What to do for free in Madrid after Easter Week: exhibitions, theatre and routes to get out again

Madrid regains its pulse after Holy Week with free proposals for everyone. Exhibitions, theatre and outdoor routes set the agenda. Families and curious people find new ways to enjoy the city. Art and nature come together in emblematic spaces.

The return to routine in Madrid does not mean giving up culture or leisure. This week, the city offers a free programme that invites people to explore everything from exhibitions to nature routes, including theatre and activities for the whole family. Neighbourhoods fill with proposals encouraging people to go out, discover and share.

At Casa de América, the exhibition Todo empieza con ausencia opens on 17 April. Photojournalist Marian Carrasquero presents a selection of images exploring migration, identity and social justice. The exhibition, available until 30 May, fuses art and journalism in visual stories depicting everyday resistance. It can be visited Monday to Friday from 11:00 to 19:30 and Saturdays from 11:00 to 15:00.

Matadero, in Nave Una, became a large play space over the weekend of 11 and 12 April with ReBoxing Colectiva. Children and adults could build mazes and shelters using reused cardboard boxes. The activity, intended to prompt reflection on consumption and the environment, was organised in 80-minute slots. Free bookings opened on 10 April at 12:00.

Fundación Juan March offered the final days to visit A la manera del Bosco, an exhibition that creates a dialogue between works by a follower of Bosch and contemporary surrealist pieces. The exhibition, which closed on 12 April, showed how the 15th-century painter’s influence remains alive in current art, now also through technology and artificial intelligence.

Humour came to Villaverde and Arganzuela with the monologue Paloma Calle que se calle. The Madrid creator took the stage on Friday the 10th at Centro Sociocultural Santa Petronila and Saturday the 11th at Centro Dotacional Integrado de Arganzuela, both at 19:00. Her proposal, full of sarcasm, dismantles ideas about motherhood, family and sexual violence. Free admission until capacity is reached.

In Vicálvaro, on Saturday the 11th at 18:30, Centro Cultural el Madroño hosts VIDA, Javier Aranda’s puppet show. Without words, the work follows the life cycle through the artist’s hands, inviting reflection on the passage of time and the importance of the present. It is an event designed for all audiences.

For those who prefer the outdoors, the Cascadas del Purgatorio route in Rascafría is becoming one of the favourite destinations after Holy Week. The 12-kilometre circular route begins at Real Monasterio de Santa María de El Paular and ends at a waterfall more than 10 metres high. A natural escape just over an hour from the capital, ideal for making the most of good weather.

In recent years Matadero has become one of Madrid’s most versatile cultural epicentres. Its capacity to reinvent spaces and host innovative proposals makes it a meeting point for diverse audiences. From family workshops to major exhibitions, the centre reflects the city’s tendency to open up to new forms of creation and participation. Madrid is already beginning to move in that direction.