May is a very popular month for Madrileños and for visitors coming to rent Madrid apartments. As with most places, the month starts with a public holiday on May 1st for Labour Day, but in Madrid the 2nd of May is also a public holiday marking the revolt in Puerta del Sol that sparked the Spanish War of Independence. The Madrid people need little encouraging to enjoy themselves, but two consecutive days off work allow the capital city to provide a party atmosphere that is fully taken advantage of.

Less than two weeks later and the atmosphere is still buzzing as Madrid prepares again to let down its hair for the Fiestas de San Isidro, the patron saint of Madrid. During the week or ten days either side of the saint's day, concerts are held in the Plaza Mayor, the Vistillas park near the palace becomes a verbena, an open-air dance-hall, and many Madrid castizos, true-blue natives, will dress up in one of their local costumes. There are two kinds of costume: the majos and majas, and the chulos and chulapas. The latter, ingrained in the spirit of Madrid, involves men wearing costume rather like that of London's pearly kings and queens which probably dates from around the same time - white neckerchiefs, black-and-white check jackets, waistcoats and caps for the women clinging, frilly dresses with headscarves. The lady dances in courtly fashion around the man, who rotates arrogantly on the spot, only shuffling his feet to face his partner (almost a chulo statement). It is very theatrical and a great pleasure to watch. It can provide a pleasant alternative to sightseeing for any visitors renting apartments in Madrid for rent.

The Museo de San Isidro is one of the more recent additions to Madrid's historical museums and contains interesting perspectives on the city's progress through the ages, via Paleolithic, Roman, and Muslim eras to the present day, using plans, sketches, models, paintings, and archaeological finds transferred from the Municipal Museum. The museum stands on the site where the saint is said to have rescued his son from a well, into which he had fallen, by making the water rise. The well, purportedly the original, is located in the middle of the building.

The weather in May is perfect for the festival. Visitors can spend the day, out of their Madrid accommodation for rent, soaking up the sun without feeling the humidity and suffocation often associated with July and August in Madrid. Looking down from rented Madrid apartments, you should find processions of all kinds. Often extravagant religious processions and sometimes even processions of old vehicles like the one which takes place down Paseo de la Castellana.