Stand on the eastern edge of the Plaza Mayor early in the morning, before the café chairs come out, and the square reads as architecture rather than as a crowd: slate spires, a bronze horseman, and arcades running away on all four sides. Madrid rewards that kind of timing. The city's great set pieces — its palaces, its plazas, its three art museums along the Paseo del Prado — are close enough together that you can walk between them, and they are at their best before the tour groups arrive.
This guide suits a first-time visitor with two or three days, and equally a return visitor who wants to spend the mornings in museums and the evenings in plazas. It covers the landmarks and museums named in the source material, plus the parks and markets that give you somewhere to sit down between them.
Everything below is drawn from the source material for Madrid. Where the sources do not say something — an opening time, a ticket price, a distance — this guide does not either.
Top things to do in Madrid
1. Museo del Prado
The Prado is one of the finest art museums in the world, and it goes back to the royal art collection — for a nation that was the world's leading superpower for two centuries, that collection is considerable. Goya's most famous works hang here.
It forms one point of the Museum Triangle, so pair it with the other two museums on the same day rather than spreading them out. Give it the morning, when you are freshest.
2. Reina Sofía Museum
Madrid's modern art museum, and the home of Picasso's Guernica. It was opened to house what the Prado had no room for, with the dividing line between the two collections ultimately drawn on era.
Because it sits on the same stretch of the Paseo del Prado as the Prado and the Thyssen-Bornemisza, it works as the second stop of a single museum day. If you are pacing yourself, take it after a break rather than straight after the Prado.
3. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
A baron's collection of classical art, and the third museum of the Golden Triangle of Art. It complements the holdings of the other two museums, which makes it the natural third leg of the triangle rather than a substitute for either.
Use it to fill the gap between the Prado's old masters and the Reina Sofía's modern holdings, or as a shorter visit on a day when you have already spent hours on your feet.
4. Royal Palace of Madrid
An enormous palace, one of the biggest in Europe, and considered one of the most emblematic and beautiful buildings in Madrid. It is the official residence of the King of Spain, though the royal family does not actually reside here — it is generally used only for state ceremonies.
Note the scorching plains of concrete around it: there is little shade, so this is a poor choice for the middle of a hot afternoon. Combine it with the Catedral de la Almudena, which stands nearby.
5. Plaza Mayor
Perhaps the best known plaza in Madrid, and now one of the main stops on any tourist visit. The arcaded square is the classic place to begin a walk through the old city.
Come early or late in the day, when the light is low and the square is quieter. The tourist information centre here is also where tickets for Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Madrid performances can be purchased.
6. Puerta del Sol
The heart of Madrid and one of the busiest places in the city: a hub for the local transit system, a favourite meeting spot for locals, a visible area for festivals and political demonstrations, and an opportune location for tour guides and street performers.
Several landmarks are found here — the statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree, the main Post Office with its iconic clock tower, and Kilometre Zero of the Spanish road network. Keep an eye on your belongings; the source material notes pickpockets among those who take advantage of the tourists on hand.
7. Buen Retiro Park
The main park of Madrid, founded in 1631, and the perfect place to take a rest during a sunny day. On summer evenings you can take part in the drum circles around the statue of Alphonso XII.
In summer, the Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Madrid performs in El Retiro Park. Treat the park as your midday pause between the museums and the evening plazas.
8. Catedral de la Almudena
The main church of Spanish Catholicism, in neo-Gothic style, built from the 19th century to the 1990s. It is the natural companion to the Royal Palace, which stands beside it.
Visit the two together so you are not crossing the city twice. The long construction period is worth keeping in mind as you look at the building — what you see spans more than a century of work.
9. Plaza de España
A prominent square adjacent to two of the tallest buildings in Madrid: the Torre de Madrid and the Edificio España. It is an easy addition to a walk that already includes the Royal Palace and the Catedral de la Almudena.
Use it as a breathing space between the palace quarter and the Gran Vía rather than as a destination in itself.
10. Gran Vía
One of the busiest avenues in Madrid, the location of the cinema district, and lined with large billboards and lights. A number of shopping malls sit along it.
Cinemas here show films in English, marked in listings as "V.O." (versión original) or "VOSE" if subtitled in Spanish. Some cinemas hold días del espectador with cheaper tickets, usually on Mondays or Wednesdays.
11. Plaza de Cibeles
A large roundabout in the city centre with the neoclassical Cybele Fountain and the imposing eclectic Cybele Palace. Spain's former Palace of Communications is now the seat of the municipal government.
It sits on the Paseo del Prado, so it fits naturally at the end of a museum walk or at the start of one, depending on which direction you are coming from.
12. Mercado de San Miguel
A market that sets the ambience of a traditional market with the advantages of the new times, housed in an iron and glass structure from the 20th century. It is a convenient stop for eating between the old city's plazas.
Pair it with the Plaza Mayor, which is close by, and go outside the peak lunch hour if you want room to stand.
13. Templo de Debod
An ancient Egyptian temple that was moved to Madrid's Parque del Oeste after the construction of the Aswan High Dam. It is unlike anything else in the city — an Egyptian monument in a Madrid park.
Because it sits in the Parque del Oeste rather than the centre, plan it as part of a western walk rather than squeezing it between central sights.
14. Flamenco in Sol-Letras-Lavapiés, Moncloa and La Latina-Austrias
Flamenco shows can be seen in numerous venues across these three areas. The source material does not name individual tablaos, so choose a venue in one of these districts and book ahead.
Pair a show with dinner in the same district so you are not travelling across the city late in the evening.
15. La Trashumancia
An annual event during which the centre of Madrid is free of cars and is instead filled with shepherds exercising their ancient right to drive sheep and livestock through the city.
Because it is annual and the centre is closed to traffic, check the date before you travel if this is something you want to see, and plan your movements around the closed streets.
If you only have one day
Morning. Start at the Museo del Prado when it opens, and stay for the Goya works. If you have the stamina, walk along the Paseo del Prado to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and then the Reina Sofía Museum to see Picasso's Guernica — the three together are the Museum Triangle, and doing them in one stretch saves you a second journey.
Afternoon. Break for the Buen Retiro Park, the main park of Madrid and the right place to sit down on a sunny day. Then walk to the Plaza de Cibeles to see the Cybele Fountain and the Cybele Palace, and continue to the Puerta del Sol, where you can find the statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree, the main Post Office clock tower and Kilometre Zero.
Evening. Go to the Plaza Mayor, then eat at the Mercado de San Miguel nearby. Finish with a flamenco show in Sol-Letras-Lavapiés, Moncloa or La Latina-Austrias.
Frequently asked questions
Where are Madrid's main art museums?
They are clustered along the Paseo del Prado, east of the old city, in the area known as the Museum Triangle: the Museo del Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and the Reina Sofía Museum. The UNESCO World Heritage "Golden Triangle of Art" comprises these three.
Does the Spanish royal family live in the Royal Palace of Madrid?
No. Although it is the official residence of the King of Spain, the royal family does not actually reside there, and it is generally used only for state ceremonies.
When is the best time to visit the Buen Retiro Park?
On a sunny day, when it serves as the perfect place to take a rest. On summer evenings you can join the drum circles around the statue of Alphonso XII, and the Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Madrid performs in El Retiro Park in the summer.
Can I see films in English in Madrid?
Yes. Cinemas offer films in English along with films in other languages, marked in listings as "V.O." (versión original) or "VOSE" if subtitled in Spanish. Some cinemas hold días del espectador with cheaper ticket prices, usually on Mondays or Wednesdays.
Pick your dates, decide whether the Museum Triangle gets a full day or a morning, and start building the rest of the trip around the plazas.