shops in the area offer the public sales and previews of seasonal trends, amidst a chic atmosphere and some champagne.

The event also has an agenda of conferences with fashion industry experts, as well as musical concerts. Tickets for this event cost approximately €35.

The summer in Madrid can be very strong, so travelling in September is the best alternative if you want to enjoy sunny days but with lower temperatures and maximum temperatures that do not exceed 30°C. Although in September the city starts to fill up with tourists, you'll be able to explore the city at a more relaxed pace with temperatures between 15° / 26°C.