Madrid · Spain
Madrid
A practical guide to Madrid in three days: how we split the Royal Palace, the Prado and the Retiro, what to book, where to eat cocido, churros and vermouth, how to get around and the day trip to Segovia and Toledo.
With two well-ordered days you see the Royal Palace, the Prado and the taverns without rushing; the third pays off more outside the city, in Segovia and Toledo.
Madrid has no single monument that sums it up, the way the Alhambra does for Granada. It has a huge palace, one of the best museums in the world, a park that once belonged to the kings, and a way of eating standing up, at the bar and late. The center is compact and almost flat, so nearly everything is done on foot.
Our experience
We stayed three nights, May 22 to 25, at a hotel next to the Ópera. On the first day we arrived on the 6:00 AVE from Granada, had breakfast facing the palace and used the day to get our bearings: Plaza de Oriente, Plaza Mayor, roast suckling pig at Botín, the Gran Vía, vermouth in Malasaña, sunset at Debod and a night walk to Cibeles and the Puerta de Alcalá. That day we swapped the squid sandwich for the suckling pig on the fly and added the night walk.
The second day was the big one: churros at San Ginés, a guided tour of the Royal Palace, the Almudena, cocido at La Bola, the Prado, La Rosaleda and tapas on the Cava Baja. On the third day we took the day trip to Segovia and Toledo and came back for garlic shrimp. On the last morning we had breakfast at Café de Oriente again, walked around the square and caught the train to Valencia.
How to plan the days
We kept arrival day museum-free: after getting up at 4:30, we walked near the hotel and saw the Royal Palace from outside so we would know where to go in the next day. The afternoon headed north, from the Gran Vía to Malasaña, to end at the Temple of Debod at sunset.
The second day follows the map. The palace goes first, at 10:30, because it is the longest visit on your feet and because the 9:30 light on the Plaza de Oriente is the best. The Almudena is right across and La Bola is seven minutes away. After the cocido, an hour of rest and a taxi to the Prado Museum at 15:15, after the midday peak and before free entry starts at 18:00. From the Prado to the Retiro is five minutes, and from there to La Dolores, eight.
The day trip was on a Sunday because that day Toledo Cathedral opens to visitors at 14:00, right when the bus arrived. The 7:30 departure goes first to the Segovia aqueduct and the Alcázar, and in the afternoon on to Toledo.
What to eat and where
Madrid eats in old taverns. At San Ginés, open since 1894, we ordered churros with thick chocolate for dipping, about €6 with coffee. La Bola has cooked cocido since 1870 in individual clay pots and serves it in three courses: broth with noodles, chickpeas with vegetables, then the meats. À la carte it costs about €26, and we booked weeks ahead.
At Botín, from 1725, we had roast suckling pig; with no reservation, we lined up at the 13:00 opening. We did vermouth twice: vermouth on tap and salmorejo at the Bodega de la Ardosa (1892), and vermouth with boquerones en vinagre (anchovies in vinegar) at La Dolores (1908). On the Cava Baja, tortilla and croquetas at Alto Bardero, in the space Juana La Loca left behind, and huevos rotos with ham at Los Huevos de Lucio. For the night of the day trip, our plan A was the garlic shrimp at La Casa del Abuelo, from 1906.
The fried squid sandwich at La Campana, about €4, was our original plan. If you go, eat it standing under the arches of the Plaza Mayor.
Getting around Madrid
We walked about 7, 12 and 13 kilometers over three days. The 10-ride Multi card costs €12.20 and works on the metro and buses. Line 2 runs from Ópera to the Prado (Banco de España) and to Ventas, where the tour left from. With luggage or in a hurry, taxi or Uber: from Atocha to Ópera we paid about €12–15, from the hotel to the Prado €7–9 and from Debod to the Círculo about €5. To Chamartín, Cercanías C3 or C4 from Sol, included with the AVE ticket.
A little history
Madrid began as Magerit, a Muslim fortress above the Manzanares; the name Almudena comes from the Arabic al-mudayna, the citadel. Alfonso VI took it around 1085. It had about 25,000 people when Felipe II brought the court here in 1561, and the Plaza Mayor followed in 1619.
On Christmas Eve 1734 the old Habsburg Alcázar burned down. Felipe V built the current palace in its place, in stone so it would never burn again, and Carlos III was the first to live in it, in 1764. That king also transformed the Paseo del Prado and commissioned the Puerta de Alcalá. On May 2, 1808, Madrid rose up against Napoleon, as Goya painted. The Gran Vía split the medieval center between 1910 and 1929, and in the 1980s Malasaña was the stage for the Movida.
What we skipped and why
We did not eat at the Mercado de San Miguel or on the Plaza Mayor. We did not go to the Reina Sofía: with only one museum day, the Prado came first. We dropped a third tapas stop, La Concha, because of the 5:30 alarm. The inside of Debod has been closed since March 2026, and the Galería de las Colecciones Reales stayed on the list for another trip.
What to see, in order
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Plaza de Oriente and the Royal Palace
The east facade of the palace is 140 meters long and the sun hits it head-on at 9:30. In the middle of the square stands the statue of Felipe IV, the first equestrian statue balanced on the horse's hind legs alone, with calculations by Galileo. The Sabatini Gardens, free, give the best photo of the north facade.
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Almudena Cathedral
Across from the palace, on the other side of the Plaza de la Armería. It was begun in 1883 and consecrated in 1993. Entry is free, and the Neo-Romanesque crypt, with more than 400 columns with different capitals, costs €1.
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Plaza Mayor and Calle Cuchilleros
The square from 1617, rebuilt three times after fires, with 237 balconies and the painted Casa de la Panadería on the north side. The Arco de Cuchilleros leads down to Botín, open since 1725.
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La Latina and the Cava Baja
The street of taverns, above the old medieval wine cellars. On Saturdays it fills up after 21:30, so we got there at 19:15.
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Gran Vía
The avenue cut through between 1910 and 1929: the 1929 Telefónica Building, once the tallest in Europe, and the gilded dome of the Metrópolis. The best photo of the Metrópolis is from Calle de Alcalá looking west.
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Malasaña
North of the Gran Vía up Fuencarral, the neighborhood of the 1980s Movida. The Plaza del Dos de Mayo remembers the 1808 uprising, and the Bodega de la Ardosa is two minutes away.
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Temple of Debod
An Egyptian temple from the 2nd century BC at the top of the Parque del Oeste, given to Spain in 1968. It is Madrid's sunset spot: on Fridays, get there around 17:00 to find room on the grass.
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Círculo de Bellas Artes, Cibeles and Puerta de Alcalá
At night the Círculo rooftop (€6) has the Metrópolis at eye level. Walking down, it is 280 meters to Cibeles and 600 more to the 1778 Puerta de Alcalá, both floodlit.
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Prado Museum
Velázquez, Goya, Bosch and El Greco in four centuries of royal collecting. With a timed ticket and a fixed route, you see the essentials in two and a half hours.
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The Retiro and La Rosaleda
Five minutes from the Prado's south exit through the Puerta del Ángel Caído. La Rosaleda is small, free and in full bloom in the second half of May.
Tips we wish we’d known
Tips
- Pickpockets work Sol, the Plaza Mayor, the Gran Vía and the metro. The tricks that keep coming up: the woman who presses a sprig of rosemary into your hand and then asks for money, and the group with a petition clipboard while someone else goes through your bag.
- In Madrid the price depends on where you sit. A €2.50 caña (small beer) at the bar can cost €6 or €7 on a Plaza Mayor terrace.
- Madrid eats late: at places like Café de Oriente dinner starts at 21:00. For easy tapas on the Cava Baja on a Saturday, get there before 21:00.
- Check which station your train leaves from. We arrived at Atocha, but the AVE to Valencia left from Chamartín.
- On Wednesdays and Saturdays there is a changing of the guard in front of the palace, in the Plaza de la Armería, from 11:00 to 14:00. It is free.
- Carry some cash: La Campana prefers cash for the sandwich and La Bola has historically been cash only.
Do
- Buy the palace and the Prado with timed tickets and only on the official sites: there are copies of the Prado site that charge more than double.
- Do vermouth hour in a century-old tavern: vermut de grifo (vermouth on tap) at the Bodega de la Ardosa or at La Dolores.
- Buy the 10-ride Multi card at any metro machine on your first day.
- Ask for the menu in Spanish and say "sin pan, gracias" if you do not want to be charged for bread.
- Eat cocido at lunchtime and keep the time after it free: it is heavy.
Don’t
- Do not eat on the Plaza Mayor terraces or at the Mercado de San Miguel. Step into the market to see the 1916 ironwork and keep going.
- Do not accept anything someone puts in your hand, rosemary or bracelets, and do not sign petitions on the street.
- Do not take the metro with luggage. From the train to the hotel, take a taxi.
- Do not use the Prado's free hours if you only have one day: the line eats up what you save.
- Do not buy "skip-the-line" tickets from sellers on Calle Bailén.
Frequently asked questions
How many days do I need in Madrid?
Two full days for the center: one for the Habsburg quarter, the Gran Vía and Debod, and another for the Royal Palace and the Prado. We added a third day for Segovia and Toledo and the morning of the fourth to say goodbye.
Is a city card worth it in Madrid?
We did not use one. We did almost everything on foot from Ópera, the Almudena is free, and we bought the palace and the Prado separately with timed tickets. For transportation, the 10-ride Multi card at €12.20 was enough.
How do I get from Atocha station to the center?
By taxi from the rank at the south exit: about €12–15 and 20 minutes to Ópera. With luggage it beats the metro. If you leave on the AVE from Chamartín, the Cercanías C3 or C4 from Sol is included with the ticket.
Where should I stay in Madrid?
We stayed next to the Ópera, in the Habsburg quarter: two minutes from the Plaza de Oriente and the palace, and within walking distance of the Plaza Mayor, Sol and the Cava Baja. The street can be noisy, so ask for an interior room.
Is Madrid safe?
Yes, but with pickpockets in Sol, the Plaza Mayor, the Gran Vía and the metro. Phone in your front pocket, bag worn across your body, and nothing hanging from the back of your chair.
What should I eat in Madrid, and where?
Cocido at La Bola, churros with chocolate at San Ginés, roast suckling pig at Botín, vermouth on tap at the Bodega de la Ardosa, huevos rotos at Los Huevos de Lucio and garlic shrimp at La Casa del Abuelo. The fried squid sandwich, at La Campana, next to the Plaza Mayor.