Malasaña is one of Madrid’s most happening districts with its hipster atmosphere and nightlife, a hub of creativity. Located to the west of the famous Calle Fuencarral, to the east being the gay barrio of Chueca/Justicia, the area is centred around the famous Plaza Dos de Mayo, the heart of Malasaña. It was the location of the Movida countercultural movement in the seventies which emerged after the transition of the Post Franco years in Spain and the change to democracy. After the fall of the dictatorship, Malasaña became fertile ground for the free expression in the arts, as part of the huge changes and liberalization both cultural and ideological which would soon spread throughout Spain. Malasaña is the new Hipster barrio of Madrid. New bars and restaurants are opening all the time from artesan coffee from Ethiopia to Bao buns. It is the area I believer most likely to be the Next Big Thing, and constant development. Areas which have traditionally been the most in demands such as Salamanca and Justicia just a minute’s walk away, this is the up and coming star of Madrid’s central district.
Why? We love the classic facades of the buildings, in all colours of the rainbow, blue, yellow, red, orange, the wrought iron balconies with flowers and plants on all year round ovrlooing the streets below. Malasaña still retains touches of the Madrid of yesterday, old ladies in the Street walking their dogs and chatting to the neighbours, bars that have been there for years serving coffee to the old man who lives above, foreign students creating a real Tower of Babel in the bars at night, parks full of children playing, shops selling the latest fashions as well as vintage and one off designer wear, Pop up stores, frames and artisanal printers, and carpenters and handmade furniture makers… basically a very ‘Madrileña’ feel to it, mixed with the feeling of the Avant Garde is what makes this area attractive to investors.
