Madrid

The essential capital city 

The city offers its visitors art, culture and history, as well as excellent gastronomy at reasonable prices and very good shopping alternatives.

Puerta del Sol is kilometer zero of the Spanish road network. The famous sculpture of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree, the famous Tío Pepe advertisement and the traditional pastry shop La Mallorquina stand out there.

The hidden Zapcoffee café in the shoe store at Puerta del Sol 6 offers a nice view of downtown Madrid.

Very close to Puerta del Sol, the aristocratic restaurant Lhardy boasts its tradition. This mythical of Madrid's gastronomy opened its doors in 1839.

On the way from Puerta del Sol to the Royal Palace, the Monastery of the Descalzas Reales, of cloistered nuns, is a monumental architectural complex. A few meters away, the San Ginés chocolate shop awaits for the typical Madrilenian experience of chocolate with churros, in operation since 1894.

The Mercado de San Miguel, a historic building converted into the gastronomic center of Spain, where you can taste the characteristic Iberian ham or seafood, rice and cheese from all over the country, is located in the former food market.

Nearby is the Plaza de Isabel II, known as Plaza de Ópera and, just in front of it, the notorious Teatro Real.

Before reaching the Royal Palace, cross the Plaza de Oriente, where the statue of Felipe IV stands out. On one side the palace and on the other the Almudena Cathedral. In the dome you can access -by purchasing a ticket- to a phenomenal viewpoint. A must is to visit the crypt with its four hundred columns, which is accessed by Calle Mayor 90, which also highlights the image of the Virgin of the Fleur de Lis, which according to tradition was commissioned by King Alfonso VI, when he achieved the reconquest of Madrid for the Christians. The beautiful image is of the Virgin holding the child with a fleur-de-lis in her hand.

Going down some stairs, on one side of the Royal Palace of Madrid (Palacio Real de Madrid), you reach the Sabatini Gardens.

Gran Vía is another icon of Madrid, the commercial hub of the city, where most of its cinemas are located. There is the Carrión Building, with its well-known advertising, the El Corte Inglés store, which offers a terrace with a viewpoint with an excellent view of the main artery of the metropolis and, very close, the old Telefónica building, current headquarters of the Telefónica Foundation dedicated to culture.

Plaza Cibeles and its fountain is another neuralgic point of the city of Madrid. A large terrace on the eighth floor offers another option for a viewpoint in height.

The Paseo de los Recoletos leads to the Plaza de Colón, on the way to Salamanca.

From there, it is well worth a stroll through Madrid's Golden Mile, the most distinguished and exclusive area, where luxury brand stores stand out. There, the rooftop of the Bless Hotel guarantees another beautiful view of the city, in the heart of the Salamanca district. It is an icon for its combination of history and avant-garde design.

A more accessible option for lunch is Casa Dani in the lively Mercado de La Paz, in the heart of the neighborhood, for typical Spanish snacks. In addition to the market stall, it has a terrace to enjoy a good potato omelet in the open air.

For the luxury gastronomic experience, with the Michelin star award, the recommended restaurant is Ramón Freixa, in the hotel Único Madrid in Salamanca.

Now if you go up past the Cibeles fountain you will arrive at the Puerta de Alcalá, erected by Carlos III, a monument that has now become a photogenic point of the city.

From there you can visit the elegant Serrano Street or the Retiro Park, to get lost in the great green lung, not without taking a look at the Great Pond and the beautiful Crystal Palace. In the French-style garden Parterre is the oldest tree in Madrid.

Leaving the Retiro Park through the door of Felipe IV to Plaza de la Lealtad, two significant hotels, the Petit Palace Savoy Alfonso XII and the Mandarin Oriental Ritz Madrid cross.

On the way to the Prado Museum, it is worth making a stop at the Church of the Jerónimos. Once at Prado, the decision is not easy. Although it has its opening hours and free days, the queues for admission are difficult.

@tripticity_, for his love of art, always suggests visiting as many museums as possible, but it is understandable to only choose one considering the cost of the tickets and the time it takes to visit them.

In Museo del Prado,the must-see works are Las Meninas and the Crucified Christ by Diego Velázquez; The Firing Squad or The Third of May 1808 on the Mountain of Prince Pío by Goya (first chamber painter), his majas and the black paintings such as Saturn devouring his son; and The Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch; the Three Graces by Rubens. Then repair in the works of El Greco, Zurbarán, Murillo, Cano and Sorolla, among others.

About El Bosco, especially for his work The Garden of Earthly Delights, it is said that he was one of the first surrealist artists, considering that it dates from the sixteenth century, which is why he is seen as a pioneer. This work is a milestone in the history of art.

Just across the street, also on the Paseo del Prado, is the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum (Museo Thyssen Bornemisza), which exhibits a collection of modern and contemporary art from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries mainly, resulting outstanding avant-garde.

There you can see works by Edvard Munch; the expressionist Paul Klee; the abstraction of Kandinsky; the geometric abstraction of Piet Mondrian (with its squares and rectangles with marked lines in black, unmistakable! ); the pure surrealism of Marc Chagall; Edward Hopper's characteristic portraits of solitude; the Catalan surrealist Joan Miró (with his colorful and "deformed" sculptures); the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí; the magical realism of Magritte; the confronted rectangles of Mark Rothko; the abstract surrealism of Jackson Pollock (and his "action painting" technique), and the work of the Argentine Lucio Fontana (with his canvases with slashes, as if wanting to see what was behind the canvas).

In addition, the museum store is very nice and with very unique and creative objects.

At the end of the Paseo del Prado, on the other side of the Atocha train station, is another must-see, the Reina Sofia Museum, Museo Reina Sofía, which is housed in an old building where the hospital used to operate, spacious, very nice, complemented by a new wing of contemporary architecture. The museum houses Picasso's most famous work: Guernica.

To delve deeper into Spanish art, a visit to the Sorolla Museum, Museo Sorolla, located in what was once the artist's studio. Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida was one of the great masters of painting in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In his works he emphasizes light and figures.

Very close to the Sorolla Museum is the Chamberí Ghost Station. Although admission is free, prior reservation is required at museosmetromadrid.es. The station was closed in 1966, so when you go down the steps you enter the Madrid of the 60s. The Metro de Madrid Company also offers an exhibition of classic trains at Chamartín station (not to be confused with the Chamberí Museum Station). The exhibition is free for Metro travelers, with - logically - prior reservation.

The Plaza Mayor, with its perfect grid and historic buildings such as the Casa de la Carnicería and the Casa de la Panadería, four-story buildings, with porticoed first floors, crowned by corner towers. The equestrian statue of Felipe III is in the center of the square. To enter, it is suggested to do so through the Arco de Cuchilleros. Nearby, in the iconic Botín restaurant, the oldest in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records, you can taste the classic suckling pig.

For shopping, the El Corte Inglés store has its outlet variant with incredible opportunities. But on the outskirts of the city, no more than an hour away by public transport, is Las Rozas Village, whose slogan is to offer world leading brands and exceptional discounts.

The terrace on the ninth floor of the Corte Inglés de Callao offers a viewpoint and a gastronomic space (Gourmet Experience Gran Vía) where its high-end products are also sold. You can have breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner. Access is through Plaza de Callao 2.

The gastronomic spaces of the Salvador Bachiller store, near Plaza de España, are recommended, either Boom or Invernadero, especially for their decoration.

Mona Checa, in the Malasaña neighborhood, is a store of antique items, vintage treasures as they advertise on their site, decorated inside as if it were a circus. 

Also very close to the Plaza de España is the picturesque Fuente de los Afligidos, an architectural ensemble that connects the Plaza de Cristino Martos and the Calle de la Princesa, by means of a unique staircase.

In front of the Plaza de España, two buildings stand out, on the one hand, the Torre de Madrid and, on the other, the Edificio España.

The Palacio de Liria, once the official residence of the House of Alba, with a huge private art collection, is very striking in the area; as interesting as the Egyptian Temple to Amun of Debod and Isis (Templo egipcio a Amón de Debod y a Isis), , built between 185 BC and the first century, which was donated by Egypt to Spain in 1968, in gratitude for the help in saving the temples of Abu Simbel.

Near the Goya Metro station, Kiosko de Horchata, owned by brothers Miguel and Jose, offers traditional drinks such as the Valencian Horchata de Chufa, the refreshing Limón Granizado and the Madrid-based Agua de Cebada.

El Faro de Moncloa is a high observation platform, to contemplate the city and even the surrounding mountains with a 360-degree view.

The so-called tourist transport pass (abono turístico) is the recommendation in terms of mobility within the city (tourist card), as it can be used in all public transport in the Community of Madrid without limits within the contracted rates (for one day, for two days, consecutively for up to seven days), at a reasonable cost. It can be purchased at Metro and Cercanías stations and at some other points of sale.