Introduction

I finally had the chance to visit Madrid since I feel like everyone I know has been there before, and it didn’t disappoint! I love how walkable the city is, the abundance of parks and nature, and the fact that you can get great food late into the night. The city also has a vibrant liveliness to it where you can do all sorts of things in the evening. Overall, I’ll definitely be back!

Public transportation was very easy to navigate. At the airport, if you walk towards the Aeropuerto metro stop, you’ll have machines where you can get the metro card. You can get a single ticket, a 10 time pass, or the “tourist pass”. Madrid is so walkable where you can just get by on a 10 time pass. The 10 time pass works for the bus and the metro, but you have to pay an extra 3 euros to leave/arrive at the airport metro stop. Taking the bus doesn’t require this supplement.

Madrid is one of those cities that is more a “chill and vibe” place, vs. a "sightseeing" city. I found that most of the big sights can be seen in a day, but my best memories of the city were just walking around and enjoying myself.

​​*** bolded = highly recommended

 

Nature

• Garden of the Prince of Anglona
  
• Parque del Oeste - the park isn’t too far from the palace (probably a 30min walk) but I loved how quiet and wide the park is. It doesn’t feel like you’re in the city, but the bus stops are a little disparate, for when you’re trying to go home.
  
• El Retiro Park - one of my favorites during this trip! It was nice to go for a run along the Great Pond and then loop around the Rose Garden (although there weren’t many roses in winter). The area near the pond is a little crowded, but walk anywhere away from that and you get peace.
  
• Campo Del Moro
  
• The King’s Bridge - the bridge is not necessarily the attraction here, but I loved running along this side of the river. I highly recommend taking a stroll starting from the bridge and working your way south.
  
• Parque Madrid Rio
  

 

food

• Mercado de San Miguel
• Bodega de la Ardosa - very tasty tapas, but there might be a wait to get in.
• Pez Tortilla - the tortilla was very tasty and also very affordable!
• Mercado de San Fernando - this market might be a little less known than the San Miguel Market, but I felt like it was just as well known to the locals. Walking around the stalls, I did feel that there were more local influences in the stalls and the cuisine! 
• Mercado de la Cebada
• Restaurante Casa Amadeo Los Caracoles 
• Tapa Tapa Santa Ana - the tapas here are a little big, even the “tapa” option vs. the “full” portion option but the food was really good!
• Chocolatería San Ginés - trying their hot chocolate and churros is a classic, but I would say it only comes in 6 churros. 
• Casa Revuelta - their fried cod was amazing, and would have honestly just gotten a few more of those. They also had fried pork which was also tasty, but I would have rather had the cod.
• Taberna El Sur de Huertas ​
• Muerde Madrid - this place seemed to be a local spot! I got the oxtail cannelloni which was tasty but had a little more cheese than I would have liked. ​
• Santo Bakehouse - this little take out only spot has a good selection of pastries! I got the focaccia, chocolate croissant, and a chai latte which were all good.
• Casa Macareno - I got the croqueta and baby squid which were quite good! The spot seems to be popular, since I got there at a little before 11pm and waited in line. They cut off the line a little before the kitchen closes at 11:30pm.
  
• Taberna El Sur - this spot was fantastic! My friends and I got the paella, steak, and salmon tempura which was all very flavorful. Out of the 3, the best was the steak and the salmon tempura comes with cheese on the top, but it’s easy to remove. I also got the San Francisco mocktail which was also good!
• Friends in Common - this spot was also super cute and good, where I got the avocado toast and iced latte. Only thing was that this spot had limited seating which meant I had to take my order out. ​
  
• Maestro Churrero Chocolatería
  
  

 

Attractions

• Plaza Mayor
• Cathedral de Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena - absolutely worth going inside, since the cathedral is so airy.
• Royal Palace of Madrid - I didn’t pay to get in, but you can get a really nice picture through the gates.
• Temple of Debod
• Casa de America
• Museo Nacional del Prado - one of my favorite highlights in Madrid. On Mon-Sun the museum is free from 6pm-8pm, so I fully took advantage. A line starts to form at 6, so if you really want the full 2 hours, come wait a little before. The museum has SO much art to see - a must do when you visit.
• Matadero Madrid
• El Rastro - this flea market only occurs every Sunday from 8am-3pm, and this is also a must do. There are hundreds of vendors selling all sorts of trinkets, clothes, leather goods, antiques, etc. You can spend half the day here and not scratch the surface since it takes up most of the streets in the La Latina area. ​
• Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía - very expansive museum with some interesting art! Friday evenings are free, I highly recommend it. ​
• La Postalera - super cute postcard shop where they have very artsy postcards that you can mail in the shop itself. Highly recommend a visit!
• ​Naval Museum Museo Naval - a cool museum that’s free and shows Spain’s naval history bits and it’s also pretty easy to explore. 
• National Archaeological Museum - most afternoons are free but you have to reserve a ticket online. The museum is pretty big and there’s a lot to see!

Just passing by

• Plaza del Dos de Mayo
• Mercado San Anton
• Gran Via
• Cibeles Fountain
• Puerta de Alcala
• Real Jardin Botanico
• Church of San Jeronimo el Real
• Royal Basilica of Saint Francis the Great

 

day trips

Toledo
​A day trip to Toledo should be on your list - it’s a quaint town and very easy to visit. You can just take a bus to and from the Toledo bus station, and I found that the city was very walkable. The list below isn’t necessarily the order you should do this, but I recommend doing these attractions as a “loop” so you don’t have to backtrack.

*** bolded = notable stops

• Hospital de Tavera
• Puerta de Bisagra
• Monumento a Federico Martin Bahamontes
• Mirador del Alcazar
• Catedral Primada de Toledo
• Plaza del Ayuntamiento
• Bar restaurante El 10 de Santo Tome
• Senda de la Cornisa

Contents

Introduction
Nature
Food
Attractions
Day Trips
Related Posts

 

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