By Maya Boyd
Favourite restaurants:
For casual lunches, Hermanas Arce is a constant.
Homemade food, warm energy, organic, and the feeling you’re eating in someone’s home.
For classic, deeply local Madrid, Casa Dani.
One of the most Spanish dining experiences you can have — straightforward, generous, and beloved by locals.
For something late and social, Los 33.
Dinner that effortlessly turns into night. You can eat well, linger endlessly, and catch live performances in a room that feels animated and alive. ative rather than performative.
Favourite cocktail bar:
A true Madrid institution. Local, timeless, and atmospheric — incredible cocktails in a space that remembers everyone who’s passed through it.
© Casa Dani
True hidden gems:
Bonsai Florist and – hidden inside – Jack’s Library
A secretive, speakeasy-style cocktail bar located in the Chueca district, disguised behind a flower shop. To get in, you need to ring a doorbell and use a code, transporting you to a unique experience reminiscent of a 16th-century British library.
Stone worn smooth by centuries, church bells folding time inward. Plaza de la Paja feels magical, with a secret garden still cared for by nuns.
My sacred place:
A 45-minute train or drive outside Madrid, the old royal village where King Philip II built the monastery between 1563–1584. The first stone was laid on a solar eclipse in Capricorn, and architect Juan de Herrera aligned the complex to sacred geometry and astrology. Long before I knew this, I felt completely at home there.
My favourite stores:
© COCOL Madrid
Top coffee stop:
Order the cardamom buns! They are unforgettable. I also love to work from here.
My go-to practitioner:
Somatic mastery, she blows my mind every time.
My top souvenirs:
A ceramic piece, unmistakably Spanish, made by local artisans.
My ultimate hotel:
Japanese-inspired spa, warmth, spaciousness. The place where I felt most at home when I first arrived in Madrid.
A true wellness hub:
Cryotherapy, float tanks, red-light therapy, infrared sauna, you name it; a cozy pool lap pool.
Where I reset in nature:
Especially near the Palacio de Cristal. It could never be overrated; there’s so much history and there are so many private places to tuck away and read.
My go-to cultural hit:
For contemporary and to see Picasso’s Guernica and the Surrealist floor with Dalí and Man Ray.
Explore more ANÍMA city guides.
By Maya Boyd
Favourite restaurants:
For casual lunches, Hermanas Arce is a constant.
Homemade food, warm energy, organic, and the feeling you’re eating in someone’s home.
For classic, deeply local Madrid, Casa Dani.
One of the most Spanish dining experiences you can have — straightforward, generous, and beloved by locals.
For something late and social, Los 33.
Dinner that effortlessly turns into night. You can eat well, linger endlessly, and catch live performances in a room that feels animated and alive. ative rather than performative.
Favourite cocktail bar:
A true Madrid institution. Local, timeless, and atmospheric — incredible cocktails in a space that remembers everyone who’s passed through it.
© Casa Dani
True hidden gems:
Bonsai Florist and – hidden inside – Jack’s Library
A secretive, speakeasy-style cocktail bar located in the Chueca district, disguised behind a flower shop. To get in, you need to ring a doorbell and use a code, transporting you to a unique experience reminiscent of a 16th-century British library.
Stone worn smooth by centuries, church bells folding time inward. Plaza de la Paja feels magical, with a secret garden still cared for by nuns.
My sacred place:
A 45-minute train or drive outside Madrid, the old royal village where King Philip II built the monastery between 1563–1584. The first stone was laid on a solar eclipse in Capricorn, and architect Juan de Herrera aligned the complex to sacred geometry and astrology. Long before I knew this, I felt completely at home there.
My favourite stores:
© COCOL Madrid
Top coffee stop:
Order the cardamom buns! They are unforgettable. I also love to work from here.
My go-to practitioner:
Somatic mastery, she blows my mind every time.
My top souvenirs:
A ceramic piece, unmistakably Spanish, made by local artisans.
My ultimate hotel:
Japanese-inspired spa, warmth, spaciousness. The place where I felt most at home when I first arrived in Madrid.
A true wellness hub:
Cryotherapy, float tanks, red-light therapy, infrared sauna, you name it; a cozy pool lap pool.
Where I reset in nature:
Especially near the Palacio de Cristal. It could never be overrated; there’s so much history and there are so many private places to tuck away and read.
My go-to cultural hit:
For contemporary and to see Picasso’s Guernica and the Surrealist floor with Dalí and Man Ray.
Explore more ANÍMA city guides.
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