Plaza del Dos de Mayo

Plaza del Dos de Mayo (May 2nd Square) is one of the most iconic and famous in Madrid. It is the heart of the Malasaña neighborhood. This square has its own history: it was the scene of the heroic resistance of the people of Madrid against the French invasion, on May 2nd (giving the name to the square), 1808.

Apart from its history, this square is famous for the nightlife and summer terraces. It is also a very common location for having a "botellón" (young people's tradition of buying their own (alcoholic) drinks and hanging out with friends in a public place) during the weekend. In the 80s it was the main spot of the "movida madrileña", and an endless list of all types of artists would go there, above all musicians, photographers and writers.

Plaza del Dos de Mayo, or del "Dosde" in the slang of Madrid, is, or used to be the center of the nights in Malasaña: massive "botellones" (see explanation above) until the riot police came during the fiestas of the neighborhood in 2007. There were fights and from then on, it became a concentration of policemen watching the area so that no one would not have even a sad beer in the street...

It is now better and the square is back to what it was. If the terraces are full (they usually are), you just have to sit and wait for a Chinese peddler to come with their 1€ cans of beer. There are