Madrid

A capital of palaces, parks and late nights under clear skies — with royal towns, castles and the mountains about an hour away.

Photographers When to marry here

Madrid sits high on Spain’s central plateau: a city of grand avenues, a royal palace, leafy parks and plazas that stay busy past midnight, under the clear, deep-blue skies its painters loved.

Around it lie places made for a weekend wedding: country estates (fincas) at the foot of the Sierra de Guadarrama, the royal sites of El Escorial and Aranjuez, and — about an hour away — Segovia and Toledo, old cities that are UNESCO World Heritage sites.

A couple inside a glass palace in a Madrid park

The Royal Palace of Madrid above its formal gardens and pond

Through the year

When to marry in Madrid

May, June, September and October are warm and bright; May can bring afternoon thunderstorms. July and August are hot — the ceremony moves to the end of the day — and in August many locals leave the city. Winters are cold and crisp, with frost on some mornings.

January: Quieter
February: Quieter
March: Quieter
April: Good with planning
May: Best
June: Best
July: Good with planning
August: Good with planning
September: Best
October: Best
November: Quieter
December: Quieter

SpringParks in full leaf, flowers in the royal gardens and fresh mornings. Short storms pass through in May — keep a covered spot in mind.
SummerDry heat by day and warm nights made for dinner outside. The Sierra, an hour to the north-west, is cooler.
AutumnGolden light, the trees turning in the parks and the city back from holiday — many couples’ favourite season here.

Places

Where couples marry here

The kinds of places — ask your photographer which ones they know well.

Country estates (fincas)
Estates with gardens and pine woods on the edge of the Sierra — the ceremony, dinner and dancing in one place.
Palaces, gardens and plazas
Formal gardens, a glass palace in a park, old plazas at golden hour — portraits between the ceremony and dinner.
Royal sites and old cities nearby
Monasteries, castles and Roman stone in the towns around Madrid — a trip for portraits, or a weekend wedding of its own.
Rooftops and terraces
City views at sunset for a smaller wedding, or a party that starts late and ends later.

Light

How the light falls

Madrid’s height and dry air give it a famously clear light and deep-blue skies, with long, warm sunsets over the palace and the parks on the city’s western edge. Spain keeps Central European time, so in summer the last light comes late — dinner often starts after it.

Travel

Getting there

Madrid’s airport has direct flights from much of the world. High-speed trains reach Segovia, Toledo and most of Spain’s big cities; the estates in the Sierra are a drive away — ask whether yours arranges transport for guests.

Photographers