Madrid(Spain): an Intro to Madrid in 3 Full Days

March /April 2017, June 2018, May 2019

We were in Madrid(population: 3.2 million) 4 times within last two years, and, based on this experience, we make following suggestions for those interested in visiting Madrid for the first time. Madrid is great for art lovers and foodies, and we’d encourage everyone to plunge in and enjoy.

We would recommend visitors to stay at least 4 nights to get to know the city, which will allow 3 full days in Madrid. It will be good to include a Sunday and a Monday: El Rastro Street Market is open on Sundays, and my favorite art museum, Thyssen-Bornemisza, is free on Mondays. Another free event to consider is the lunch time free concert at Royal Opera House from September to February at 1 PM on Fridays and some Sundays.

Central Madrid is small enough to cover by walking, and the Metro and the buses are convenient. Uber works well and just a tad bit cheaper than taxi. Therefore, staying any where in the city within the boundary of the map below will be fine. To give an idea, from the Retiro Park, the green rectangular area toward the eastern part of the city, to the Royal Palace, another green rectangular area toward the western edge of the city, is about 2.5 km(1.6 miles).

We have stayed at 4 different Airbnb apartments: one near Anton Martin station (between Atocha & Puerto del Sol), one right across the river from the Royal Palace, another one right near Puerto del Sol, and one near Tribunal station(between Callao and San Bernardo). You can look at the full metro map here.  Our favorite so far was the last one because the narrow streets in this area were more intimate and neighborhood-ly, and we could walk to every where within 20 minutes, and there were so many places to eat, shop, hang out etc. that locals were frequenting.

One of the things we love in Spain is “menu del dia” lunch specials. Every restaurant in Spain was required by law to offer a lunch deal during the week up until 2010, and this tradition is still carried on. These multi course meals come with drinks: soda, beer, or wine. In Madrid, you see lots of deals around 8 – 14 euro range. One thing to remember is that lunch time doesn’t start till 12:30 or 1 PM at most restaurants. Here is a sample of best “Menu del Dia” offerings compiled by a tour company in Madrid:

Other than the Thyssen Museum mentioned above, I recommend two other art museums: Prado Museum(one of the great art museums in the world) and Reina Sofia Art Museum(modern Spanish art). Both have free admission hours daily.

I like Thyssen because it offers a panorama of great art works in a more intimate setting, and you can actually look at each art work and appreciate better. Reina Sofia gives you an idea how active Spanish artists have been in modern times. Prada, really, is one of the great museums in every sense: the depth/width of their collection, the architecture, sheer enormity of the place etc. You feel that you are touched by art just by being there. Sadly, though, these great museums simply have too much to look at & attract too many people so that walking around in your own pace is almost impossible.

Here’s how I would organize daily schedules around free museum hours and varied food tasting opportunities. Unfortunately, arriving on a weekend will erase chances of getting more/better lunch special deals.

Day 1: Saturday

• a walking tour starting from Puerto del Sol around 10 AM or so. Look around.
• continue to Plaza Mayor and the small streets around there, walk around
• stop at Plaza de la Villa, walk around the area and a bit south
• go back up to Plaza Mayor area & have lunch at San Miguel Market, one of the most attractive food courts in the world, in my opinion. The stalls here have gotten more upscale and expensive, I’ve noticed, but you can hunt for some bargains if you study carefully. For instance, there are 1 euro tapas and 2-3 euro sea food preparations

• Uber to Atocha Station & go inside to see the unusual design of the interior.
• walk north for several blocks & stop at CaixaForum to view the building design & go up to the top floor to rest at the cafe, catch some exhibits if anything interesting is going on
• go across the street & visit the botanical garden(4 euros)
• go next door to Prado Museum(free admission 6-8PM on Saturday)
• dinner: La Malontina, a 10 minute walk from Prado, exquisite food under 20 euros
• stop for churros and hot choco at Maestro Churros

 

Day 2: Sunday

• go to El Rastro flea market(9 AM – 3 PM): better to go after 11 AM for people watching but earlier for shopping and haggling
• have tapas in the area
• go to Toledo circle & get on #C1, that circles around the city to see more of the city while resting your feet
• the bus will go north, then turn east, then turn south; get off at an eastern entrance to Retiro Park. (Av. Meneddez Pelayo stop will work well, there’s a big children’s hospital near the stop)

• enter the park, slowly walking toward the pond in the middle
• sit around the pond, admire the artsy settings, watch people
• continue walking toward the western edge of the park & you will come out behind Prado Museum. Pass this area, cross the street, walk down south on the tree lined street, Paseo del Prado
• at the end of this street, go around the corner & arrive at Reina Sofia Museum (free  from 1:30 to 7 PM on Sunday), get to the ticket window to pick up the free tickets & enter the museum
• dinner: Uber to San Anton Market & pick what appeals to you.

 

Day 3: Monday

• go to Plaza Espana to admire Cervantes and two of his famous characters: Don Quixote and Sancho
• walk 10-15 minutes to the Royal Palace (looks more modest than the pictures) to see the official residence of the royal family. We never went inside, thus, we are not sure whether it’s worth the money and time to go inside. The Cathedral is next door on the south side, but, there are more attractive buildings in this town. It doesn’t look as impressive as in the photos.
• across the street from the Palace is Oriente Plaza, and you will see the Royal Theater behind it.
• walk east toward Puerto de Sol for 15-20 minutes and go to Museo del Vino(Wine Museum) restaurant to experience their 12 euro lunch special. They open at noon, and the food portions are extremely generous.
• walk east for another 10-15 minutes & reach Thyssen Museum, free on Mondays from noon to 4 PM.

• exiting the museum, walk north for a few blocks to the City Hall. Admire the view of this area & start walking on Gran Via, the Broadway of Madrid. As soon as you step onto this street, you will notice an outdoor artisan market diagonally across from the City Hall. Browse through if the market is open. Walk slowly on Gran Via, looking around, stepping into some stores. Primark is a huge fashion store with reasonable price tags. Walk south toward Puerto del Sol from here & mingle with the crowd that fill up the streets around here. Keep walking & pass Plaza Mayor, reach San Miguel Market & turn south from there to find Cava Baja Street, A.K.A the Tapas Street.
• dinner at Casa Lucas. Great food & wine. 4  people in our party, we spent under 20 euros per head.