THIS WEEK IN Madrid, temperatures hit 40 degrees, and the city has effectively shut down.

Far away from any coastal breeze, Madrid bakes in the first official heatwave on record for this year, accompanied by a palpable fear that this will not be the last one to hit the capital this summer.

I’ve lived here for over 10 years now, and anytime I tell someone back in Ireland how long I’ve been here, I’m nearly always met with the same response: “The weather must be lovely. We could do with a bit more of that here — the rain never seems to stop these days.”

While there is no denying that Spain is a sunny country, Madrid alone records almost 3,000 hours of sunshine annually, more than double that of Dublin. I’d urge caution at the thought that life here is something akin to a holiday postcard, defined by golden sandy beaches, cool ocean breezes and warm summer sunshine.

Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Madrid is landlocked, sitting on a high plateau in the centre of the country. There is no sea to take the edge off the heat here; instead, you are surrounded by kilometres of granite, brick and asphalt that soak up the heat and hold onto it.

So, what is it like to........

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