Cidade Turismo
Spain
Madri

Comunidade de Madri · Spain

Madri

The capital of Spain brings together the Prado, the Palácio Real, the Retiro and the street life of the central neighborhoods, with high-speed trains to almost the entire country.

Centro

In the photo: Palácio Real de Madri

Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.

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Get to know the place

A region to enjoy
at your own pace.

Madri is the capital of Spain and the country's largest city. It lies in the center of the peninsula, at about 650 meters above sea level.

The cultural route is concentrated along the Paseo del Prado. There are the Museo Nacional del Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Reina Sofía, where Picasso's Guernica is housed. Next to them are the Parque del Retiro and the Real Jardín Botánico. Since 2021, this ensemble of promenades, gardens and museums is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Madri of the kings is on the other side of the center. The Palacio Real, the Catedral de la Almudena and the Plaza Mayor are a few minutes' walk from each other. Between them and the Paseo del Prado are the Puerta del Sol, with the Km 0 marker, and the Gran Vía, with its early-20th-century buildings.

The city lives on the street until late. Dinner usually starts after 9 pm, and squares and markets fill up in the late afternoon. The language is Spanish (Castilian).

High-speed trains depart from Atocha to Toledo, Sevilla, Barcelona and València. This makes Madri a good base for exploring the rest of the country.

This destination brings together 1 city: Madri.

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One destination, many paths

The cities on this trip

Start with one city or combine several in your itinerary.

Where Madri is
Madri

Contornos: IGN/CNIG, unidades administrativas, CC BY 4.0. Adaptação do Cidade Turismo.

How to get there: Madri

✈ Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas (MAD) · 12 km to Madri

Confirm before buying. Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas is about 12 km from the center, connected by metro, train and bus.

The local experience

Things to do in Madri

Museo Nacional del Prado
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Museum

Museo Nacional del Prado

One of the largest collections of European painting in the world, with Velázquez, Goya, El Greco, Bosch, Titian and Rubens, in a neoclassical building by Juan de Villanueva on the Paseo del Prado.

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Museum

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

The national museum of modern and contemporary art of Spain. It houses Picasso’s Guernica and works by Dalí and Miró, in an 18th-century former hospital next to Atocha.

Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Museum

Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza

Private collection purchased by the Spanish State, ranging from 13th-century Italian painting to art of the 1980s, housed in a palace opposite the Prado.

Palacio Real de Madrid
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Palace

Palacio Real de Madrid

Official residence of the King of Spain, built in the 18th century on the site of the former Alcázar. It has 3,418 rooms, state rooms, the Royal Armory and, surrounding it, the Jardines de Sabatini and the Campo del Moro.

See 26 more places in Madri
Catedral de la Almudena
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Cathedral

Catedral de la Almudena

The cathedral of Madri, consecrated in 1993, stands opposite the Palácio Real. It has a neo-Gothic interior, a façade that relates to the palace, a neo-Romanesque crypt and a viewpoint in the dome.

Plaza Mayor
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Square

Plaza Mayor

The large 17th-century rectangular square, surrounded by three-storey buildings with 237 balconies and arcades, in the heart of Madri de los Austrias.

Puerta del Sol
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Square

Puerta del Sol

Madri’s central square, in the shape of a half-moon, featuring the Km 0 marker of Spanish roads, the New Year’s Eve clock and the statue of the Urso e o Medronheiro.

Parque del Retiro
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Park

Parque del Retiro

The large park of Madri, covering 143 hectares, began as the garden of a royal palace. It has the lake with rowboats, the monument to Alfonso XII, a rose garden and the Palacio de Velázquez.

Real Jardín Botánico
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Garden

Real Jardín Botánico

18th-century botanical garden next to the Prado, with about 8 hectares on three terraces, greenhouses and thousands of trees and plants.

Puerta de Alcalá
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Monument

Puerta de Alcalá

Neoclassical triumphal arch from 1778, designed by Francesco Sabatini for Carlos III, in the middle of the Plaza de la Independencia, beside the Retiro.

Plaza de Cibeles
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Square

Plaza de Cibeles

Square at the junction of Alcalá and the Paseo del Prado, featuring the fountain of the goddess Cibeles (1782) and four palaces on the corners, including the Palacio de Cibeles, the city hall, with a viewing platform.

Gran Vía
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Street

Gran Vía

Avenue opened between 1910 and 1929 to link Calle de Alcalá with Plaza de España. It stretches 1.3 km with early 20th-century buildings, cinemas, theaters and shops.

Mercado de San Miguel
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Market

Mercado de San Miguel

Iron-and-glass market from 1916, next to the Plaza Mayor, converted into a food hall with stalls offering tapas, seafood, jamón, cheeses and wines.

Templo de Debod
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Monument

Templo de Debod

Egyptian temple from the 2nd century BC, donated by Egypt to Spain in 1968 and rebuilt stone by stone in a high park near the Plaza de España.

Plaza de España
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Square

Plaza de España

Square at the end of the Gran Vía, featuring the monument to Cervantes, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, surrounded by the Edificio España and the Torre de Madrid.

Bernabéu
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Stadium

Bernabéu

Home stadium of Real Madrid since 1947, on the Paseo de la Castellana. It gained a retractable roof in the recent renovation and welcomes visitors on the Tour Bernabéu, which includes a trophy museum, panoramic views, locker rooms and the substitute benches.

El Rastro
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Market

El Rastro

Outdoor market that occupies the streets of the Embajadores neighbourhood on Sundays and holidays, in the morning. It offers antiques, clothing, records, second‑hand books and many new items, between Plaza de Cascorro and Ribera de Curtidores.

Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Monastery

Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales

Clausura monastery founded in 1559 by Juana de Austria, sister of Philip II, a few steps from Puerta del Sol. The visit, always guided, shows the painted staircase, chapels and the tapestries designed by Rubens.

Museo Arqueológico Nacional
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Museum

Museo Arqueológico Nacional

Main archaeology museum of Spain, next to Plaza de Colón. It houses the Dama de Elche, Visigothic crowns, Roman mosaics and Greek pottery, in a journey from prehistory to the 19th century.

Museo Lázaro Galdiano
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Museum

Museo Lázaro Galdiano

Mansion in the Salamanca neighborhood with the collection assembled by the publisher José Lázaro Galdiano: Goya, Bosch, El Greco, Zurbarán, English painting, jewelry, arms and ivories, spread across four floors.

CaixaForum Madrid
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Cultural center

CaixaForum Madrid

Cultural center on Paseo del Prado, in a former power station transformed by Herzog & de Meuron. It hosts temporary art exhibitions and a 460 m² vertical garden on the facade facing the square.

Teatro Real
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Theatre

Teatro Real

Opera house of Madrid, inaugurated in 1850 in Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Palacio Real. In addition to operas and ballets, it offers guided tours of the salons, the Palco Real and the backstage areas.

Barrio de las Letras
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Historic neighborhood

Barrio de las Letras

Neighborhood between the Puerta del Sol and the Paseo del Prado where Cervantes, Lope de Vega and Quevedo lived. Literary quotations can be found on the pavement of Calle de las Huertas, in the Plaza de Santa Ana and at the Casa Museo Lope de Vega.

Malasaña
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Neighborhood

Malasaña

Neighborhood north of the Gran Vía, birthplace of the Movida madrileña of the 1980s. It has the Plaza del Dos de Mayo, vintage shops, cafés and bars, on streets of low-rise buildings with wrought-iron balconies.

Matadero Madrid
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Cultural center

Matadero Madrid

Former municipal slaughterhouse in neomudéjar brick pavilions on the banks of the Manzanares River, transformed into a contemporary art center with theater, dance, design, cinema and exhibitions.

Real Basílica de San Francisco el Grande
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Church

Real Basílica de San Francisco el Grande

Neoclassical 18th-century basilica near La Latina, with the largest dome in Spain, 33 meters in diameter. It houses paintings by Goya and Zurbarán and chapels decorated at the end of the 19th century.

Museo Cerralbo
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Museum

Museo Cerralbo

19th-century palace that preserves the original decoration and the collections of the Marquess of Cerralbo: paintings by El Greco and Zurbarán, armors, clocks, porcelain and a ballroom, near the Plaza de España.

Galería de las Colecciones Reales
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Museum

Galería de las Colecciones Reales

Museum of the National Heritage between the Palacio Real and the Catedral de la Almudena, in a granite building above the Campo del Moro gardens. It displays tapestries, carriages, paintings, armors and jewels gathered by the kings of Spain.

Museo de Historia de Madrid
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Museum

Museo de Historia de Madrid

Municipal museum in the former Real Hospicio de San Fernando, with a Baroque façade by Pedro de Ribera. It tells the history of Madri since 1561, featuring the large model of the city from 1830 and an allegory painted by Goya.

Casa de Campo
Madri · Comunidade de Madri · Park

Casa de Campo

Largest public park in Madri, with over 1,500 hectares of woodland to the west of the center. It has a lake with rowboats, trails, bike paths, the Parque de Atracciones and the Zoo Aquarium.

Before you go

Practical information

A little planning leaves more time to enjoy the journey.

When to go

Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) usually have mild temperatures. Summer (June to August) is hot and dry, with afternoons above 30 °C. Winter (December to February) is cold and days are short.

The seasons shown are the most usual ones; nature doesn't always follow the calendar.

How many days to stay

Three days allow you to see the three major museums, the Palacio Real, the Retiro and the historic center without rushing. With four or five days there's time for smaller museums, neighborhoods like Malasaña and day trips by train to Toledo. If you only have one day, choose between the Prado and the Palácio Real and complement with a walk through the center.

Which city to stay in

For first-time visitors, the area between the Puerta del Sol, the Plaza Mayor and the Gran Vía leaves almost everything within walking distance. The Barrio de las Letras (Huertas) lies between the Sol and the Paseo del Prado, near the museums. Ópera and La Latina are beside the Palacio Real. Malasaña and Chueca, north of the Gran Vía, are younger and livelier at night. The Barrio de Salamanca, east of the Paseo de la Castellana, is quieter and residential. Close to Atocha is convenient for those catching an early train.

Respect the place

Take your trash with you, follow the signs and support local businesses. In natural areas, follow the visiting guidelines.

Get your questions answered

Frequently asked questions about Madri

How many days should I book for Madri?

Three days cover the essentials: Prado, Reina Sofía, Thyssen, Palacio Real, Retiro, Plaza Mayor and Gran Vía. If you enjoy museums you can stay four or five days. If you also want to visit Toledo, add one more day for the train day trip.

Do I need to rent a car in Madri?

No. The metro covers the entire city and the historic center is walked. Traffic is heavy and parts of the center have restrictions for cars. For trips to other cities, the train is often faster than the road.

Can you do day trips from Madri?

Yes. The Avant train takes about 33 minutes from Atocha to Toledo. On high-speed services, València is under two hours away, Sevilla about two and a half hours and Barcelona in less than three. Check schedules and buy tickets in advance during high season.

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