City guides Spain
Madrid
A big, working capital on EU hours, with a EUR 32.70 transport pass that reaches everything and world-class museums that are free most evenings. Spain's telework visa asks for EUR 2,442 a month and leads to long-term residence after five years. The catch: July and August average highs of 32 to 33 degrees, rents in the centre rise every year, and every official step happens in Spanish, by appointment.
Every figure checked 14 Oct 2026
- EUR 23.40 per square metre a month Asking rent, whole city
- EUR 32.70 Monthly transport pass, zone A
- EUR 14.50 average Menu del dia
- Country Spain
- Time zone UTC+2 06:21 there now
- Language Spanish
- Currency Euro (EUR)
- Plugs Type C and F, 230V
How far English gets you Moderate. Spain scores 540 on the EF English Proficiency Index 2025, 36th of 123, and the Madrid region scores above 550. In the centre, in coworking spaces, start-ups and among younger bar staff, English works fine. It stops at the official counters: extranjeria (immigration), the padron (town hall registration), the tax office, most landlords and agencies, and GP or pharmacy appointments outside private clinics. Plan on having Spanish, or paying a gestor, for every official step.
Honestly
Is this your kind of place?
It suits you if
People who want a big city rather than a beach. Remote employees and freelancers earning comfortably above EUR 2,442 a month, on EU hours, who want a social life that starts at 21:00 and runs late, fast fibre and the Prado down the road. It suits someone with Spanish, or the will to learn it, who plans to stay long enough to rent properly and maybe settle: five years on the visa can lead to long-term residence.
It does not suit you if
Anyone who needs a beach or cool summers: there is no sea, July and August average 32 to 33 degrees with nights near 20, and Retiro's record is 40.7. Anyone who wants English-only admin, because every residence, tax and registration step is in Spanish, by appointment, and slow. And anyone expecting cheap and easy: asking rents in the centre are around EUR 26 a square metre and still rising, and more and more of the flats people want are short temporada lets.
Money
What everything else costs
| Asking rent, Centro | EUR 26.10 per square metre a month | Idealista, September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Asking rent, Salamanca | EUR 28.50 per square metre a month | Idealista, September 2026, the dearest district here. A consumer group's May 2026 listing analysis found EUR 34.10 |
| Asking rent, Arganzuela | EUR 22.40 per square metre a month | Idealista, September 2026, the cheapest district here |
| Coworking flexible desk | From EUR 125 a month | La Industrial in Malasana, via a listing site. A fixed desk there is from EUR 200. Impact Hub, Talent Garden and Utopicus give prices on request |
| Coworking day pass | EUR 19 to 29 | Impact Hub Piamonte EUR 19 and La Industrial EUR 20 via a listing site, Regus EUR 29. Regus also sells hours from EUR 4 |
| Metro single, contactless | EUR 1.50 | A promotional fare by bank card, at every station since 1 June 2026. A 10-trip ticket is EUR 7.30 |
| Coffee | Price not checked | No reliable source found for a cafe con leche |
Paperwork
Can you legally stay?
| Family | EUR 916 a month more for the first family member, and EUR 305 for each one after that |
|---|---|
| Evidence | Each consulate sets its own evidence period, and some ask for six months |
| The threshold moves | It is pinned to the minimum wage (SMI), set at EUR 1,221 a month in 14 payments for 2026 by Real Decreto 126/2026, backdated to 1 January. It moves whenever the SMI does, normally every year |
| Official name | International telework visa (visado para teletrabajo de caracter internacional) |
| Who qualifies | Employees and freelancers working for companies or clients outside Spain. Spanish clients can be no more than 20 per cent of a freelancer's work. Consulates do not say whether owning the company abroad counts |
| Other conditions | A degree or three years of experience. Your work with your employer or clients must be at least three months old and go on for at least another year. Employees need three months' seniority |
| How long | Up to a year from a consulate, or three years if you apply inside Spain, then renewable for two years at a time |
| Tax | Employees can opt into a flat 24 per cent rate on income up to EUR 600,000 (the Beckham regime) |
| Permanent residence | Long-term residence after five years of legal, continuous residence. Absences of up to six months at a time, and ten months in total, are allowed |
| Citizenship | After ten years. Two years for nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal, and for people of Sephardic origin |
| Without a visa | British and American passports: 90 days in any 180 across Schengen |
| Tax residency | More than 183 days in a calendar year, or Spain being the main centre of your economic interests. There is no part-year residence: cross the line and you are resident for the whole year |
Where to live
Where to base yourself
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Malasana
About EUR 26.70 per square metre asking (Universidad)Indie cafes and La Industrial coworking on the doorstep, and you can walk to almost everything
The catch Bar noise runs until 2 or 3am at weekends, and the old flats are small, dark and often walk-up
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Lavapies
About EUR 25.50 per square metre asking (Embajadores)The most mixed, least polished barrio in the centre, with cheap food, close to Atocha and the Reina Sofia
The catch The historic centre is where tourist-flat pressure lands. No new tourist licences in residential buildings since September 2025, so long lets are scarce and many listings are short or temporada lets
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Chamberi
About EUR 26.00 per square metre askingResidential and leafy, it feels like local Madrid, with excellent Metro links
The catch It costs as much as Centro (EUR 26.00 against EUR 26.10), and it is quiet in the evenings
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Arganzuela (Delicias and Madrid Rio)
About EUR 22.40 per square metre askingThe cheapest of the four, with the Madrid Rio riverside park for running and Atocha station for day trips
The catch Rents rose 6.3 per cent in a year, and there is little nightlife or cafe-desk culture compared with Centro
Timing
The best time to come
- Jan 10C, FITUR fills hotels
- Feb 12C, cold 3.7C mornings, quiet
- Mar 16C, 35mm rain
- Apr 19C, a little wetter
- May 23C, San Isidro, pollen peak
- Jun 29C, Champions League final 2027
- Jul 32.8C, nights near 20C
- Aug 32C, hot nights
- Sep 26.5C, F1 Grand Prix 2027
- Oct 20C, but the wettest, 64mm
- Nov 13.5C, damp, 52mm
- Dec 10C, Christmas crowds
Come now Fine Avoid
March, April, May and October are the months. July and August average highs of 32 to 33 degrees with nights near 20, and Retiro has reached 40.7 degrees in three recent summers. Winters are dry-ish, with highs of 10 to 12 degrees and cold mornings. October is lovely but the wettest month, with 64mm, and hotels were 84.9 per cent full in October 2025. Three events fill hotels in the coming year: FITUR from 20 to 24 January 2027, the Champions League final on 5 June 2027, and the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix from 10 to 12 September 2027. The averages are AEMET's for Retiro, 1991 to 2020.
Connectivity
The internet, honestly
That is Spain's median fixed download from Ookla data for January 2025, reported second-hand. There is no figure for Madrid. Operator figures run higher: Digi's fixed median was 321.62 Mbps in the first half of 2025.
A flat with fibre is usually your best desk. Classic Madrid bars and cafes are built for a quick coffee and a tostada, not a laptop: small tables, few sockets, and lunch service from 14:00 to 16:00 pushes you out. Use a cafe for an hour in the morning, and take calls from home or from a day pass (Impact Hub from EUR 19, La Industrial from EUR 20, Regus from EUR 4 an hour).
Somewhere to work
Coworking in Madrid
Work
Remote roles open to someone in Spain
A remote job is not in any one city. These are roles whose employer will hire someone living here, pulled from the board as you load the page.
Eating
What to eat, and what it costs
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Menu del dia
EUR 14.50 averageTwo courses, bread, a drink and dessert or coffee, served at weekday lunchtime in ordinary bars
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Bocadillo de calamares
EUR 3.50 to 7Fried squid in a baguette, sold around Plaza Mayor, the city's signature snack. La Campana charges EUR 4.50, cash only
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Churros or porras con chocolate
EUR 5.90Chocolate with six churros or two porras at San Gines. Breakfast, or the 3am ritual after a night out
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Cocido madrileno
Price not checkedA chickpea, meat and broth stew eaten in winter, often the Thursday menu dish
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Cana with a tapa
Price not checkedA small draught beer. Many bars add a small free tapa, but not all
Days off
Worth a Saturday
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Museo del Prado
EUR 15, or EUR 7.50 reducedVelazquez, Goya and Bosch in one building. Free in the last two hours before closing, so 18:00 to 20:00 on Saturdays, but the queue forms early
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Museo Reina Sofia
EUR 12, or EUR 18 with the audioguideGuernica. Free on Saturdays, 19:00 to 21:00. Closed on Tuesdays, and the Palacio de Cristal in Retiro is closed until 2027
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Palacio Real
EUR 18, or EUR 9 reducedThe state rooms of a working royal palace. Free Monday to Thursday, 16:00 to 18:00 from October to March and 17:00 to 19:00 from April to September, for EU citizens, EU residents, work-permit holders and Latin American citizens, so you qualify once you hold Spanish residence
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Retiro park
FreeA rowing lake, the Palacio de Cristal grounds, and the starting point for running groups
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Tour Bernabeu
EUR 37 online, EUR 40 at the ticket officeReal Madrid's stadium. Open 09:00 to 19:00 on Saturdays, but it closes five and a half hours before kick-off on match days
The rest
Things the other guides leave out
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Check the rental registration number
Since 1 July 2025 every short or temporada let advertised online must show a Registro Unico de Arrendamientos number. A listing without one is a red flag
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No new tourist flats in the centre
Plan Reside, in force since 5 September 2025, grants no new tourist-flat licences in residential buildings in the historic centre
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The cheap pass may not last
The EUR 32.70 zone A pass is subsidised only to 31 December 2026. Whether it continues in 2027 depends on a new deal between the Ministry of Transport and the Comunidad de Madrid
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No part-year tax residence
Pass 183 days in a calendar year and Spain treats you as resident for the whole year
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Check your passport dates
A UK passport must be under ten years old on arrival and valid for three months after you leave Schengen. EES now takes fingerprints and a photo at the border
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The outer barrios are rising fastest
City rents rose 4.8 per cent in a year, but Carabanchel and Vicalvaro rose 10.4 per cent and Villaverde 14.5 per cent (September 2026)
Work out whether you can actually afford to go
Every role on the board says which countries you can live in and still take it, so remote means remote.
Every figure on this page was checked on 14 Oct 2026. Prices move and rules change; tell us when something is wrong and we will fix it.