Daytime rooftop view down Gran Vía in Madrid, with the domed Metropolis building in the foreground

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MadridTravel Guide

Spain8 stories

Spain's high-altitude capital concentrates an astonishing share of Western art along a single boulevard — the Paseo del Arte — and backs it up with grand squares, late dinners, and a museum bench of house collections most cities would lead with.

When to come

April–June, September–October

What it costs

Mid-range. Comfortable without planning around money, expensive if you stop counting.

What we've planned, and who for

No hour-by-hour route here yet — the guides below cover it by subject instead.

Madrid is inThe ones everyone goes to Deepest in Europe

When to go

April–June, September–October

Budget level

Mid-range

Typical cost profile for visitors

Combine it with

Valencia300 km
a short hop — comfortable overland · both good in April, May, June
Bilbao320 km
a short hop — comfortable overland · both good in May, June, September
San Sebastián350 km
half a day's travel · both good in June, September · a different price level (mixed)
Granada360 km
half a day's travel · both good in April, May, October · a different price level (budget)

Plan itWhere to stay in Madridad · Booking.comTours and tickets

On the map

Finding Madrid

Open in Google Maps Larger map

The stories

Reading Madrid

Planning

Madrid, place by place

Everything below is named in one of our own stories about Madrid. The line under each is the sentence that recommended it, and the link goes to the piece it came from.

Where to stay

The areas and addresses our writers put first

Quique Olivar
Gran Vía
Madrid's Broadway is lined with early-20th-century towers, many now hotels with rooftop bars looking down the boulevard.
The Storied Hotels of Madrid, Neighborhood by Neighborhood Check prices
Paseo del Prado
Madrid
This leafy boulevard beside the museum triangle is where Madrid's hotel aristocracy lives.
The Storied Hotels of Madrid, Neighborhood by Neighborhood Check prices
Centro and Sol
Madrid
Around Puerta del Sol, a cluster of ornate former bank headquarters has been reborn, crowned by the Four Seasons Hotel Madrid in the restored Canalejas complex — a landmark conversion that signalled Madrid's arrival i…
The Storied Hotels of Madrid, Neighborhood by Neighborhood Check prices
Barrio de las Letras
Madrid
The old writers' quarter — Cervantes lived here — is now a walkable pocket of plazas, tapas bars and small boutique hotels in historic buildings.
The Storied Hotels of Madrid, Neighborhood by Neighborhood Check prices
Chueca and Malasaña
Madrid
Madrid's most fashionable neighbourhoods do smaller design hotels and hip hostels rather than palaces.
The Storied Hotels of Madrid, Neighborhood by Neighborhood Check prices

Where to eat

Tables worth crossing the city for

Churros at San Ginés
Madrid
Fried dough batons dunked in chocolate thick enough to stand a spoon in.
Cheap Eats in Madrid That Punch Far Above Their Price See on the map

What to see

The things that justify the trip

Ester Lamberti
Museo del Prado
The royal collection made public, and still the deepest gallery of European old masters anywhere.
The Greatest Museums of Madrid, Ranked See on the map
Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza
Madrid
The connoisseur's museum: one family's collection spanning seven centuries, hung chronologically so you can walk from medieval panel painting to Pop art in an afternoon.
The Greatest Museums of Madrid, Ranked See on the map
Museo Sorolla
Madrid
The painter Joaquín Sorolla's house and studio, kept much as he left it, north of the centre in Chamberí.
The Greatest Museums of Madrid, Ranked See on the map
Museo Lázaro Galdiano
Madrid
A financier's private hoard in his own mansion on Calle de Serrano: Goya, El Greco, ivories, armour, jewellery and a famously enigmatic painting long attributed to Bosch's circle.
The Greatest Museums of Madrid, Ranked See on the map
Museo Arqueológico Nacional
Madrid
Spain's national archaeology collection, comprehensively rebuilt in the 2010s and now among Europe's best-displayed.
The Greatest Museums of Madrid, Ranked See on the map
The Prado
Madrid
The Prado holds the world's greatest concentrations of Velázquez and Goya — Las Meninas in the former case, the Black Paintings in the latter — plus Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, El Greco, Titian and Rubens in d…
The Greatest Museums of Madrid, Ranked See on the map
Reina Sofía
Madrid
The Reina Sofía is organised as an argument about the 20th century, and its centre of gravity is Picasso's Guernica — displayed with the studies and photographs that document its making.
The Greatest Museums of Madrid, Ranked See on the map

Our picks

What we'd do in Madrid

See and do

The case for Madrid
The Golden Triangle of Art — the Prado, the Reina Sofía and the Thyssen-Bornemisza — sits within an easy walk and would justify the flight on its own.
Read: Is Madrid Worth Your City Break? A Straight Answer for First-Timers
Museo del Prado
The royal collection made public, and still the deepest gallery of European old masters anywhere.
Read: The Greatest Museums of Madrid, Ranked
Find tickets
Madrid Río and the western sunset
When the M-30 motorway was buried underground, Madrid gained a long riverside park along the Manzanares: bridges, gardens, play fountains and cycle paths.
Read: Madrid Beyond the Crowds
Find tickets
La Latina's quieter edges, and Carabanchel
Everyone hits La Latina for El Rastro on a Sunday.
Read: The Madrid Neighborhoods Most Visitors Skip — and Shouldn't
Find tickets
The August effect
many locals leave and some family-run businesses close for holidays
Read: Madrid in Every Season: When to Go and What Changes
Find tickets

Eat and drink

Meal times
lunch around 2pm, dinner from 9pm — arrive early for a stool
Read: Cheap Eats in Madrid That Punch Far Above Their Price
Rough budget
eating well all day costs around EUR 25 to 35 a head, drinks included
Read: Cheap Eats in Madrid That Punch Far Above Their Price
Hardest month
August, when the family-run tabernas shut and the heat does the rest
Read: Cheap Eats in Madrid That Punch Far Above Their Price

Before you go

Practical essentials for Spain

Money

Euro (EUR)

Language

Spanish, with Catalan co-official in Catalonia and the Balearics, Basque in the Basque Country and Galician in Galicia; English is workable in tourist settings but not assumed

Power

Type C/F, 230V 50Hz

Getting around

Every city has a metro and bus network with fast Renfe trains between them; in Barcelona and Madrid you can tap a contactless bank card straight onto metro and bus, while smaller cities still use their own local card.

Tipping

Spaniards mostly do not tip - leave the coins from your change or round the bill up, and reserve 5-10% for a good meal in a proper restaurant.

Tap water

Tap water is potable throughout Spain; on parts of the coast and the islands it tastes heavily treated, which is why locals often buy bottled.

Driving

Right-hand side; an EU or UK licence is accepted as it stands.

Emergency

112

Country-level guidance, checked against official sources. Currency, fares and entry rules change — confirm anything time-critical before you travel.

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