Europe's largest royal palace by floor area — 3,418 rooms, though only around 50 are open to the public, dripping with frescoes, Stradivarius violins, and a Throne Room that still hosts state ceremonies. The Spanish royal family no longer lives here, which is exactly why you can walk through it.

palaceroyalmust-see

MAD.002· landmarks

Plaza Mayor

A vast 17th-century arcaded square that has hosted royal coronations, bullfights, and the occasional Inquisition trial — now filled with café terraces, street portraitists, and the equestrian statue of Felipe III at its centre. Everyone passes through eventually; that's the point.

plazahistoricmust-see

MAD.003· landmarks

Puerta del Sol

Kilometre Zero — the exact point from which every road distance in Spain is measured, marked by a small plaque in the pavement. Home to the bear-and-strawberry-tree statue, the Tío Pepe sign, and the clock whose twelve chimes on New Year's Eve set the whole country's midnight.

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MAD.004· landmarks

Puerta de Alcalá

A neoclassical granite gate commissioned by Carlos III in 1778 — one of Europe's first purpose-built triumphal arches predating Paris's own by decades. It once marked the eastern edge of the city; now it stands mid-roundabout at the entrance to Retiro Park.

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Museos

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MAD.001· museums

Museo del Prado

One of the greatest art museums on earth — Velázquez's Las Meninas, Goya's Black Paintings, and the single largest collection of Bosch anywhere, including the full triptych of The Garden of Earthly Delights. Anchor of Madrid's Golden Triangle of Art along Paseo del Prado.

artmust-seeGoya

MAD.002· museums

Museo Reina Sofía

Spain's national museum of 20th-century art, built around a single overwhelming reason to visit: Picasso's Guernica, displayed in its own room exactly as the artist intended. The permanent collection beyond it covers Dalí, Miró, and the full arc of Spanish modernism.

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MAD.003· museums

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza

The third point of the Golden Triangle — a private collection so comprehensive it fills the historical gaps in the Prado and Reina Sofía, running chronologically from 13th-century Spanish panels through Impressionism to Pop Art in one continuous walk.

artImpressionismmust-see

MAD.004· museums

CaixaForum Madrid

A former power station reworked into a cast-iron-and-rusted-steel cultural centre, fronted by Patrick Blanc's 24-metre living vertical garden — one of the most photographed walls in the city. Rotating contemporary art and photography exhibitions inside, no permanent collection.

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Gastronomía

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Roast suckling pig served at Sobrino de Botin, the world's oldest restaurant, in Madrid

MAD.001· restaurants

Sobrino de Botín

The world's oldest continuously operating restaurant according to Guinness World Records — open since 1725, with a wood-fired oven that's never gone cold, still turning out cochinillo (roast suckling pig) the same way it has for three centuries.

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MAD.002· restaurants

Mercado de San Miguel

A wrought-iron 1916 market hall two minutes from Plaza Mayor, now a gourmet food court of standing-room tapas counters — jamón ibérico, oysters, vermouth on tap, and Basque pintxos, all under one glass roof. Touristy, but the quality holds up.

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MAD.003· restaurants

Casa Revuelta

A no-frills tapas bar near Plaza Mayor beloved for one thing above all: bacalao (salt cod) fried to order, bones removed by hand at the counter. Standing room only, sawdust-and-tradition energy, prices that still feel like the 1990s.

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MAD.004· restaurants

La Casa del Abuelo

A century-old institution built on a single dish done better than almost anywhere else — gambas al ajillo, sizzling shrimp in garlic and chilli oil, served with bread for mopping up what's left. A sweet house wine (vino de la casa) is the traditional pairing.

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Vida nocturna

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A pedestrian crosses a rain-slicked Madrid street lit by golden streetlight at night

MAD.001· nightlife

Museo Chicote

Madrid's most storied cocktail bar — opened in 1931, patronised by Hemingway, Buñuel, and Ava Gardner, and still shaking drinks on the same Art Deco bar top on Gran Vía. A genuine museum piece that still functions as a working cocktail bar.

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Gran Via illuminated at night in the rain, with pedestrians and neon signs

MAD.002· nightlife

Teatro Kapital

A seven-floor former theatre turned into one of Europe's biggest nightclubs — each level with its own DJ, music genre, and vibe, from a chill rooftop terrace with skyline views to a heaving main dance floor below. Madrid clubbing at its most maximalist.

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A quiet Madrid side street at night, rain-slicked and lit by shopfronts

MAD.003· nightlife

Café Central

A jewel-box Art Deco café that's been Madrid's premier jazz venue since 1982 — DownBeat magazine has ranked it among the best jazz clubs on earth. Intimate enough that even the back tables feel close to the stage.

jazzlive-musicArt-Deco

Gran Via at dusk, with the Capitol cinema's neon sign and a high-rise at the far end of the street

MAD.004· nightlife

La Vía Láctea

A dive bar that's been running since the 1980s heyday of La Movida Madrileña, walls plastered with band flyers and vintage graffiti, pool table in the back, indie and rock on the speakers. As close as it gets to Malasaña's countercultural roots still functioning unchanged.

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Actividades

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Exterior view of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium facade in Madrid

MAD.001· activities

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Tour

Self-guided tour through Real Madrid's home stadium — trophy room, press box, players' tunnel, and a pitch-side view from the dugouts. The trophy cabinet alone, including multiple Champions League/European Cup trophies, is one of the densest displays of silverware in world football.

footballstadium-tourReal-Madrid

Guide leading a small group through a state room in the Royal Palace of Madrid

MAD.002· activities

Royal Palace Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

Small-group guided access through the state rooms of the Royal Palace with a local guide unpacking the history the audio guide skips — including why the current palace was built after a Christmas Eve fire destroyed the previous Habsburg alcázar in 1734.

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Flamenco dancer performing on stage at a Madrid tablao

MAD.003· activities

Flamenco Show with Dinner

A tablao evening pairing a full flamenco performance — guitar, cante, and dancers in close quarters — with a multi-course Spanish dinner. Corral de la Morería, the most storied of Madrid's tablaos, has hosted the art form nightly since 1956.

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Rowboats on the lake in Retiro Park with the Alfonso XII monument behind

MAD.004· activities

Retiro Park Rowboat Rental

Rent a rowboat on the Estanque Grande, Retiro's ornamental lake, and paddle out beneath the half-moon colonnade of the Monument to Alfonso XII. A quintessential, unhurried Madrid afternoon that costs less than a museum ticket.

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Eventos