Madrid, Spain
Plaza de Cibeles, located in the heart of Madrid, is a Neo-Classical structure built from marble which houses the Ayuntamiento de Madrid (City Hall).
Spain’s Heart and Soul
Madrid is Spain’s mighty capital; the heart and soul of the Iberian Peninsula, alive and bustling with activity. Madrid feels larger than life yet strangely relaxed compared to other European capital cities. It’s charming, grand, and full of activities for all kinds of travelers. The perfect city for Spanish lovers and dazzling fiestas, you won’t want to miss it!
Top Things to Do in Madrid
Being the capital city of one of the largest countries in Europe, Madrid has a lot of different sites to visit, ranging from world-class art museums to beautiful parks. Here are some of the most popular places you can visit.
El Palacio Real (Royal Palace)
The Royal Palace of Madrid is the largest functioning palace in Europe, with over 3,400 rooms, in the center of Madrid. Wow is it big! It’s the official residence place of the Royal Family of Spain, but they do not live there, so tourists are free to tour the elaborately designed rooms. It was constructed in the 18th century in the Baroque style. Attached to the side of the palace are the Sabatini Gardens, which are a great place to get pictures of one of the facades of the royal residence. On the other side of the palace, you can enter the main courtyard to find the ticket counter and main entrance. Opposite the entrance to the Royal Palace, you will find La Catedral de la Almudena (Almudena Cathedral) which is the seat of the Roman Archdiocese of Madrid.
A view of the northern facade of the Palacio Real from the Jardines de Sabatini. Although the palace was closed for a state ceremony this trip, my friend Monette and I enjoyed the gardens and the great weather.
Enjoying a sunny March day at the Catedral de la Almudena with my Venezuelan friend Luis.
Consecration of the Almudena Cathedral in 1993 by Pope John Paul II. I wanted to include this picture because it provides an excellent view of the opposite facade of the Royal Palace of Madrid and the types of ceremonies that have been held in the courtyard between the two iconic buildings.
El Museo del Prado (The Prado Museum)
The Prado Museum is one of the best art museums in Europe, housing a stunning collection of art from the 12th to the 20th centuries. Among the greatest works of Spanish art are kept in this museum from Velázquez and Goya, including Las Meninas and The Third of May. Other works of art from Rubens, El Greco, Titian, and Bosch can be found in the Prado. I also include a picture of The Garden of Earthy Delights below . If you are a lover of a great art museum reminiscent of the Louvre in Paris, then the Prado is the right place for you.
TIPS: The Prado is one of the most popular museums in Madrid and the lines to get tickets are sometimes very long! I suggest you buy your tickets beforehand online. There is also free admission for the budget traveller on Monday-Saturday from 6-8pm and Sunday from 5-7pm (just before closing.) You could easily spend up to three hours in this place so manage your time carefully!
A hallway in the Prado museum featuring the great Dutch and Spanish masterpieces of the 16th century. When visiting the Prado, or any famous art museum for that matter, it is always worth the effort to arrive as early as possible (when the museum first opens.) This gives you the opportunity to examine artworks without crushing hordes of tourists breathing down your neck. Art museums are best appreciated when you can quietly reflect and analyze what you are looking at!
Above: Garden of Earthly Delights (1490-1510) by Hieronymus Bosch, Las Meninas (1656) by Diego Velázquez, and The Third of May (1814) by Francisco Goya.
La Plaza Mayor
Perhaps the most touristy spot in Madrid, the Plaza Mayor is a large square in the heart of the city. Avoid the outrageously priced bars and restaurants and just enjoy the architecture. A statue of King Phillip III sits in the center.
El Parque del Buen Retiro
The Retiro Park is one Madrid’s largest parks and green spaces within the city. This is my favorite place to visit when I go to Madrid because of there are lots of great monuments, gardens, and other activities to enjoy within the park. Among the most famous places to visit in the Retiro include the Palacio de Cristal (Crystal Palace,) the Monumento a Alfonso XII (Monument to Alfonso XII), and the Fuente del Ángel Caído (Fountain of the Fallen Angel.)
One of the joys of wandering through the Retiro is that it’s laid out in a well-organized fashion that makes it easy to find all the major sights, while still maintaining an atmosphere of peace and quiet. Finding a hidden corner somewhere and setting up a picnic without getting lost is no challenge. My friend Monette and I happened to stumble onto a grove near the Monument to Alfonso, and we stopped to sit and eat some delicious cupcakes we had bought near Gran Via that morning. Even on a rainy day (such as the one enjoyed by my friend Sarah and I,) the park has a misty, serene quality that turns the whole place into an enchanted forest. The park is quite large; it takes at least 30 minutes to walk from one side to the other.
Looking for some fun activities to do while in the Retiro? Renting a rowboat on the lake in front of Alfonso XII is always a fun option (watch out on weekends, the lines get really long.) Monette and I rented a rowboat and took turns figuring out how to make the boat go in the direction we wanted; it’s not as easy as it looks in the photos! You can also make your way over to the Crystal Palace, an old conservatory made entirely of glass and iron. Nestled in a throng of trees, the translucent palace might escape your vision at first because the glass appears almost invisible. You really can see right through it! It no longer has an official purpose, but it does host local art exhibitions.
El Museo de la Reina Sofia
For all modern art lovers, this museum is a must see! The Reina Sofia museum is located in the Atocha district, near Madrid’s central train station and the Retiro park. The most famous painting you will see here is Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, a gigantic painting depicting the Fascist bombing on the small Basque village of Guernica in 1937. It is one of Picasso’s most famous works, a testament to the horrors of war, and credited with bringing international attention to the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939.) Many of the paintings in this museum are unconventional so it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s a fantastic place to brush up on 20th century European art movements.
Inside the Reina Sofia, there is a small courtyard with statues, a modern art sculpture, and benches for relaxing.
Two artworks featured in the Reina Sofia: Delicate Tension (1923) by Wassily Kandinsky and La Casa de la Palmera (1918) by Joan Miró.
El Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
This lesser-known museum quietly sits in the heart of Madrid, but it packs a serious punch. The Thyssen-Bornemisza museum hosts a large private collection of works that are not included in the other two museums. Specifically, you can find Dutch Golden Age, German, Italian, and English art as well as Impressionist, Expressionist, and American art from the 20th century. There are often great exhibitions featured on the ground floor to check out.
Rue Saint-Honoré in the Afternoon. Effect of Rain (1897) by Camille Pissarro, Woman in Bath (1963) by Roy Lichtenstein, and Les Vessenots in Auvers (1890) by Vincent Van Gogh.
La Latina
La Latina is a neighborhood in central Madrid that is famous for its beautiful buildings, old churches, and vibrant tapas scene. Hit up El Viajero and Juana la Loca (two of my favorite tapas restaurants in the neighborhood.) On Sundays you can visit El Rastro, Madrid’s huge open air flea market. El Rastro is not something to be missed; street vendors selling clothes, tourist paraphernalia, and other odd trinkets line the twisty avenues. We spent about an hour wandering around the lively scene and left thoroughly exhausted with some neat gifts.
Food and Culture in Madrid
The Famously Late Spanish Schedule
Many people are aware of the difference in the timing of the Spanish schedule: they eat later than the rest of Europe and the Americas. For the tourist just passing through, it might be hard to understand why Spain is the only country on this weird, later schedule, but it appears to come down to two reasons. 1: Spain is very hot, especially in the south, so people tend to eat dinner later when the sun sets and it cools down, and 2: Spain is in the wrong time zone. The entire country adheres to Central European Time (the same as Budapest, 2,520km east of Madrid) instead of Greenwich Median Time (the same as England and Portugal, at similar latitude to Spain.) The time zone misalignment harkens back to the days of Fascist Spain, when Spanish dictator Francisco Franco met with Adolf Hitler on the French border in 1940 to try and form an alliance between the two countries. When Franco ultimately decided to remain neutral in WWII, he moved the clocks ahead one hour to be in line with Nazi Germany, and they haven’t changed back since then. Doing everything later has become such an important cultural phenomenon in Spain that moving the clocks back might not be enough to change the Spanish mindset…
Meeting of Franco and Hitler in Hendaye, France in 1940. Although Spain never joined the Axis powers in WWII, they moved their clocks forward one hour to be in line with Nazi Germany and still haven’t changed them back.
The typical Spaniard eats lunch around 2pm and dinner at 9pm (sometimes later on weekends.) While the eating schedule may be confusing and hard to adjust to, I think it’s worth it to experience the local atmosphere and see how Madrileños socialize and interact with each other on their time. They are quite an active bunch and bring high energy to the neighborhood tapas bars around the city. Below is a great example of the typical scene at a restaurant near the Retiro Park. Many Spanish people eat tapas (smaller plates of food) standing directly at the bar and not sitting at a table. This style of eating is a little bit more sociable and intimate, as you are surrounded by other eaters who may strike up conversation with you. It also gives you the opportunity to talk to the waiters and cooks; our waiters were very friendly and eager to practice their English with us.
Monette enjoying a glass of Rioja wine at a standing tapas bar. This was our favorite meal of the entire trip because of the fantastic food and the opportunity to eat like a typical Spanish person would.
Madrid restaurant recommendations
There are thousands of restaurants in Madrid, but the secret to finding the best ones is through word of mouth and a little research on Google. Ask friends for recommendations or search on Google for highly rated restaurants and read a few reviews to see what other people have to say about the place. Here are just a few of the places I have enjoyed while in the city.
La Carmencita Bar
Carmencita Bar is famous for its American-style breakfast and lunch foods, and has two locations on adjacent streets (both are quite small and fill up fast.) Given that a Spanish breakfast is normally tiny (a croissant and coffee,) this restaurant is bound to delight visiting tourists who need something a little more substantial and filling. They offer everything from pancakes and bacon to American style hamburgers, with big cups of coffee to boot. Don’t miss it!
Address: Calle San Vincente Ferrer 51
Phone: (+34) 915238073
American/Spanish breakfast food at Carmencita.
Federal Café
Federal Café is an Australian style café in the Malasaña neighborhood that serves breakfast and brunch foods that cater to foodies and health nuts. They serve great smoothies and have many options for vegetarians and meat eaters alike.
Address: Plaza de las Comendadoras, 9
Phone: (+34) 915328424
Broken eggs and banana french toast at Federal Café.
Taberna El Sur
El Sur is a cozy taberna tucked away near the Anton Martin metro stop. Retro paintings line the walls of this establishment, which serves traditional Spanish plates and tapas. We went for lunch here and had some fantastic small courses. Everything was fresh and full of flavor.
Location: Calle Torrecilla del Leal 12
Phone: (+34) 915278340
A beautiful (and delicious) octopus dish at El Sur.
Restaurante Castelados
Located just off the northeast side of the Retiro Park, this neighborhood restaurant is a MUST visit for authentic Spanish flavor in every dish. Rarely have I eaten in a restaurant and been blown away by every single dish. The flavors were just phenomenal, and I remember watching Monette’s face light up after every bite of food she took! We loved the monkfish salad, the rice with octopus, and the fried eggs with beans.
Location: Calle de Antonio Acuña 18
Phone: (+34) 910515625
