Madrid's LGBT quarter and one of the most fashionable neighbourhoods in central Spain. Centred on Plaza de Chueca and the surrounding streets, Chueca is dense with rainbow-painted bars, gay-friendly restaurants, design boutiques, and the rebuilt Mercado de San Antón food market. Every July, Madrid Pride (Orgullo) effectively shuts the neighbourhood down for a week of street parties that draw two million visitors.
Outside Pride week, Chueca remains lively, cosmopolitan, and one of the better areas for a stylish dinner. Calle Augusto Figueroa and Calle Hortaleza are the main commercial spines; El Tigre on Calle Infantas serves notoriously generous free tapas with each beer. The neighbourhood adjoins Malasaña to the west and Salamanca to the east, and most of Madrid's serious nightlife happens in this triangle. Metro Chueca.