If you are planning your next trip to Madrid, we will help you organize your visit with the best recommendations on what to see and do in the Spanish capital.
Madrid is a majestic city with plans for all tastes, so it is impossible to get bored. Spend a few unforgettable days visiting museums, monuments, parks, markets and much more. Enjoy the Spanish gastronomy and have fun with the cultural proposals of the capital. Discover both the tourist plans and the hidden corners of Madrid.
The essentials for your first time in Madrid
If you are visiting Madrid for the first time, you cannot miss the most touristic places in the city:
- Start your morning savoring a good chocolate with churros at the San Ginés chocolate shop.
- Stroll through the Retiro Park, enter the Crystal Palace and take a boat in the Estanque Grande. The famous Puerta de Alcalá is right next to the Retiro Park, so you can't leave the area without seeing it.
- Have a calamari sandwich or a coffee in the Plaza Mayor.
- Visit the Royal Palace, the official residence of the King of Spain, and stroll through the Campo del Moro gardens.
- Walk along Madrid's Gran Vía and enjoy the best views from the terrace of The Principal while having a drink.
- Step on kilometer 0 at Puerta del Sol, symbol of the new year in Spain.
- Lose yourself in Madrid's impressive museums. We especially recommend the Prado Museum, the Reina Sofia Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and the Sorolla Museum.
- Stroll through the Barrio de las Letras and keep an eye on the ground, where you will find quotes from famous writers such as Miguel de Cervantes, Quevedo or Lope de Vega.
- Spend Sunday morning at El Rastro market in Madrid and buy some antiques. Discover here our recommendations on what to see and eat in El Rastro.
10 alternative Madrid plans to make you feel like a local
Whether you already know Madrid or if it's your first time in the city but you want to feel like a real Madrileño, we recommend 10 less touristy but very popular plans among locals:
- Discover the ghost metro station of Chamberí.
- Stroll through the Capricho Park, one of the most beautiful and at the same time most unknown in Madrid.
- Go shopping in the "Golden Mile" of the Salamanca neighborhood.
- At lunchtime take a tapas route starting at the Mercado de San Miguel.
- If you like avant-garde art, you can't miss La Neomudéjar.
- Stroll around the Templo de Debod at sunset.
- Buy tickets to go to a musical on Madrid's Gran Vía.
- Experience Madrid's nightlife first hand at the city's most famous speakeasy: Medias Puri. And if you feel like a more summer plan, in the Ojalá restaurant in the Malasaña neighborhood you will feel like in a beach bar (with sand included).
- Get away from the hustle and bustle in Madrid and discover the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, a World Heritage Site in Spain. Madrileños like to go to El Escorial to spend the day and enjoy the Castilian gastronomy.
- If you like adventures, spend a fun day at one of the following amusement parks: Parque de Atracciones de Madrid or Parque Warner.
Download here our guide to Madrid and discover the best of the capital of Spain.
