{"id":4841,"date":"2023-07-04T10:37:34","date_gmt":"2023-07-04T10:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escuela-hablamos.com\/?p=4841"},"modified":"2023-07-04T10:37:34","modified_gmt":"2023-07-04T10:37:34","slug":"verano-en-madrid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escuela-hablamos.com\/fr\/verano-en-madrid\/","title":{"rendered":"Verano en Madrid"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s finally el verano (the summer) - \u00a1fant\u00e1stico!<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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You\u2019ve probably got a bit more tiempo libre (<\/i>free time<\/i>)<\/i><\/strong> so what a great opportunity to come and learn Spanish<\/a> here with us at Hablamos<\/mark> in the awesome city of Madrid! One thing about summers here are that they\u2019re quite caluroso <\/strong>(<\/i>hot<\/i><\/strong>)<\/i> so a lot of the city\u2019s inhabitants go off on their vacaciones <\/strong>(<\/i>holidays<\/i><\/strong>)<\/i> to other parts of Spain. However, that means that it\u2019s an absolutely perfect time to come and explore the place and check out all its amazing summer attractions without the big crowds! Madrid in summer has a lot to offer, so let\u2019s take a look at some planazos <\/strong>(<\/i>amazing plans<\/i><\/strong>)<\/i> for you to do while you here on your Spanish course<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Un poco de terraceo<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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A very Madrile\u00f1o<\/b> activity is to do a spot of terraceo <\/b>(<\/i>going from bar to bar sitting on the outside terraces<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>. This is a very colloquial word from Spain, so in other Spanish-speaking places it might not be understood. Use it here in Madrid though and you\u2019ll sound like un nativo <\/b>(<\/i>a native speaker<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>! Anyway, pretty much any terraza <\/b>(<\/i>terrace<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> gets busy in Madrid in spring and summer, but if you come here in July or August then the fact that a lot of people will be on holiday means you have a much better chance of getting a table. We love to sacar provecho <\/b>(<\/i>take advantage<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> of the fact that there\u2019re fewer people around in summer to check out the coolest bars and restaurants which, otherwise, you\u2019d have to reservar <\/b>(<\/i>book<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> beforehand. Also, lots of hotels have a fantastic azotea <\/b>(<\/i>roof terrace<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> which are also more easily accessible in summer than in other months, so make the most of it!<\/p>\n

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Hacer un picnic en el Retiro<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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You can probably guess we mean you should go for a picnic from the title of this paragraph, right? El Parque del Buen Retiro <\/b>or simply El Retiro<\/b> is one of the most important parks in the capital, and a typical way to spend a day there is sitting with amigos <\/b>(<\/i>friends<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> on one of its many green spaces and enjoying un picnic <\/b>in the sun. Originally part of the gardens of the now demolished Palacio del Buen Retiro<\/b>, the park covers over 100 hectares just to the east of the city centre. It\u2019s incredibly popular with both Madrile\u00f1os and tourists, and there\u2019s always plenty to do there with un lago <\/b>(<\/i>a lake<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> where you can go boating, two museos <\/b>(<\/i>museums<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> with various exhibitions and plenty of big \u00e1rboles <\/b>(<\/i>trees<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> you can sit under to escape the midday sun. You could take your Spanish homework there to study too as the biblioteca p\u00fablica <\/b>(<\/i>public library<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> opens all year and has beautiful views over the park.<\/p>\n

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Refrescarte en una piscina<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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If you fancy a bit more of a chilled afternoon once you\u2019ve finished your Spanish lessons<\/span><\/a> for the day, why not take yourself off to one of the many public piscinas <\/b>(<\/i>swimming pools<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> which can be found all over the city. They\u2019re very reasonably priced at 4.50\u20ac per day, or you can get un bono <\/b>(<\/i>a pass<\/i><\/b>) <\/i>which gets you 10 non-consecutive days access for 40\u20ac. We reckon that the best ones are at Lago <\/b>in the Casa de Campo <\/b>to the west of the city centre which can be accessed by metro, and also the one at Puerta de Hierro<\/b> which is a bus ride from the centre. The perfect way to unwind after your classes!<\/p>\n

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Disfrutar de las verbenas<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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As this is Spain, there\u2019s always una fiesta <\/b>(<\/i>a festival<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> happening somewhere, and Madrid is no exception to this. In August, there are three local verbenas <\/b>(<\/i>summer festivals<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> which take place all in and around the city centre. The day of San Cayetano <\/b>is the first of these on the 7th<\/sup><\/span> of August in the Retiro<\/b> and Embajadores<\/b> neighbourhoods. To celebrate the Saint\u2019s day, people decorate their streets and balconies with guirnaldas <\/b>(<\/i>garlands<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> and hang out mantones de manila <\/b>(<\/i>Manila shawls<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>. These are typical decorative shawls that women would wear in the colonial era, and which are still used today in flamenco<\/b> costumes. The festivities include conciertos<\/b> (<\/i>concerts<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>, actuaciones culturales <\/b>(<\/i>cultural events<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> and actos religiosos <\/b>(<\/i>religious events<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> in and around the Plaza de Cascorro<\/b> in the centre.<\/p>\n

Only three days later, the fiestas de San Lorenzo<\/b> are celebrated in the barrio de Lavapi\u00e9s<\/b> (<\/i>Lavapi\u00e9s neighbourhood<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>. Again, the streets are filled with decorations and people taking part in all the cultural activities which mark the occasion. These festivities are followed by the biggest of them all, La Virgen de la Paloma <\/b>in the La Latina <\/b>area. The most important day is the 15th<\/sup><\/span> of August, but like with all the other verbenas<\/b>, the days prior to this are filled with lots of cultural events. You\u2019ll also get to see people dressed as chulapos y chulapas <\/b>(<\/i>people in traditional male and female Madrid costume<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> dancing un chotis madrile\u00f1o <\/b>(<\/i>the local dance from Madrid<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>. It\u2019s a fascinating sight to see a group of couples in traditional dress dancing in the middle of the street in the August sun and people form large crowds to watch them!<\/p>\n

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Cine al aire libre<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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As we\u2019ve mentioned on our social media<\/b><\/span><\/a> accounts (hint \u2013 follow us for tips, vocab and more!), listening to Spanish<\/b> is very important to improve your level and learn lots of new vocabulary and structures. What better way to do so than watching Spanish-language films in an open-air cinema! Madrid offers a number of cines al aire libre<\/b> during the summer months and all of them show a variety of different movies at reasonable prices. That\u2019ll also give you something to talk about back in your Spanish classes<\/b><\/span><\/a> <\/b>and you can recommend some new films to your classmates!<\/p>\n

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Ir de excursi\u00f3n<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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Whilst you\u2019re here on your Spanish course<\/b>, we\u2019d recommend getting out of the city too and exploring some of the wonderful sights near Madrid. You can use public transport to get to pretty much all of the major towns and cities which are nearby, and we\u2019ve written a few blogs<\/b><\/span><\/a> <\/b>on both transport options and some of the best places to visit, so do check them out!<\/p>\n

And there you have just a few of the many things you can do in summer in Madrid. It\u2019s just a matter of making the most of your free time between classes and getting out there to see what\u2019s on offer. We can\u2019t wait to see you here at Hablamos!<\/mark><\/p>\n

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Hablamos – full-on Spanish!<\/mark><\/a><\/span><\/h3><\/div>
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