1. Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix 2026 at MADRING
Formula 1 makes its Madrid debut this weekend, the first Spanish Grand Prix held in the capital since 1981. The brand-new MADRING circuit weaves through IFEMA's exhibition halls and a stretch of open street, anchored by La Monumental, F1's longest banked corner. Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso race in front of a home crowd for the first time in this city, with practice and qualifying on Friday and Saturday building to Sunday's race.
🚩 Sport & Fitness
🏛️ MADRING – IFEMA Madrid (Avenida del Partenón, 5, 28042, Madrid)
🎟️ Check the website
📅 11–13 September
⏰ Fri–Sun, race Sun 15:00
2. Williams F1 Fan Zone: Madrid's first Grand Prix fan hub
A free Williams F1 fan zone takes over Plaza del Callao through Sunday, built around a full-scale replica of the team's FW48 race car. Visitors can try a Kraken reaction-time challenge, a Komatsu mining-truck simulator, and racing rigs looping a virtual lap of the MADRING circuit. A small display traces Spanish motorsport history through old helmets worn by Carlos Sainz, with team appearances expected throughout the week.
🚩 Sport & Fitness
🏛️ Plaza del Callao (Plaza del Callao, 3, 28013, Madrid)
🎟️ Free
📅 7–13 September
⏰ Mon–Fri 11:00–21:00, Sat 10:00–21:00, Sun 10:00–16:00
3. F1 Arcade Madrid experience: racing simulators, drinks and dining
Right across from the Bernabéu, F1 Arcade packs more than 65 dynamic racing simulators onto two floors, with haptic seats that jolt through every gear change. Races run one-on-one or in teams of four, across five skill levels from Rookie to Elite, so newcomers and regulars compete evenly. Grand Prix weekends are shown live on the big screens, making this a natural stop before or after Sunday's race at MADRING.
🚩 Tours & Experiences
🏛️ F1 Arcade Madrid (Paseo de la Castellana, 103, 28046, Madrid)
🎟️ From €19.95
📅 Until 31 December
⏰ Mon–Wed 12:00–00:00, Thu 12:00–01:00, Fri–Sat 11:00–02:00, Sun 11:00–00:00
4. Human Universe: the human body experience
Human Universe opens its world premiere at Espacio Delicias this weekend, an immersive experience that sends visitors on a 70-minute journey through the human body. Six themed rooms use virtual reality and 3D mapping to recreate arteries, the brain, and the immune system from the inside, built around a fictional research base called Genesis. It's the first exhibition of its kind to cover the whole body rather than a single organ.
🚩 Tours & Experiences
🏛️ Espacio Delicias (Calle del Párroco Eusebio Cuenca, 63, 28045, Madrid)
🎟️ From €14–19.50
📅 From 11 September
⏰ Wed–Thu 16:00–19:30, Fri 16:00–20:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–13:30 & 16:00–20:00
5. OXO: the interactive Video Game Museum of Madrid
Steps from Plaza Callao, OXO Museo packs 1,600 square metres with seven decades of playable gaming history, from the Magnavox Odyssey to today's VR hardware. Every console on display actually works, so visitors pick up a controller and play through the timeline instead of reading wall text. A temporary Arcade Origins exhibition traces the birth of the coin-op arcade alongside the permanent collection.
🚩 Tours & Experiences
🏛️ OXO Museo Madrid (Calle Postigo de San Martín, 8, 28013, Madrid)
🎟️ From €12–15
📅 Until 31 December
⏰ Daily 11:00–22:00
6. Museum of Illusions Madrid: optical tricks and immersive rooms
A few minutes from Sol, Museum of Illusions Madrid packs 650 square metres with optical tricks built for touching and photographing. The Vortex Tunnel spins around visitors to fake a loss of balance, while the Upside-Down Room bolts furniture to the ceiling for gravity-defying photos. Wooden logic puzzles round out the four sections, with bilingual labels throughout and staff on hand to help with photos.
🚩 Tours & Experiences
🏛️ Museum of Illusions Madrid (Calle Doctor Cortezo, 8, 28012, Madrid)
🎟️ From €13
📅 Until 31 December
⏰ Mon–Thu 10:00–21:00, Fri 10:00–22:00, Sat 09:30–22:30, Sun 09:30–21:00
7. Javier & Rafa Forteza: Rumores Infundados exhibition
CaixaForum Madrid opened its newest free exhibition this week, pairing brothers Javier and Rafa Forteza in their first joint show. Javier's paintings render an androgynous face as shifting, unresolved expressions, while Rafa builds the same motif in acrylic, oil, graphite and charcoal across paintings and a twelve-piece aluminium sculpture. An on-site educator takes questions twice daily, no booking required.
🚩 Exhibitions & Art
🏛️ CaixaForum Madrid (Paseo del Prado, 36, 28014, Madrid)
🎟️ Free
📅 Until 2 November
⏰ Daily 10:00–20:00
8. Apertura Madrid Gallery Weekend: 50+ free galleries
Madrid's contemporary art season opens with Apertura, four days in which more than fifty galleries across Salamanca, Chueca and Lavapiés launch new shows and extend their hours together. Organised by the Arte Madrid association, it mixes long-established galleries with newer spaces showing emerging artists, spanning painting, photography, sculpture and installation. Entry is free and walk-in, so a loose route between neighbourhoods works well.
🚩 Exhibitions & Art
🏛️ Multiple galleries citywide (Multiple venues)
🎟️ Free
📅 10–13 September
⏰ Varies by gallery
9. Nostalgia / Utopía: Ana Locking's two-decade fashion retrospective
Inside a converted 1911 water tower in Chamberí, Nostalgia / Utopía closes out its run with more than 160 garments and archive pieces from two decades of Ana Locking's career. Curated by Alberto Gonper, the show moves thematically rather than chronologically across the building's cylindrical floors, pairing finished pieces with sketches and runway footage. It's a rare full-career retrospective for a single Spanish designer.
🚩 Exhibitions & Art
🏛️ Sala Canal de Isabel II (Calle de Santa Engracia, 125, 28003, Madrid)
🎟️ Free
📅 Until 27 September
⏰ Tue–Sat 11:00–20:30, Sun 11:00–14:00
10. The Black Keys: Peaches 'n Kream World Tour
The Black Keys play their only Spanish date of the year at Movistar Arena on Sunday, sixteen years after their last Madrid show. The Peaches 'n Kream World Tour supports the duo's raw, live-cut new album Peaches!, alongside garage-rock staples like Lonely Boy and Gold on the Ceiling. Soul and blues artist Robert Finley opens, with doors expected one to two hours before the 21:00 set.
🚩 Music & Concerts
🏛️ Movistar Arena (Avenida de Felipe II, s/n, 28009, Madrid)
🎟️ From €65
📅 13 September
⏰ Show 21:00, doors 1–2h earlier
