November gets a bad press it doesn’t deserve. Yes, the long summer light is gone and you’ll need a coat. But it’s also the month when Madrid slows down just enough to be enjoyed: shorter queues, free tables and a cultural calendar that never lets up. And in the middle of it, on the 16th, flamenco celebrates its own day.
Here’s what to do in Madrid in November 2026, from the All Saints’ long weekend to the switching-on of the Christmas lights.
Madrid in November: the city belongs to the locals again
After the October long weekend, the tourist tide goes out. The museums of the Paseo del Arte can be wandered without crowds, the plane trees along El Retiro’s Paseo de Coches still have their leaves, and the terraces bring out the heaters. Highs hover around 15°C and nights drop to seven or eight, so the afternoon plan is simple: walk while there’s light, and get somewhere warm when it goes.
Roasted chestnut stalls return to the street corners of the centre — the most reliable sign that autumn has truly arrived.
Events and must-do plans in Madrid in November 2026
The month opens with the All Saints’ long weekend on 1 November. It’s the date for huesos de santo and buñuelos de viento, the traditional sweets that fill the windows of the old pastry shops that week.
The 9th is La Almudena, a public holiday in the capital and the day of Madrid’s patron saint. There’s a flower offering at the cathedral, mass in the square and the tradition of the corona de la Almudena, a cake sold across half the city that day.
And for most of the month, Madrid’s jazz festival spreads concerts across the city’s venues and theatres. If you like live music, November is your month.
16 November: International Flamenco Day in Madrid
On 16 November 2010, UNESCO declared flamenco an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Since then, International Flamenco Day has been celebrated across Spain on that date — and in Madrid, the city with more working tablaos than anywhere in the world, you can feel it.
At Cardamomo we celebrate it the way we do every night since 1994: four shows, a cast of more than eight live artists and the audience two metres from the stage. If you have the whole month to choose from, choose that day. You’ll find the full line-up on our flamenco show in November page.
The Christmas lights and the end of the month
In the last week of November, Madrid switches on its Christmas lights. The classic route — Gran Vía, Sol, Calle Alcalá, the Puerta de Alcalá — fills up from day one, and the Plaza Mayor Christmas market opens around the same time with its stalls of nativity figures and decorations.
It’s the moment the city changes its skin. If you can, go on a weekday in the early evening, once the lights are on but before the weekend crowds arrive. Cardamomo is on Calle Echegaray, five minutes from Sol, so the lights walk and the tablao fit into the same night.
What to eat in Madrid in November
November is spoon-food season. Cocido returns to the lunch menus, along with callos, garlic soup and hot chocolate with churros in the late afternoon. And the sweets of the month: huesos de santo and buñuelos early on, the corona de la Almudena on the 9th and, at the end, the first turrón in the shop windows.
If you want to combine dinner with flamenco, at the tablao you can add a tapas menu to your ticket — acorn-fed Iberian ham, Spanish omelette and Manchego cheese — or a paella. With the cold outside and the stage two metres away, there’s no better way to end a November day in Madrid.
