Chinese New Year in Usera: the biggest party in the neighborhood

Madrid has many festivals, but only one turns an entire neighborhood into a sea of ​​red lanterns: the Chinese New Year in Usera. If your visit coincides with it (between late January and mid-February, according to the lunar calendar), it is one of the best things you can see in the city.

What’s happening in the neighborhood

• The parade: dancing dragons and lions, cultural groups from the Chinese community and neighborhood schools walk through the main streets of Usera. It is the district’s event of the year and brings together thousands of people.
• Total decoration: red lanterns along the shopping streets, decorated shop windows and a party atmosphere for days.
• Food: the neighborhood restaurants put out special menus and the street is filled with sweets and stalls. It’s the best time to discover Usera’s cuisine.

How to live it well

• Variable date: the Lunar New Year falls on a different date each year; check it when planning your trip.
• Get to the parade early: the crowd is big and the sidewalks are full. With children, it is better to find a place in a wide area.
• Stay to eat: the mistake of visitors is to watch the parade and leave. The complete plan is a parade + Chinese food in the neighborhood.
• Cameras loaded: the dragons, the costumes and the lanterns are some of the most photogenic images of the Madrid year.

The neighborhood behind the party

The New Year is the visible tip of something permanent: Spain’s largest Chinese community lives here all year round, with its supermarkets, bakeries and restaurants. The festival lasts a few days; The neighborhood awaits you 365.

If you come on those dates, check out our accommodations in Usera: sleeping five minutes from the parade is the most comfortable way to experience it.

Cover photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.