When thinking about where to stay when visiting Madrid, my go-to is always going to be Lavapiés, which is without a doubt my favorite neighborhood in the city.
I have been to Madrid on three different occasions and have stayed in Lavapiés every single time. And I know that whenever I come back to this beautiful city, I will be looking for another apartment to stay in this area.
There is something so charming about Lavapiés that always draws me back in. It is known for its large immigrant population that has given the neighborhood lots of diversity. It draws many visitors from other parts of Madrid, as well as tourists such as myself. What was once a run-down area has turned into a vibrant, cultural melting pot.
Each time I have stayed, I have been in a different apartment. All three were located within a five minute walk of the metro.
My first year, I was spending two weeks in Madrid at ArtOf, a ballet summer intensive. As you can imagine, it was ridiculously hot and sweaty in the Madrid summer heat. Luckily, this apartment was perfect with an air conditioning unit in the bedroom.
It was a lovely space, with a bedroom, bathroom, combined living room, kitchen, and dining area, and a small balcony. There was even a couch bed, which my mom stayed on when she came with me for the first week of the intensive to get me settled and explore Madrid herself.
My second summer at ArtOf, I went to the program with my friend Grace and we stayed at an AirBnB together. This summer, we did have a few apartment troubles. The apartment that Grace organized ended up having false advertising. We picked it because we needed A/C (which it specifically stated multiple times that it had), but when we arrived there was just a dehumidifier in the corner. We asked the owner who was showing us around, but she got very defensive and said we wouldn’t get any refund because of this.
We went to AirBnB to explain the situation and ask for a refund. It was so hot that summer and we would be exhausted every evening after dancing so we needed it to be cool to sleep and our pointe shoes would not do well in constant heat, meaning this was a non-negotiable for us. We then found an apartment on Vrbo which was just up the road, still in Lavapiés, and did actually have an A/C unit this time. And it was a lovely apartment! We were very happy and lucky that we could switch at the last minute.
My latest visit, my cousin and I stayed at my favorite Vrbo of the three. It was a lovely apartment, with a giant balcony and ample room to spread out with our suitcases. This would most likely be the apartment that I would want to try and get again the next time I’m in the city!
When staying in Lavapiés, you will have really easy access to the metro and the rest of Madrid. The neighborhood is very central within the city, located just a stop away from the Puerto del Sol and Plaza Mayor, and a few stops away from the Prado and the Royal Palace. The station is wheel-chair accessible and is on the yellow No.3 line called Villaverde Alto Moncloa. To see a map of the Madrid metro system, click here.
My favorite European supermarket, Carrefour, has the best location in Lavapiés. Just across the street from the metro station, this Carrefour is two floors with everything that you could ever want. The ground floor is all of the fresh food, with produce, fish and meat stalls, a bakery, a cheese monger, a freshly squeezed orange juice machine, a sushi bar, and more. Downstairs has the packaged goods, like cereals, soups, cookies, and cleaning supplies, as well as an extensive collection of alcohol.
This is probably my favorite supermarket in the world. Every time I’ve gone back to Madrid, this was honestly one of the things I wanted to visit again the most. If I could bring it with me wherever I live in the world, I would!
There are lots of mercados located around Madrid. Two of my favorites are Mercado de San Anton and Mercado de San Miguel. These are both angled towards tourists, but still amazing to visit. Check out my Food Tour of Madrid to read more!
In Lavapiés, there is the Mercado de San Fernando, which is definitely catered towards locals. It is a short walk from the center of Lavapiés and nice to wander around. You do feel like a local here, fully immersed in the local culture.
One of my favorite stores that I visited in Lavapiés was a small, hole-in-the-wall hammock shop. It was the tiniest store I’ve ever seen, about the size of a coat closet, but it was packed from floor to ceiling with different handmade hammocks made on a loom with cotton threads.
I spent the entire two weeks walking past it every day to get from my apartment to the metro, debating whether or not I should get one. My second to last day, I decided to get a hammock, even though it would be a very long time until I would have my own place that I could hang it up inside, but it was too unique to pass up. I got one with blue, white, green, and yellow threads. The owner was such a sweet old man who was so excited that I was buying one of his hammocks. I'm so glad I did that, because the following summer, it was gone! I had told Grace all about it and she'd wanted one as well, but sadly it was not to be.
Another important aspect of Lavapiés, especially as a woman, is safety. I've navigated most of the streets in the area, even late at night in the dark, and I've always felt safe. That can't always be said for major cities, especially ones where you don't speak the language. I've never had any kind of conflict, and as it's a local neighborhood, there are a lot of families that live nearby and everyone just minds their own business.
To find potential places to stay on your next trip in Lavapiés, click here to view holiday lettings on Vrbo. This is my preferred platform to find apartments to stay in; they’ve always been really reliable (compared to the misleading AirBnB) and have lots of lovely apartments!
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