One of the most bizarre experiences that I’ve had in my life (and there’s been quite a few, let me tell you…) is spending an August in Madrid.

Above: Moncloa. Where IS everyone?!

Why? Well, the old adage about this city is “nueve meses de invierno y tres de infierno”, which translates to “nine months of winter and three of hell.” And August is the most hellish of these hell months. Think of Dante’s inferno. Think walking across scorching coals. Think of being inside an oven. And you still won’t even be CLOSE to imagining a Madrid August.

And I’m NOT exaggerating.

“You’re Australian! Why are you complaining about the heat?!” you may be saying. And fair point. However, the heat in Madrid is completely different to the heat in Sydney, where I’m from. It’s a dry heat in Madrid (👍🏻), but the problem is that it’s unrelenting- even at night, it’s 23 degrees. There is simply no respite. Add to this the fact that most houses/apartments are poorly insulated and/or lack aircon (I’m not joking), and you can understand why this place is a hellhole during August.

So, what do the Madrileños do? How do the locals cope with this hell? In a word- FLEE. In general, they will go to a cooler part of Spain (Asturias, Galicia, País Vasco), and spend the worst part of the heatwave there.

But here lies the conundrum…

Normally, Madrid is filthy, polluted, and overcrowded. However, during August, it’s none of these things. There’s no traffic. There’s minimal pollution. There’s no rush or bother. It’s absolutely wonderful.

Except for the heat.

So what do you do? Enjoy the emptiness and the solitude, albeit constrained by the hellish temperature? Or should you flee like everyone else? I don’t know, but let’s just say, this forecast doesn’t fill me with hope!