Welcome to Madrid

From Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, thousands of people flock to the city to attend the numerous processions that take place on the streets of Madrid. The atmosphere created by the rolling drums, trumpets and the hundreds of religious worshippers' in bright and colourful attire is the hallmark of Easter in Madrid.

Madrid commemorates the Passion and death of Jesus Christ with a packed programme of events. Churches and basilicas schedule religious music concerts, whilst numerous brotherhoods take part in processions they have been preparing for all year long. The city's best restaurants, cafés and cake shops serve traditional Easter dishes, such as torrijas (French toast) and potaje de garbanzos (chick pea stew).

2023 Highlights

• Processions: 31 March and 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 April (more information further down)
• Series of Organ Music in the Church of San Ginés: 24, 27 and 30 March and 3 April
• Madrid Municipal Symphony Band: Mozart’s Requiem mass: 30 March, 8pm (La Almudena Cathedral)
• Flamenco saetas (traditional religious singing):
  - Saeta during the Procession of Jesús de Medinaceli: sung by Kiki Morente: 7 April (outside the Church of Las Calatravas as the statue of Christ meets Our Lady of Solitude)
  - Saeta during the procession of Holy Saturday: sung by Lela Soto “Sordera”: 8 April (Plaza de la Villa. During the procession of Solitude, as the statue of Mary meets the statue of Dead Christ)
  - Saetas from the balconies: sung by Fernanda Peña, Ángeles Toledano, Diego Amador Jr. and El Berenjeno. 8 April (Casa de la Panadería)
• Tamborrada drum parade: 9 April (Plaza Mayor)

Download

• Map of the 2023 Easter processions (PDF in Spanish, 1.4 MB)
• Programme of musical events for Easter 2023 (PDF in Spanish, 241 KB)

Processions

During Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter Sunday, carved images and sculptures, which spend the rest of the year housed in basilicas and churches, are adorned with candles, flowers, and richly embroidered shawls. Accompanied by dozens of penitents and borne aloft by costaleros, members of different religious guilds, they are taken on processions through emblematic places such as the Paseo del Prado, Calle Alcalá and the Plaza Mayor.

Processions start on Good Friday (31 March) with the procession of Cristo del Pozo y Nuestra Señora de los Dolores and the procession of Cristo del Perdón.

Particularly noteworthy processions are two held on Palm Sunday: Nuestro Padre Jesús del Amor (La Borriquita) and Santísimo Cristo de la Fe y el Perdón (Students), and one on Holy Wednesday: Nuestro Padre Jesús de la Salud and María Santísima de las Antiguas (Gypsies).

The processions held during the Easter Triduum are those with the most recognition and followers, as they commemorate the death of Christ. The most popular ones are: Nuestro Padre Jesús del Gran Poder y María Santísima de la Esperanza, Jesús Nazareno y la Virgen de la Soledad and Divino Cautivo (with the famous carving by Mariano Benlliure), all of which are held on Holy Thursday, Jesús Nazareno de Medinaceli, María Santísima de los Siete Dolores and the Santo Entierro, all on Good Friday, and, finally, the Virgen Dolorosa and Soledad on Holy Saturday.

The Hermandad del Silencio procession sets out on the evening of Good Friday (7 April) from the Literary Quarter.

Sacred Music and La Tamborrada

Easter in Madrid always brings with it a packed cultural programme, and each year’s events include the Organ Music Series at the San Ginés Church (13, Calle del Arenal).

On Sunday at 12 noon, the Brotherhood of Jesús de la Soledad ante las Negaciones de San Pedro y San Lamberto performs a tamborrada drum parade in Plaza Mayor to mark the end of the celebrations.

Gastronomy

It is common for religious celebrations to feature traditional fare, and Easter in Madrid is no exception. Dishes enjoyed at this time of year range from Soldaditos de Pavía –crispy fried chunks of cod, Potaje de garbanzos a la madrileña (chickpea stew, with spinach, cod, potatoes and hard-boiled egg) and croquetas de bacalao (cod croquettes) to torrijas, Spain’s answer to French toast.