Throughout July and right up to August 14th, the Madrid City Council puts on its summer entertainment programme, called Veranos de la Villa, which sees events taking place both indoors and outdoors and cuts across the cultural spectrum. It is a wonderful opportunity to see Spanish culture at its best and the programme includes flamenco, dance, music, zarzuela, theatre and much more. Here are some examples of what’s on offer:

• Soloists from the Royal Opera House Covent Garden will sing in the Plaza de Oriente (in front  of the Royal Palace).
• Flamenco dance companies and singers like Compañia Manuela Carrasco, La Tana (Montse Cortés), Belén Maya, Carmen Linares and El Cigala will also play the Sabatini Gardens
• Richard III will be performed by the Centro Drámatico Galego
• Miguel Riós, Roberta Flack, Robert Cray and Antonio Vega will play the Patio Central de Conde Duque

This is just a small selection of what’s going on over this time. I would suggest you take a look at the  Veranos de la Villa site – it is in Spanish but you should be able to find your way around. Tip: Actividades means activities/events and Espacios, venues. Many of the events are free, though there is a small charge for indoor venues.