🌧️ What's on in Madrid: April 10

It's gonna rain this weekend so forget about sunbathing.

Madrid | Issue #140

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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

It’s Friday again!

Holy Week is over, Madrid is back, and the weather is… doing its usual thing. We’re starting the weekend warm enough to justify a rooftop plan, only to cool down just in time to remind you that spring here is basically a trust exercise.

At least there’s tons of stuff to do: Stylish voyeurism, ancient empires, vintage impulse buys, or something more existential. The only real question is how many of them you can realistically fit in before Monday shows up again.

Happy weekend!

1.⚜️ Casa Decor is your excuse to (legally, of course) snoop around a Madrid palace

Alright, heathens. Holy Week is over. Time to go back to our usual Friday-to-Sunday habits — which, in this case, involve a bit of stylish voyeurism.

If you’ve ever walked past one of those grand Madrid buildings and thought what does it actually look like inside?, this is your moment. Casa Decor is back, and this year it’s taken over a full-on 19th-century palace in the Barrio de las Letras—arguably one of the most Madrid locations it could have picked.

For six weeks, designers, architects, brands, and artists basically move in and transform the entire building into a series of wildly different spaces. You can find maximalist living rooms next to futuristic kitchens, next to bathrooms that look like a Stanley Kubrick movie or a five-star spa you can’t afford.

Imagine a design playground where you can wander room to room, judging everything in front of your friends so they think you’re an interiors expert.

The building itself is part of the appeal. Located on Calle San Agustín, it was originally a noble residence from the late 1800s, later turned into a convent, and still packed with original details — marble floors, stained glass, and dramatic staircases à la Death Becomes Her, a really old but really good movie.

In a couple of years, it’ll become a luxury hotel (ugh, we know), so this is basically your chance to see it before it turns into somewhere you’ll enter once, look at the €20 cocktails, and then say, “let’s just get a beer in Plaza Chueca”.

But yeah, it’s a big place. We’re talking dozens of spaces, hundreds of participants, and tens of thousands of Casa Decor visitors every year. Even if you’re not particularly into design, it’s one of those rare events that’s worth a visit

🖥️ What: Casa Decor 2026

📍 Where: Calle San Agustín 11, Madrid

📅 When: Through May 24

🎟 Tickets: Check website

2. 🦁 Before empires fell, they looked like this: Ashurbanipal at CaixaForum

If your idea of a cultural plan involves something slightly older than a Madrid palace, you’re in luck! The I am Ashurbanipal exhibition has landed at CaixaForum, and it’s basically a deep dive into one of the most powerful figures of the ancient world (someone, who, let’s face it, you have no idea who he was).

Who? Ashurbanipal was the last great king of Assyria, ruling around 2,700 years ago, and not exactly known for being chill. He built one of the most formidable empires of his time through military force, but he was also unusually intellectual for a ruler (he assembled what is considered one of the first great libraries in history). So yes, muscle and brain.
Now, while “I am Ashurbanipal” sounds like something he’d say after you accidentally resurrected him and he’s about to suck the soul out of your body, this exhibit is so much more than that, as it brings together over 150 objects from the British Museum, including reliefs, sculptures, and intricate luxury items that show both the grandeur (and brutality) of his reign.

Oh, and there’s also a more modern angle running through it. The exhibition quietly raises questions about cultural heritage, conflict, and what it means to preserve history in unstable regions. In other words, it’s not just about an ancient empire. Enjoy! (Just don’t read from The Book of the Dead while visiting).

🖥️ What: I am Ashurbanipal exhibition

📍 Where: CaixaForum Madrid, Paseo del Prado 36, Madrid

📅 When: Through October 4

🎟 Tickets start at €6

3.🏺 ANTIK is where your ‘I’m just browsing’ budget goes to die

If you’ve ever said “I’m just going to browse” and then walked out with something you absolutely didn’t need but now can’t live without (like, say, the Book of the Dead), this is your natural habitat.

ANTIK Almoneda Spring Edition 2026 is back, and it’s basically a playground for anyone with a weakness for objects with a past.

There’s furniture, art, jewelry, clothes, and all kinds of beautifully unnecessary things (everything at least 50 years old), which automatically makes it either “timeless” or “vintage” depending on how much you paid for it.
The fair brings together dozens of antique dealers, galleries, and collectors, which means you can go from admiring a mid-century chair to seriously considering whether you need a (probably haunted) 19th-century mirror in about five minutes.
And no, this is not just for hardcore collectors. Every year, more people show up just to wander, get inspired, and maybe pick up something small that makes their apartment feel marginally more sophisticated. Or at least more interesting.

Last year’s numbers were strong, and this edition looks set to be the same, so expect crowds, temptation, and at least one internal debate about whether something is a great find or a terrible financial decision.

🖥️ What: ANTIK Almoneda Spring Edition 2026

📍 Where: IFEMA, Avenida del Partenón 5, Madrid

📅 When: April 11 – 19

🎟 Tickets start at €11 (online). €13 at the door.

4.👹 Goblin Party: A night market full of mischief, music, and controlled chaos

Feel like you need an exorcism after so many torrijas and Easter eggs last week? Then here’s something that fixes that quickly: Goblin Party performance lands in Madrid for three nights, bringing a mix of dance, theatre, and live Korean music that feels somewhere between a ~~drug~~ fever dream and a very curated cultural experience.

The premise is simple but weird (in a good way). You’re dropped into a mystical goblin market that only appears at night, where everyday objects turn into something more valuable: memories, emotions, dreams, all up for exchange.
On stage, that translates into a mix of movement, storytelling, and live sound, with traditional Korean instruments giving the whole thing a rhythm that feels unfamiliar but oddly hypnotic. (The company behind it, Goblin Party, is known for its playful, collaborative style).

There’s no single artistic director here; everyone performs, everyone creates, and you can feel that energy throughout. The result is something immersive and very different from your standard theatre night. (Ed. Note: there are strobe lights, so maybe don’t go in expecting a calm, meditative evening).

🖥️ What: Goblin Party

📍 Where: Teatros del Canal (Sala Negra), Calle de Cea Bermúdez 1, Madrid

📅 When: April 10–12

🎟 Tickets start at €20

5. 🎭 The Silence: Not exactly a light night at the theatre

If you’re in the mood for something easy and uplifting, this is not that. The Silence by Falk Richter is intense, personal, and very much designed to sit with you long after you leave the room. Oh, and the play is in German (with Spanish subtitles). So if you don’t feel comfortable with Spanish yet, we suggest you skip this one.

The piece is an autofiction by German playwright Falk Richter, who turns the spotlight on his own family history. At its core is a conversation that never happened (with a father who died before reconciliation) and a difficult, ongoing dialogue with his mother.
What unfolds is a layered exploration of buried trauma, post-war memory, family secrets, and the long shadow of silence, including the repression of Richter’s identity growing up.
But this isn’t just a straight autobiographical confession. The play constantly blurs the line between truth and fiction, questioning memory itself and opening the door to alternative versions of the past (and maybe even different ways of living in the future).

It’s heavy, yes, but also sharp, reflective, and quietly hopeful in the questions it dares to ask.

🖥️ What: The Silence by Falk Richter

📍 Where: Teatro Valle-Inclán (Sala Grande), Plaza de Ana Diosdado, s/n, Madrid

📅 When: April 10–12

🎟 Tickets start at €18

📺 What to watch if you’re staying in this weekend…

🖥️ What: The Predator of Seville (El Depredador de Sevilla) | 3-part documentary | 2026

📍Where to watch: Netflix

❓What’s it about: One woman's quest for justice against a tour guide in Spain sparks a surge of similar claims from many U.S. students over the years.

🤩 Why you should watch: Because this true crime doc is a gripping story that goes beyond the crime itself, exposing how years of silence, guilt, and systemic failures allowed a predator to operate in plain sight.

💬 English Subtitles: Yes