Madrid as a Local
New to Madrid or already living here? Discover practical guides, local tips, and everyday advice to make life in the city easier. Curated by locals.
Pocket list of free coworking and laptop-friendly cafés in Madrid
This is my running list of Madrid's free, or nearly free, places to work: the public libraries and climate shelters I've noted down, Santander's Work Cafés and business incubators worth knowing about, and the handful of cafés in Chamberí and Malasaña where I actually open my laptop. I’ve worked from many of the spots on this list, though not all of them. But I know exactly where I’d go if I needed a free desk tomorrow.
Where to run in Madrid: a runner's route guide
Madrid doesn't stay flat for long. The best place to run in Madrid depends less on taste and more on what a given week calls for: flat ground first, then El Retiro's crowd, a couple of routes built for speed rather than scenery, then the climbs of Parque del Oeste, then the sprawl of Casa de Campo. That's the order I worked out the hard way after moving to the city in 2024, and it's still the order I'd hand a new arrival today.
