Viva la siesta! The best places to have a nice nap in Madrid

One of the great virtues of the English language is its capacity to unashamedly absorb barbarisms. From the Spanish language it has adopted words such as “patio”, “conquistador”, “toreador”, “paella”, “fiesta”, “machismo” and, of course, “siesta”. Perhaps some of these words don’t shine a kind light over Spain but what is clear is that the benefits of the latter (in English some people call it a power nap, perhaps to remove its lazy connotations) have been proven time and time again by science. The main problem is that it’s hard to have a nap in the big cities if you don’t have a hotel room or your home isn’t close.

Siesta and Go, which opened its doors last June, is an initiative which covers this need, providing a space to enjoy a brief rest before you carry on with your day. Located in the Nuevos Ministerios district (Calle Orenses, 10), right in the heart of Madrid’s business district, it offers a service of siesta by the minute and the option of reading newspapers, charging your phone or simply unwinding from the everyday hustle and bustle. Siesta and Go has different options to sleep on, which range from an armchair, a puff and even a single room, as well as bunk beds whose prices go from 0.03€ to 0.23€ per minute. Its promoters state that it’s a service which has already taken off in other cities such as New York, Paris, London, Brussels and Tokyo among others, which is quite ironic if you think that Spain is the home of the siesta.

Up until now, the siesta space par excellence in Madrid was El Retiro, which isn’t a bad option when the weather is nice. However, this new option has professionalised this practice even more, a practice which the writer Francisco Umbral jokingly labelled the “Iberian yoga”.

Categories: Madrid Ocio, Madrid Turismo