With sunny skies almost year-round, friendly locals and a reputation for buena vida — a good life — Madrid has a lot to offer a visitor. Whether you’re an art connoisseur, a history aficionado, a foodie or a shopaholic, Spain’s capital is teeming with choices that could impress even the most seasoned traveler.
Here are 10 things to put on your Madrid must-do list.
Connect with History
To learn about the city’s storied past, take a free walking tour. Offered by several companies — Sandemans Neweurope, Free Walking Tours Madrid and Strawberry Tours — these tours are tip-based and, as such, often entertaining.
Guides combine bits of history you won’t learn elsewhere with presentations that are fun and engaging. Strawberry Tours also offers a Free Tapas Tour and a Free Art Quarters Tour, so check those out if you’re looking for something less general.
Admire World-Famous Art
Located within a stone’s throw of each other, Madrid’s three largest art museums are known as the Golden Triangle of Art. One of them, Museo del Prado, celebrates its bicentennial this year; its vast collection includes Velázquez’s “Las Meninas,” Bosch’s “The Garden of Earthly Delights” and a few paintings by Francisco Goya.
To see Picasso’s “Guernica” and several pieces by Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró, stop by the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. To complete your art immersion, visit the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, with its impressive selection of impressionists and 19th-century American artists.
Sample Traditional Dishes
For a Madrid classic — the bocadillo de calamares — go no further than the environs of the Plaza Mayor. The streets leading to the square house many bars that serve this quintessential Madrid sandwich, lightly fried squid rings packed into a roll of crusty bread. Still, La Campana is considered to be among the best and a true local hangout in the midst of the otherwise touristy area.
Savor another Spanish dish, tortilla de patatas, at Casa Dani, a local restaurant de toda la vida, as the neighbors will tell you, located in Mercado de la Paz, Barrio de Salamanca market or at the more modern Juana La Loca in La Latina.
Enjoy Stall-to-Table Cuisine
Mercado San Miguel, located next to Plaza Mayor, is the most famous example of a market, but for a more local experience, eat your way through the many tapas stalls at Chueca’s San Anton Market or try a perfectly grilled sea bass prepared by the spouse of one of the fishmongers at the Mercado de la Paz.
Relax in the Parque del Retiro (El Retiro)
The refuge of the Spanish monarchy until the mid 1800s, today El Retiro’s 350 acres is where both city dwellers and visitors come to unwind, picnic, exercise and spend time with family and friends.
Row a boat on its artificial lake, the Retiro Pond; stroll through the Rosaleda Rose Garden; or take in an art exhibition at the Casa de Vacas or Palacio de Cristal. Wrap up your visit with a gin and tonic, the quintessential Madrid cocktail, at Florida Retiro, a culinary complex that houses several restaurants, bars and cafés.
Dine in One of the Oldest Restaurants in the World
Located close to Plaza Mayor, Sobrino de Botín is one of the oldest continuously operating restaurants in the world.
Known for its still-in-use, centuries-old, wood-fired oven; a menu of traditional delicacies; and a few famous visitors and employees (Hemingway was a fan, and before embarking on his more famous occupation, Goya worked as a waiter and a dishwasher) it serves its diners on four separate floors — each decorated with its own historical theme.
Go Shopping
For famous international brands the likes of Prada, Louis Vuitton and Gucci, browse the shops on Calle Serrano in the posh Barrio de Salamanca.
If you’re interested in Spanish designers, drop into Loewe, Adolfo Dominguez or Purificacion Garcia on the same street — or go one street over to the parallel Calle Claudio Coello where you’ll find smaller local boutiques.
To peruse through collection upon collection of made-in-Spain shoes, head to Calle de Augusto Figueroa in the Chueca barrio, home to several muestrarios and, often, lower prices.
Go Tapeando
Join locals and tourists alike to sample tapas on Calle de Cava Baja in Madrid’s La Latina neighborhood, a street full of bars and small restaurants. Weave in and out of each and try whatever appeals to you — most tapas are displayed in glassed-in cases right on the bar.
If you prefer a more upscale tapas experience, head to Platea, an old movie theater that was turned into a multilevel culinary and drink haven in Barrio de Salamanca.
Visit Old Mansions and Houses-Turned-Museums
To peek inside the lives of the rich and famous — and to admire their art collections — visit Madrid’s house museums. The Sorolla Museum, located in the former home and studio of Joaquín Sorolla, the Spanish painter famous for his depiction of the Mediterranean light, boasts a large number of his pieces and a garden the artist designed himself.
The Lope de Vega house is a perfect example of a typical 17th-century house, the Cerralbo Museum has all the trimmings of a 19th-century aristocrat’s home, and the Lázaro Galdiano Foundation Museum is housed in the mansion of a former publisher whose collection includes pieces by Goya and El Greco, as well as singular copies of valuable medieval manuscripts.
Attend a Zarzuela
Head to Madrid’s Teatro de la Zarzuela to take in a performance of this Spanish operetta believed to have been born in the city. With themes often rooted in the social realities of centuries past, Zarzuela is your window into the customs, culture and history of Spain.
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