Tetuán names a district rather than a neighbourhood. It covers 537 hectares and holds 6 official neighbourhoods called Bellas Vistas, Cuatro Caminos, Castillejos, Almenara, Valdeacederas and Berruguete, none of them carrying the district’s name. Inside it sits AZCA, which together with Avenida de Brasil forms one of Madrid’s 4 special acoustic protection zones, with its own licensing regime for nightlife.
What is Tetuán in Madrid? A district of 537 hectares with 6 neighbourhoods: Bellas Vistas, Cuatro Caminos, Castillejos, Almenara, Valdeacederas and Berruguete. None is called Tetuán. It contains the AZCA and Avenida de Brasil acoustic zone, one of the city’s 4, and it is not a special-protection traffic zone.
The Tetuán district is one of Madrid’s twenty-one administrative units, with six neighbourhoods delimited in their present form in 1987. What marks it out on the regulatory map is holding one of the city’s four declared acoustic perimeters, which governs which venues may open inside it and how far apart they must stand.
An office district with nightlife rules
This is the unusual part, and it is worth grasping before reading anything else about the area.
Of Madrid’s four special acoustic protection zones, one covers AZCA and Avenida de Brasil here. The other three are the Centro district and two in Chamberí, covering Gaztambide and Trafalgar with Ríos Rosas. Inside a declared zone a new nightlife venue must keep 100 metres from existing ones where the noise objective is exceeded by 10 dBA or more, 75 metres between 5 and 10 dBA and 30 metres below that, in Madrid noise protection zones.
The six neighbourhoods by size
This is one of the balanced districts, without the extreme jumps of Moncloa-Aravaca or Latina.
| Neighbourhood | Code | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Berruguete | 66 | 60.7 hectares |
| Castillejos | 63 | 70.5 hectares |
| Bellas Vistas | 61 | 71.5 hectares |
| Almenara | 64 | 99.9 hectares |
| Valdeacederas | 65 | 116.3 hectares |
| Cuatro Caminos | 62 | 118.5 hectares |
Largest to smallest is under double, a spread similar to Chamberí’s, in the Chamberí district guide. The wider naming pattern is in Madrid neighbourhoods, official and popular.
Driving and parking
The district does not inherit the reinforced regime of the old town, which makes it more reachable by car.
Tetuán is not a special-protection zone; those are the Centro district and Plaza Elíptica, in Madrid’s low emission zones explained. An emissions label is still needed under the city-wide zone, in driving into Madrid’s low emission zones. Street parking caps at 4 hours in blue bays and 2 in green, in Madrid street parking rules.
Eating and going out here
Opening hours come from two different authorities rather than from the district, which is the part that catches visitors out.
The set lunch is a midday product with no legal definition, in menú del día in Madrid. Maximum hours for bars are regional, in Madrid closing times for bars and clubs, and terrace hours municipal and seasonal, in Madrid terrace closing times.
It is also second in the city for tourist apartment supply, with 122 addresses and 177 units, ahead of Salamanca on 48 and Chamberí on 45.
Frequently asked questions about the Tetuán district
What is AZCA and why does it have its own rules?
AZCA is the office complex in the Tetuán district which, together with Avenida de Brasil, forms one of Madrid’s four special acoustic protection zones. Inside it a new nightlife venue must keep 100, 75 or 30 metres from existing ones.
Which neighbourhoods make up Tetuán?
Six. Bellas Vistas at 71.5 hectares, Cuatro Caminos at 118.5, Castillejos at 70.5, Almenara at 99.9, Valdeacederas at 116.3 and Berruguete at 60.7. None of them is called Tetuán, which names the district itself.
How big is the Tetuán district?
537 hectares, almost identical to the Salamanca district at 539 and slightly more than Centro at 523. Its largest neighbourhood is Cuatro Caminos at 118.5 hectares and its smallest is Berruguete at 60.7.
Can you drive around Tetuán?
Yes, with an emissions label. Tetuán is not one of the two special-protection zones, which are the Centro district and Plaza Elíptica, but the city-wide low emission zone covering every urban road still applies here.
How many acoustic zones does Madrid have?
Four. One in the Centro district, one covering AZCA and Avenida de Brasil in Tetuán, and two in Chamberí, covering the Gaztambide neighbourhood and Trafalgar with Ríos Rosas. Chamberí is the only district holding two.
Six neighbourhoods that do not carry the district’s name, and an office perimeter governed like a bar street.