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More than Spain's geographical and cultural centre, Madrid is an international hub connecting much of the Hispanic world across an energetic selection of tapas bars, expansive green parks and consistently bustling streets.
Expensive accomodation is the only real negative in what is one of Europe's best bets for a remote work trip. Energetic, fun and with (usually) enviable weather.
I had a month to spend in Europe prior to returning to the UK for a wedding and on paper Madrid ticked all the boxes - reliable spring time sun, a fun lively atmosphere and better value day to day living than the UK. Only two out of the three proved to be correct.
Limited housing stock combined with high demand means uncovering a great deal is always going to be unlikely in Madrid, especially as a visitor.
Accommodation across the city is expensive. Expect to pay close to €2,000 for an unremarkable one-bed apartment on Airbnb somewhere close to the centre.
These prices aren't necessarily too much higher than what you might expect for a major Western European city, but are far higher than what you would expect from more conventional remote work hotspots.
I was fortunate enough to sublet an apartment from a colleague, which significantly reduced the cost, but even with that considered, the month spent in Madrid was comfortably the most I spent on accommodation throughout this whole period of working remotely.
Even off Airbnb, conventional rental prices are considered high in the city, with rents frequently consuming up to 50% of locals' salaries. With this in mind, your best bet at finding decent value for money is probably going to come via subletting a Madrileño's flat or via a house swap with someone who may be more incentivised to seek someone to cover their rent than in other cities.
If you're willing to opt for a room in a house, you can find a room in a central area for around €700 via Airbnb.
With four WeWork locations and numerous independent operators dispersed across the city, you won't struggle to find places to work. The WeWork sites aren't remarkable and fall short compared to some of the other sites across Europe but provide reliable, consistent options.
Coffee shops are generally open until 20:00, with some cafes like Osom providing dedicated day rate passes with the rate redeemable against coffee and food purchases. If you need somewhere to work from for free for a few hours, the Santander Work Cafés, also popular throughout South America, are useful makeshift options.
Accommodation aside, Madrid felt like reasonable value for a major European capital. There's a number of places where you can pick up a quick dinner for under €10 and the price of drinks in bars and cafés is significantly cheaper than what you'd expect to find in, say, London. Expect to pay as little as €3 for a copa de vino or a cerveza doble, often accompanied by a small tapas item.
Madrid is by no means inexpensive, but you feel like you get more for your money than in comparable cities on the continent. A month-long gym pass was €30 with no long-term commitment, metro rides even out to around €1 when purchasing in bulk, taxi prices feel fair and coffee shops are roughly 25% less than what you may expect in London.
Madrid has an infectiously fun feel to it. Walk in any direction and you'll inevitably pass crowds swarming around tapas bars and people drinking beers in outdoor plazas as soon as they've finished their morning coffees.
Expect to see fans packing into bars to watch two of Europe's largest teams, Real and Atletico Madrid, playing throughout the week. On your morning commute, it's not uncommon to see people just finishing their activities from the previous night, clinging to their last bottle of Mahou to accompany the sunrise.
Whatever you're looking for in a city's nightlife, you will no doubt find it in Madrid. But it balances this fun whilst being a major centre of trade and commerce in Europe, making it somewhere with a continuous ambience throughout the entire week and with plenty of outdoor spaces to unwind.
Spain operates on Central European Time (CET), aligning with the rest of Western Europe.
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It didn't strike me that your exact location in Madrid would have a significant impact on your experience of the city, unlike somewhere like London, where staying in Kensington or Brixton can feel like two entirely different worlds.
The central areas offer consistent amenities and architecture. You'll find similar shops, restaurants and cafés throughout, even though each district has its own character.
With affordable accommodation in short supply and the city being easy to get around, whether on foot or by public transport, don't worry too much about the precise location. If it's your first time, focus more on finding the best option within your budget across any of the areas detailed below.
There isn't an awful lot to separate each of the four WeWork locations in Madrid. Most feature a single core floor for All Access Members, which can get reasonably crowded depending on the day. None of the sites feature any of the more plush amenities you may come to expect elsewhere on the continent like staffed baristas, relaxation rooms and showers, but they're generally well maintained, well-lit and comfortable.
They make a noteable effort across each site to run two events per week, usually centred around some local food or drinks, which may be useful if you're looking to create connections in the city. There's a decent range of local discounts for nearby food and coffee shops which may be worth taking a glance at also.
You can access all the sites 7 days a week and they feature all typical WeWork amenities such as free beer (17:00-19:00) and coffee. Even in the mild spring mornings, without the A/C over the weekends, the rooms can get uncomfortably stuffy.
Of the four, the site at Eloy Gonzalo felt like the best located to spend your work days. There are numerous coffee shops within a 5-minute walk, a large BM and Dia supermarket within close proximity and countless bars centred around Plaza de Olavide a short walk away. If you don't already have WeWork access, there are likely better/cheaper options to be found across the city, but if you've already got access then they're convenient and reliable options.
Calle de Goya - The standout feature of this site is the large outdoor terrace which none of the other offices possess. Probably the comfiest of the four in terms of soft furnishings if you're intending on spending plenty of time on the sofa.
Castellana 43 - A well fitted out space but the smallest working area of the four, and it can start to feel pretty cramped when it gets near capacity.
Castellana 77 - Comfortably the worst located and least enjoyable of the bunch. Acts more as a foyer for other corporate residents in the building and not a particularly enjoyable place to spend the day. Poor selection of lunch options in the immediate area.
In January 2023, Spain launched their Digital Nomad Visa as part of the new Startup Act, a group of measures designed to encourage entrepreneurship and foreign investment.
New Spain remote work visa allows non-EU/EEA remote workers and freelancers to live and work in Spain for up to 12 months in the first instance, renewable for up to five years.
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Set in the historic La Latina neighbourhood, this flea market centres around Calle de la Ribera de Curtidores, where you’ll come across everything from artwork and vintage clothing to souvenirs and assorted bric-a-brac.
The name means "the trail," thought to refer to the blood trails left by the old slaughterhouses and tanneries that operated here as far back as the 15th century.
The closest metro stop is La Latina on Line 5, just a short walk from Plaza de Cascorro.
The market runs on Sundays and public holidays, from 9 am to 3 pm. Every time I passed through, the crowds were significant. If you want any hope of moving freely, arrive early.
In comedically ironic fashion, my visit coincided with March 2025, which was the wettest month recorded in Madrid since records began in 1893. Rainfall was persistent, the clouds continuously menacing and you would be foolish to leave the house for any period of time without the safety of an umbrella.
By all accounts this was something of an anomaly. The city is generally blessed with dry, sunny weather across the year. The peak summer months are generally regarded as too hot, with locals often leaving the city to escape the 30 degrees+ temperatures.
Unless you're actively seeking the heat, you're better off visiting either side of the height of summer, where you can make the most of the city's green spaces without the heat being overly burdensome.
A month is a perfect period of time to be in the city and perhaps the minimum required to get a real feel for all areas.
Madrid was far more international than I’d expected. WeWorks often serve as a useful barometer for this in a city, and on any given day, Spanish would be just one of many accents you'd hear. French, American, British, Brazilian and German were all regularly audible throughout the day across the different sites.
This international feel isn’t confined to coworking spaces - you’ll notice the same diversity walking anywhere throughout the city centre. Madrid acts as a global hub for the Spanish-speaking world, drawing workers from across South America, and its universities attract students from all over the globe.
As a city for meeting remote workers from diverse backgrounds, I can’t think of many better options in Europe than Madrid.
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