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- Shakira Madrid September & October 2026: Dates, Stadium Info, & How to Get Tickets
Medellín, Colombia - Photo Credit: Nicolas Gerardin Shakira Madrid September and October 2026, Dates, Stadium Info, and How to Get Tickets I had been planning a Madrid trip around the Shakira Madrid 2026 residency for September or early October, hoping to catch one of her shows while we were there. The dates never lined up for us in the end, but I'd already done the research, so I'm passing it along for anyone whose calendar works out better than mine did. The Residency Shakira is closing out her record breaking Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour with an extended residency in Madrid, her only stop in Europe for this leg of the tour. The shows are being held at a temporary venue built specifically for this residency, informally known as Shakira Stadium, constructed at the Iberdrola Music grounds in the Villaverde district, the same location used for the Mad Cool Festival. The Temporary Shakira Stadium For this residency, a temporary venue known informally as the Shakira Stadium is being constructed at Iberdrola Music in Villaverde, the same grounds used for the Mad Cool Festival. Key features: Purpose built temporary stadium Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, BIG Expected capacity of more than 50,000 per night Immersive staging and upgraded acoustics Full visibility design for improved sightlines Shakira has described the production as something unlike anything Spain has seen before. What to Expect at the Shows While the official Madrid setlist has not been released, recent Latin American shows have included songs from Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, global hits such as Hips Don't Lie, Waka Waka, TQG, Te Felicito, Ojos Así, and Antología, along with large scale visuals, choreography, and high tech staging. Fans can expect a mix of new material, classic hits, and a production designed specifically for this residency. Confirmed Dates As of this writing, the residency includes twelve dates: September 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, and 27, followed by October 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, and 11. This is up from the nine dates originally announced back in March, so if you're planning around this, I'd double check the current schedule directly before booking travel, since these residency formats have been known to add dates as demand holds up. Tickets Tickets are on sale now through the official sellers, Ticketmaster and Live Nation. If you're new to buying concert tickets in Spain, El Corte Inglés also sells through its own ticketing arm, and its site works in English as well as Spanish. Getting There Iberdrola Music sits well outside the city center, in the Villaverde district south of Madrid proper, so this isn't a venue within walking distance of a hotel in the center. The most direct connection is Metro Line 3, which runs straight through the heart of Madrid and terminates near the venue at Villaverde Alto station, about a fifteen to twenty minute walk from the grounds themselves. Given that direct line, I'd recommend booking a hotel along Line 3 itself rather than picking a place first and hoping the transit works out. Sol is the obvious choice, since it sits in the middle of nearly everything else you'd want to see in Madrid and puts you on the same line as the venue with no transfers required. Other central stops on Line 3, Callao or Tirso de Molina among them, would work nearly as well if Sol doesn't have availability for your dates. If Line 3 doesn't fit your plans, the Cercanías regional trains offer a couple of alternatives. Lines C4 and C5 also serve Villaverde Alto, and Line C3 stops at San Cristóbal Industrial, a short walk from the venue as well. But for a sold out show of this size, I'd stick with Line 3 and a central hotel along it. Fewer transfers means fewer chances for things to go wrong on a night when the trains will be packed. Why This Matters for Your Trip September and early October are already some of the busiest travel weeks in Madrid, and twelve nights of a sold out residency stacked on top of that is going to affect hotel prices and availability well beyond just the concert dates themselves. If you're building a Madrid trip around one of these shows, I'd book accommodations early and build in enough time to actually enjoy the city beyond the stadium, the neighborhoods, the museums, and the food scene are still the reason to come. Click on this image to get our Madrid itinerary and travel guide and save time planning your trip For planning the rest of your trip, take a look through my other Madrid guides for hotels, neighborhoods, and getting around the city.
- Visiting Chamartín and Santiago Bernabéu During Line 10 Metro Closure: What You Need to Know
Visiting Bernabéu During the Line 10 Metro Closure If you’re staying near the Bernabéu or planning a visit for a stadium tour, Bernabéu Market, Plaza Mahou, or a match, you’ll run into a temporary interruption on Metro Line 10 between Nuevos Ministerios and Cuzco. This is starting in March 2026 and is expected to last through the end of the year. The workaround is simple: a short walk, a frequent free shuttle, or a quick taxi or ride‑hail. This guide covers what you need for visiting Bernabéu during the Line 10 metro closure, from the walking route to the shuttle stops to your taxi options. Want a clear, stress‑free plan for your Madrid visit? Tap the image for the itinerary and guide we trust when helping people shape an unforgettable trip. What’s happening - Metro Line 10 Partial Closure Metro de Madrid has paused Line 10 service between Nuevos Ministerios and Cuzco while renovation work continues at Santiago Bernabéu station. To keep people moving along the Castellana, EMT is running a free replacement shuttle, officially labeled SE10, that connects the affected stops. How the free shuttle works The SE10 is a special service, not a normal fare‑collecting bus. That means: The ticket validator stays off. You do not tap, scan, or show anything. You simply step on and ride. It’s designed to mimic the missing stretch of Line 10 as closely as possible. Where to find the shuttle stops The stops are easy to spot and placed exactly where visitors need them: Nuevos Ministerios: On Paseo de la Castellana, right outside the main station exits on the east side of the avenue. Santiago Bernabéu: On Paseo de la Castellana, directly in front of the stadium’s façade. Cuzco: On Paseo de la Castellana, beside the Cuzco roundabout, close to the metro entrances. Plaza de Castilla: On the Castellana service road, near the bus interchange. The buses are clearly marked as SE10 and display “Servicio Especial” on the front. Getting from Nuevos Ministerios to the stadium area If you’re coming from the south, you’ll still take Line 10 to Nuevos Ministerios. From there, you have three easy options. Walk along the Castellana Exit at the north end of the station and follow Paseo de la Castellana straight up to the stadium. It’s a wide, flat avenue and takes about 15 minutes at a relaxed pace. On nice days, this is often the most predictable choice. Take the SE10 shuttle The shuttle links Nuevos Ministerios, Bernabéu, Cuzco, and Plaza de Castilla. It runs every few minutes and is free for anyone covering the closed section. Before big events, it can be busy, but the buses turn over quickly. Grab a taxi or ride‑hail Taxis, Uber, Cabify, and Bolt all operate normally in this area. From Nuevos Ministerios, the ride is short and usually inexpensive. This is the most comfortable option if you’re carrying bags, traveling with kids, or simply want to avoid crowds. Coming from the north If you’re staying near Chamartín, Plaza de Castilla, or anywhere north of the stadium, the process is just as simple. Take Line 10 to Plaza de Castilla or Cuzco, then either walk down the Castellana or hop on the same free SE10 shuttle heading south. The stops are directly on the avenue, and the ride to Bernabéu takes only a few minutes. This route is very familiar to us from our days living in Chamartín. Quick comparison Option Time Cost Why choose it Walk About 15 minutes Free Direct, simple, no waiting SE10 shuttle 5 to 10 minutes Free Frequent and easy to spot Taxi or ride‑hail 3 to 6 minutes Low fare Comfortable and reliable EMT lines 27 or 147 5 to 12 minutes Standard fare Good if one arrives as you reach the stop Practical tips If you're going to a match, give yourself a little extra time. If the weather is good, the walk is pleasant and avoids crowds. You'll also pick up on the match day energy building around you. If there are crowds of people waiting for the SE10 shuttle, you might have to wait a while depending on the number of people waiting and the capacity on the shuttle. If you prefer convenience, taxis and ride‑hail cars are plentiful around Nuevos Ministerios. But, on match days they might be difficult to get. Book ahead if you can, and be prepared to pay surge pricing. After your visit, you can return the same way. Shuttle stops and taxi ranks are easy to find, and the walk back down the Castellana is just as straightforward. The crowds are the variable. Wrapping up, the temporary closure on Metro Line 10 will be part of life around the Bernabéu for a while, but it shouldn’t complicate your plans. Between the free SE10 shuttle, the short and straightforward walk, and the abundance of taxis and ride‑hail cars, getting to the stadium and its surrounding attractions remains simple. Once you know where to step off the metro and how to continue the last stretch, the detour becomes just another part of the day. Madrid is good at keeping people moving, and this stretch of the Castellana is no exception.
- Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Guide: What to Expect and Why It Matters
Interior Photo of Santiago Bernabéu Taken During the Tour Several Years Ago Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Allure Whether you live in Madrid or you're just visiting, there's a good chance that you'll have a reason to go to the Santiago Bernabéu stadium. You might not have thought so. Read on to find out whether this should be on your itinerary and if so, how you might get there. But first, take a few seconds to view the photos above. The cover photo and the first two photos in the gallery were from a visit we made to the stadium in 2014 to see El Clásico, a La Liga rivalry match between Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona. The last one is a view of the current exterior of the stadium following extensive improvements in recent years. El Clásico happens twice each season, once in the fall and once in the spring, each team with a home and an away match. We lucked out because we'd been planning our trip to Madrid and learned that El Clásico was going to take place in Madrid during our stay. What great fortune! Anyway, I digress. The fourth photo is much more recent as the stadium has been undergoing a massive billion-euro renovation. The main part of the renovation was completed by mid-2023. But, as you will learn below, as of this writing there are ancillary projects that are still underway that will continue to transform the stadium, bringing more features to please the whole crowd. Click on this image to get our Madrid itinerary and travel guide and save time planning your trip! The Bernabeu Tour Before we jump into the soon-to-be-added features, we should give you some logistical information in case you want to go there. At this point you might be asking yourself, when are we going to find out why we would go there if not to see a match. Well, there is an incredible tour that most will enjoy even if they're not Real Madrid fans or even soccer / European football fans. The tour only lasts an hour or so and you can get tickets ahead of time at the Real Madrid website. There are now three choices, Classic, Flexible Classic, and Premium. Pick the one that works best for you and go. You'll enjoy it and you'll want to buy some merch in the official store at the end of the tour. We've done the tour three times and plan to do it again soon. They do a good job of changing the tour to keep it relevant and engaging. Shop for Real Madrid Merch If you just want to go to the official store, you can do that. The entrance is on the east side of the stadium, if memory serves me. There are a few other official Real Madrid stores around the city. The other one we've shopped at is on the Gran Via, not too far from the entrance to the Metro. Attend a Concert or Event Another reason you might want to go is to see a concert. The stadium regularly hosts major acts, the Taylor Swift Eras Tour played there in 2024, for instance, and it's worth checking what's scheduled during your visit.. Lastly, it is a very impressive landmark for a photo opportunity. Environment Outside Santiago Bernabéu after El Clásico 2014 Departing the Match or Event After a match or event, depending on the score, things can be a bit rowdy in the immediate area. You can imagine the crowds of people leaving the stadium. It holds more than 80,000 people and events sell out. Some of these people may have driven and parked nearby. This is how I went to my first Real Madrid match back in the late 1980s (as a passenger). Most, however, are going to try to take the metro, a taxi, an Uber, a bus or just walk. No matter which means of transportation they take, getting home or back to the hotel is probably going to be much more of a challenge than getting there. Some people arrive earlier than others, spreading things out a bit. So, how long will it take you to get there and how should you go? Let's dive into each method briefly. Transportation Options Should I walk? that depends. But the answer is probably no unless you are staying somewhere nearby. Many visitors stay in a more central location, maybe near La Puerta del Sol. So, we'll use that as our starting point (for brevity we'll call it Sol). The route is relatively straight forward. You walk east to the Paseo de la Castellana, turn left and head north for about an hour (Google says it's one hour and 12 minutes from the start of your walk). The one plus is that you know approximately how long it will take you. And it won't cost you any euros. But there are other ways that can get you there much more quickly without expending as much energy. And you probably won't blow your budget. The Cercanías (regional) train is another option. You can get a Cercanías train in Sol (enter like you're going to the Metro and look for the red upside-down C sign). Take that train to Nuevos Minesterios, go out to the street (you want to exit on the east side of La Castellana) and take bus 27 in the direction of Plaza de Castilla. Or, you can skip the bus and just walk from Nuevos Minesterios to the stadium. This will take you 20 to 30 minutes depending on whether you took bus 27 or walked. On the way back to Sol this might not be the best option. There will be crowds and the Cercanías trains only run until midnight. This will probably be less crowded than just taking the metro from the Santiago Bernabéu station because of all the crowds and the proximity to the stadium. The Metro can be the most efficient way to make this trip. From Sol you take the light blue line (#1) in the direction of Pinar de Chamartín. In two stops you change at Tribunal and get the dark blue line (#10) in the direction of Hospital Infanta Sofía. Quick note, Line 10 service between Nuevos Ministerios and Cuzco is temporarily paused for station renovations, expected to run through the end of 2026, so check our separate post on getting to the Bernabéu during the closure before you rely on this route. Then four stops later you get off at Santiago Bernabéu. This trip will take about 25 minutes getting there. But getting back to Sol will be challenging just like the Cercanias. The metro runs until 1:30 AM which is helpful. So, you might have a better chance timing-wise with the Metro, even if you have to wait. You could walk south and east to find a less crowded metro station. I recommend having a schematic of the metro handy for just this purpose. Another way is to just take the bus. Bus 150 is the bus you would take from Sol to Santiago Bernabéu. This bus is near and dear to us as we rode it many times as students years ago. It has a stop directly across the street from the building we lived in. The EMT busses are easy to figure out and they use the red Transportes card just like the metro.The bus will take about 30 minutes. Busses have their own lane on the Paseo de la Castellana. So, my guess is that the return trip would take the same amount of time. But you can only get on the bus if there is space and there will probably be a lot of people at the bus stop. If you are heading south to Sol, maybe try to game the system and walk north to an earlier bus stop and get on there before the crowds. Either way, make sure you're on the west side of the Paseo de la Castellana when you get on the bus if you are headed south toward Sol. Taxis can be great. They cost more than mass transportation. But, the cost is pooled among the group. So, it might work out to be similar economically. The downsides are that, if there is traffic, the taxi can take much longer than taking mass transit and finding one after the event will seem impossible. You might have to walk several blocks east or west and find one more easily. The neighborhoods are generally safe. We're guessing Uber will have its own issues after the event. You can expect surge pricing, and availability will be a consideration. So, you could reserve an Uber for the return trip. Just remember to allow plenty of cushion to get to the Uber after the event. And the Uber driver might have difficulty getting super close to the stadium. So, you'll want to keep that in mind. Bernabéu Market Recently opened, Bernabéu Market is a food hall of sorts in the base of the stadium. It’s 3,000 square meters (a little more than 3,000 square yards) with 25 stalls offering national and international foods. It’s a little more random than the typical grid‑iron food hall, modeled to evoke the feeling you might get in parts of Tokyo or Hong Kong. The food is on the upscale side. On game days, a portion of the food hall may be closed to the public for team use and the rest accessible to visitors. The rest of the year, it’s open to everyone, whether or not you have an event ticket. KO by 99 (Rooftop Japanese Dining) The KO by 99 restaurant, specializing in Japanese cuisine, recently opened on the rooftop of Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, marking a major milestone in its ongoing transformation. As the first business to launch on the stadium’s rooftop, it offers panoramic views of the pitch and reinforces the venue’s push to become a year‑round entertainment hub. Arzábal (High‑End Spanish Dining) KO by 99 joins other high‑end dining spots already operating inside the stadium, including Arzábal, which continues to anchor the culinary lineup with its upscale Spanish comfort food and strong local following. Plaza Mahou (In‑Stadium Brewery Experience) Another standout is Plaza Mahou, featuring a unique in‑stadium brewery concept that has become a signature part of the Bernabéu’s hospitality offering. Together with Puerta 57 and the newly opened KO by 99, it contributes to the stadium’s food and beverage revenue having quadrupled in just one year. The Sky Bar They built a super exclusive nightclub and VIP lounge in the stadium too, but it's had a rough road. The original operator ran into serious financial trouble and legal disputes, which kept the space closed well past its original target date. As of May 2026, Real Madrid regained full control of the Sky Bar following a court approved settlement, so the club is now back in charge of finishing the project. Still, no new opening date has been announced. Other Projects (as of March 2026) Now, about the ancillary projects still underway to further enhance the venue: they are adding underground parking, redoing the Metro station, and adding a high‑end night club. If you plan to visit soon, none of these will be complete. So, you’ll have one more reason to return to Madrid. Let’s dig in to each. Parking can be a major hassle near such a big stadium. So, they are adding two underground parking lots, one on either side of the stadium. The one on the west side will have about 1,200 spaces and the one on the east side just over 600. The expected completion date for both was originally October 2025, but construction continues into 2026 with no firm public timeline. The Metro station remodel is now underway and isn’t expected to be completed until early 2027. While these projects are underway, you’ll see evidence of it such as dust, debris, and construction equipment. Imagine the people who live in this neighborhood, enduring the past five years of construction and facing three more. So remember to smile and be kind to everyone you meet. Whether you’re a die‑hard (European) football fan, a curious traveler, or just someone looking for a great experience in Madrid, the Santiago Bernabéu has something for you. From exciting matches and immersive stadium tours to major concerts and upcoming renovations, this iconic venue is evolving into a multi‑purpose entertainment destination. No matter how you get there, it’s worth the trip. Have you ever been to a match or event at Bernabéu? What was your experience like? Let’s chat in the comments!




