Madrid

Two Days in Spain’s Capital City of Madrid

Spain is one of the most architecturally interesting countries I have visited thus far in my travels. There is so much to look at — and so much to eat! Which, made this a great destination choice for summer vacation with my two teenaged sons a few years back.

Madrid was the first stop on a week-long trip in Spain that also included Toledo, Barcelona, and Girona. In this post, I’ll share the highlights and the best things to see in Madrid if your time is limited like ours was. From the get-go, we had to prioritize because our flight arrived late. It happens:(

We stayed at the Petit Palace Savoy Alfonso XII hotel directly in front of Retiro Park. The location was great! Aside from the taxi service from the airport to the hotel, we didn’t need a car. We were within walking distance to everything on our itinerary, although we did make use of the subway because it was really hot walking at times. The longest distance we walked was about 30 minutes, but with so much to see on the along the way it didn’t seem that far.

Day 1: Palaces, Plazas, and Tapas

Like I said, our flight was late arriving in Madrid by several hours. So, we really hit the ground running once we finally got situated at our hotel.

There is a lot to see in the area between Retiro Park (on the east side) and the Royal Palace (on the west side) of central Madrid. There are shops and restaurants, colorful buildings, historical landmarks, and a maze of side streets. If we weren’t already late for our scheduled entry time to the palace, we could have walked around for hours.

Above photo: Monument to Felipe IV outside of The Royal Palace of Madrid

The Royal Palace of Madrid is the largest palace complex in Western Europe, and is one of the few official seats of the Heads of State that is open to the public. It is important to purchase your tickets and reserve your entry time online prior to visiting. Tickets do sell out. I was pretty panicked that we would not be able to get in when we arrived late. Thankfully, the staff understood and honored our tickets. Whew!

Above photos: The Royal Palace of Madrid

The palace is stunning! The Hall of Columns and Gasparini Hall literally took my breath away. Photography is not permitted in any of the interior rooms (only the Grand Staircase). But, trust me, this is a must-see while in Madrid. In addition to the rooms, the palace also houses collections of art, antiques, and a beautiful library.

Above photos: The Royal Palace of Madrid

Immediately outside of the palace is the Plaza de la Armería. It is a large square with the palace on one end of it and the Catedral de la Almudena on the other. Most people visit both of these places one after the other since they are part of the same site.

Above photo: Catedral de la Almudena 

The Catedral de la Almudena is seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madrid. Although the building plans were first drawn up in 1879, it was not completed until 1993. The interior of the square cupola and the nave vault are so unique.

Above photos: Catedral de la Almudena

Feeling a little less rushed now, we were able to take the rest of the afternoon to explore the center of Madrid at our leisure. First stop: San Miguel Market:). The food markets in Spain provide an opportunity to sample a wide range of regional specialities and flavors. We popped from stall to stall trying whatever caught our eyes until our bellies were full. My boys have never met a food hall they didn’t like – so this was an easy win.

Above photos: San Miguel Market

A few steps away from the food market is Plaza Mayor. This town square is a centuries-old gathering place that is surrounded by an arcade of shops and restaurants. The gem you won’t want to miss is the Casa de la Panadería with its colorful, frescoed façade . The Casa de la Carnicería is the red townhouse-style building that was once the butchers’ hall. Very cool spot to pass through, but it can also get crowded, and I imagine the restaurants might be pricier here since it draws so many tourists.

Above photos: Plaza Mayor

High on my list of must-see and must-eat-at places was Chocolatería San Ginés, a little cafe is known for chocolate with churros. It became popular way-way back as an after-theatre dessert spot (kinda akin to New Yorkers going out for cheesecake). This place is adorable and the famed chocolate and churros were delicious.

Above photos: Chocolatería San Ginés

In the same neighborhood is the Puerta del Sol Plaza, where you can find the El Oso y el Madroño statue. This semi-circular shaped plaza is the starting point of six major roads. On a map it looks like the rising sun with beams shooting out of it in all directions. We went into the historical Casa de Diego shop to buy one of their ornate handmade fans, which was one of my favorite souvenirs from Madrid.

Above photos: Casa de Diego

Above photo: Puerta del Sol Plaza

El Oso y el Madroño (The Bear and the Strawberry Tree) is a famous statue representing the main heraldic symbols of the city of Madrid. The statue was installed in 1967 at Puerta del Sol Plaza and has been there ever since.

Above photo: El Oso y el Madroño

On our walk back to our hotel we stopped by the Cibeles Fountain that sits in front of the Cibeles Palace, formally known as Palacio de Comunicaciones. This is essentially a City Hall government building that looks like a cathedral at first glance. We didn’t go inside because it was past opening hours when we passed by. However, it is possible to visit an exhibition and the courtyard featuring an impressive glass ceiling.

Above photo: Cibeles Palace

Spaniards eat dinner comparatively late. If you can’t make it to 9:00 pm to eat with the locals, most places are open earlier. We headed over to Casa Toni, which is a must-visit eatery for authentic Spanish tapas. We shared plates of Patatas Bravos, Patatas Bavioli, and Pimientos de Padrón. This place is truly worth the hype.

Above photos: Tapas at Casa Toni

Day 2: Shopping and the Park

We started off our second day in Madrid with our morning travel tradition of coffee and pastries at a bakery near our hotel, El Pan de Mamá Filia.

I very intentionally planned our trip itinerary so we would be in Madrid on a Sunday for the El Rastro Flea Market. This open-air market happens every weekend and offers locals and visitors an opportunity to treasure hunt their way through the hundreds of stalls lining Ribera de Curtidores and the La Latina neighborhood.

Above photos: El Rastro Flea Market

The earlier you can get here the better. It gets crowded quickly — and then it also gets really hot. We spent several hours walking around and had an absolute blast! I ended up buying a bunch of little gifts to take back home and some small leather goods.

For the second half of our day, we headed over to Retiro Park. This urban green space was recently named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are quite a few things to see and do inside the park including monuments, galleries, statues, lakes and the well-known Crystal Palace.

Above photos: Retiro Park

Being the weekend, the park was full of other visitors while we were there, but it didn’t feel over crowded. The atmosphere was fun with lots of people out enjoying a sunny day. The highlight of the park, for me, was the Crystal Palace, a 19th century conservatory used for various art exhibitions. It is the most beautiful place in the city!

Above photos: The Crystal Palace

Our dinner reservations were at Habanera, a swanky Cuban restaurant with the most Instagram-able breathtaking decor. It has a 1950’s Havana-vibe with rattan furniture, palm trees, and tropical upholstery. The menu features Mediterranean specialties, as well as other quirky twists on traditional dishes. The cocktail menu was incredible, too!

Above photos: Habanera

Our visit to Madrid definitely had a laid-back pace and the summer heat contributed to that. We didn’t pack in a ton of tourist attractions, but saw the ones I felt were the most interesting to a couple teenaged boys. This itinerary struck a nice balance between the touristy things and viviendo la buena vida (living the good life).

The following day, we hopped a train to Toledo, the “city of three cultures”. To read more about our 1-day in Toledo, click here.