Good news: of all the large venues in Madrid, the WiZink Center (now the Movistar Arena) is the easiest for this. It is inside the city, in the Salamanca district, and you have metro until 01:30. There is no dramatic decision to make.
That said, some options are better than others depending on where you are coming from and how much you want to spend.
Walking back: the best option if you can
If you stay around Goya, Príncipe de Vergara or O’Donnell, getting back from the concert is a ten or fifteen minute walk. No metro, no queue, no checking the clock during the encores.
It is the most expensive of the three areas mentioned here, but it is also the one where the price difference buys something concrete: not depending on anything to get back.
The trick with dates
The Salamanca district is a business area. Weekends are usually cheaper than weekdays — which is exactly when most concerts fall.
On a budget: stay on line 2, no interchange
If budget is the deciding factor —and if you are coming from out of town, it usually is— the rule is simple: sleep somewhere on metro line 2.
Goya is on line 2, so any accommodation along that line puts you one direct ride from the venue, with no interchange. That matters more than it sounds: the interchange is exactly where people pile up on the way out of a concert, and avoiding it saves you the worst part.
Line 2 runs across a good stretch of the centre, so you have guesthouses and one- and two-star hotels at very different prices depending on the stop.
If you arrive by train or coach
A lot of out-of-town audience arrives at Atocha on the day. If that is you, there are two strategies:
- Sleep near Atocha and take the metro to the concert. Convenient for arriving and for leaving the next day, though the journey back at night means crossing the centre.
- Sleep near the venue and do the trip with your suitcase on arrival. More awkward at first, much better on the way out of the concert.
The suitcase
Whichever you choose, do not take it to the concert. The venue has a cloakroom at €2 per item, but it is for coats and bags, not luggage: a cabin suitcase is not going to fit. Leave it at your accommodation or at a left-luggage office before heading up to Goya.
When to book
This venue holds 17,453 people, not 70,700, so accommodation in the area does not collapse with every announcement. Even so, with a double date or an artist who pulls a national audience, the cheap options disappear weeks beforehand.
Booking with free cancellation as soon as you have the ticket costs nothing and covers you.
Where to stay near the venue
Every option within walking distance, ranked by transport connections.
Affiliate link. It does not change what we recommend.
In short, if you read one thing
If you can afford it, sleep within walking distance and forget about the metro. If not, anywhere on line 2 puts you one direct ride away with no interchange.
Up next
Where to eat nearby