Lonely Planet Madrid

By Anthony Ham

Lonely Planet's Madrid is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Marvel at masterpieces by Spain's best painters in the beautiful Museo del Prado, enjoy tapas in La Latina, and stroll past the architectural monuments in Parque del Buen Retiro; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Madrid and begin your journey now!

 

Inside Lonely Planet's Madrid Travel Guide:

Up-to-date information - all businesses were rechecked before publication to ensure they are still open after 2020’s COVID-19 outbreak

NEW pull-out, passport-size 'Just Landed' card with wi-fi, ATM and transport info - all you need for a smooth journey from airport to hotel

Planning tools for family travellers - where to go, how to save money, plus fun stuff just for kids

What's New feature taps into cultural trends and helps you find fresh ideas and cool new areas our writers have uncovered

Colour maps and images throughout

Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests

Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots

Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices

Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sightseeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss

Cultural insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - history, people, music, landscapes, wildlife, cuisine, politics

Over 24 maps 

Covers Plaza Mayor & Royal Madrid, La Latina & Lavapies, Sol, Santa Ana & Huertas, El Retiro & the Art Museums, Salamanca, Malasana & Conde Duque, Chueca, Parque del Oeste & Northern Madrid and more

The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet Madrid, our most comprehensive guide to Madrid, is perfect for both exploring top sights and taking roads less travelled. 

 

Looking for just the highlights? Check out Pocket Madrid, a handy-sized guide focused on the can't-miss sights for a quick trip.

 

Looking for more extensive coverage? Check out Lonely Planet Spain for a comprehensive look at all the country has to offer.

 

Authors Written and researched by Lonely Planet, and Anthony Ham. 

 

About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and phrasebooks for 120 languages, and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, videos, 14 languages, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more, enabling you to explore every day.

 

'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' – New York Times

 

'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' – Fairfax Media (Australia)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lonely Planet
• Release date: Nov 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781838692698

Anthony Ham

Anthony Ham es un fotógrafo y escritor independiente especializado en España, el sur y este de África, el Ártico y Oriente Medio que colabora con periódicos y revistas de Australia, Gran Bretaña y EEUU. En el 2001, tras años de recorrer mundo, se enamoró perdidamente de Madrid en su primera visita, y antes de un año estaba de vuelta con un billete solo de ida, sin hablar nada de español y sin conocer a nadie en la ciudad. Cuando 10 años más tarde por fin dejó la capital de España, hablaba español con acento madrileño, se había casado con una lugareña y Madrid se había convertido en su segundo hogar. De nuevo en Australia, Anthony sigue recorriendo el mundo en busca de historias.

Book preview

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Madrid

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Contents

Plan Your Trip

Welcome to Madrid

Madrid’s Top Experiences

What’s New

Need to Know

First Time Madrid

Perfect Days

Month by Month

With Kids

Like a Local

For Free

Under the Radar

Dining Out

Bar Open

Showtime

Treasure Hunt

Explore Madrid

Neighbourhoods at a Glance

Plaza Mayor & Royal Madrid

Top Experience: Feel the history in Plaza Mayor

Top Experience: See Goya masterworks in Situ

Top Experience: Watch the changing of the guard at Palacio Real

Sights

Eating

Drinking & Nightlife

Neighbourhood Walk: Old Madrid

Entertainment

Shopping

Sports & Activities

La Latina & Lavapiés

Top Experience: Visit one of Madrid’s favourite churches

Sights

Eating

Drinking & Nightlife

Entertainment

Shopping

Sol, Santa Ana & Huertas

Top Experience: Walk the halls where Picasso & Dalí Studied

Sights

Top Experience: Start your night out with a drink on Plaza de Santa Ana

Eating

Drinking & Nightlife

Entertainment

Shopping

Sports & Activities

El Retiro & the Art Museums

Top Experience: Find the Museo del Prado’s top 50 masterpieces

Top Experience: Immerse yourself in a breadth of artistic styles

Top Experience: See Picasso’s Guernica

Top Experience: Relax in the glorious Parque del Buen Retiro

Sights

Eating

Drinking & Nightlife

Shopping

Salamanca

Top Experience: Enjoy a private collection of old masters

Top Experience: Gain an insight into Spain’s bullfighting tradition

Sights

Eating

Shopping

Sports & Activities

Malasaña & Conde Duque

Sights

Eating

Drinking & Nightlife

Entertainment

Shopping

Chueca

Sights

Eating

Drinking & Nightlife

Entertainment

Shopping

Chamberí & Northern Madrid

Sights

Top Experience: Attend a live Real Madrid game

Eating

Drinking & Nightlife

Entertainment

Shopping

Sports & Activities

Day Trips from Madrid

Sleeping

Understand Madrid

History

City of Painters

Architectural Elegance

Madrid’s Film Scene

The Passion of Flamenco

Survival Guide

Transport

Arriving in Madrid

Aeropuerto de Barajas

Estación Puerta de Atocha

Estación de Chamartín

Estación Sur de Autobuses

Getting Around

Bicycle

Bus

Car & Motorcycle

Metro

Taxi

Train

Directory A–Z

Accessible Travel

Customs Regulations

Discount Cards

Electricity

Emergency

Health

LGBTIQ+ Travellers

Money

Opening Hours

Post

Public Holidays

Responsible Travel

Safe Travel

Telephone

Time

Toilets

Tourist Information

Visas

Language

Behind the Scenes

Madrid Maps

1 Palacio Real & Campo del Moro

2 Plaza Mayor & Los Austrias

3 Lavapiés

4 La Latina

5 Sol, Santa Ana & Huertas

6 Paseo del Prado & El Retiro

7 Salamanca

8 Malasaña & Conde Duque

9 Chueca

10 Chamberí

11 Northern Madrid

Our Writer

COVID-19

We have re-checked every business in this book before publication to ensure that it is still open after the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the economic and social impacts of COVID-19 will continue to be felt long after the outbreak has been contained, and many businesses, services and events referenced in this guide may experience ongoing restrictions. Some businesses may be temporarily closed, have changed their opening hours and services, or require bookings; some unfortunately could have closed permanently. We suggest you check with venues before visiting for the latest information.

Welcome to Madrid

More than a decade after I fell for Madrid and decided to call it home, the life that courses through the streets here still casts its spell. This is a place where the passions of Europe’s most passionate country are the fabric of daily life, a city with music in its soul and an unshakeable spring in its step. But Madrid is also one of the most open cities on earth and it doesn’t matter where you’re from for the oft-heard phrase to ring true: ‘If you’re in Madrid, you’re from Madrid’.

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Edificio Metrópolis | LUCVI/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

By Anthony Ham, Writer

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png @AnthonyHamWrite png anthonyham2002

For more about our writers.

Madrid’s Top Experiences

1SPAIN’S ART CAPITAL

Madrid is one of the great art cities of the world, and its golden mile of art – along the Paseo del Prado – is simply astonishing. Lined up along the boulevard are the Museo del Prado, Centro de Arte Reina Sofía and Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, which is easily Europe’s finest such triptych. These may be the highlights, but there are more brilliant art galleries all across the city.

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Caravaggio’s Saint Catherine of Alexandria (c. 1598), Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza | ADAM EASTLAND/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO ©

Museo del Prado

Goya and Velázquez are the stars in the Museo del Prado, which belongs among the elite of world art museums. The Prado’s catalogue has extraordinary depth and breadth, from Spanish masters to a portfolio that includes Rubens, Rembrandt, Botticelli and Bosch.

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Museo del Prado | PEDROSALA/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

Picasso’s mind-altering Guernica looks very much at home in the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, alongside works by Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró. They’re part of a collection that includes some of Europe’s finest art of the 20th century.

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Centro de Arte Reina Sofía | ALASTAIR WALLACE/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza

Beneath one roof at the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza are works from seemingly every European painter of distinction, from 13th-century religious art to zany 21st-century creations by pop-culture icons. It’s like going on a journey through everything refined and masterful during centuries of European art.

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Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza | ENRIQUE PALACIO SANS/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Madrid’s Top Experiences

2PRETTY PUBLIC SQUARES

Madrid’s public spaces are a glorious feature of any visit to the city. Partly it’s the architecture, elegant and sophisticated, that watches over these touchstones of neighbourhood and city life. But more than the buildings, it’s in the squares that so much of Madrid’s irresistible alegría (joy) is to be found and enjoyed.

Plaza Mayor

Plaza Mayor is easily the king of Madrid plazas. The square combines beauty and buzz, scale and detail: uneven cobblestones, perfectly proportioned porticoes, slate spires and facades in deep ochre offset by marvellous frescoes and wrought-iron balconies.

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Plaza Mayor | S-F/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Plaza de Santa Ana

Pretty Plaza de Santa Ana is both epicentre and starting point of so many seemingly endless Madrid nights, with outdoor tables a fabulous vantage point from which to take the pulse of the night and plan your journey through it.

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Plaza de Santa Ana | STEFANOPOLITIMARKOVINA/GETTY IMAGES ©

Plaza de la Villa

One of the most distinguished Madrid spaces when it comes to architecture, soulful Plaza de la Villa showcases barroco madrileño, Madrid’s very own version of the baroque, with brick, stone, slate spires and wrought iron as your backdrop.

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Plaza de la Villa | ELROCE/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Madrid’s Top Experiences

3SPAIN’S TABLE

Madrid is all that’s divine about Spanish cooking. It’s the best place in Spain to find all of the splendid variety of regional cooking in one spot, and it’s a brilliant place to go on a tapas crawl. It promises little-understood local dishes, and is among the best places in the country to experience the buzz that accompanies eating in Spain.

Mercado de San Miguel

You’ll fall in love with Madrid at Mercado de San Miguel. Behind its century-old glass-and-wrought-iron facade, the food on display and on offer is breathtaking – a gourmand’s paradise.

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Tapas, Mercado de San Miguel | MATT MUNRO/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Tapas in La Latina

Calle de la Cava Baja is lined with tapas bars and it’s here that you’ll most easily understand Madrid’s love affair with tapas.

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Tortilla de patatas (Spanish potato omelette) | NITO/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Calle de Ponzano

Chamberí’s Calle de Ponzano has become one of Spain’s best streets to eat. Tapas from a chef’s creative laboratory coexist with old-school bars and modern temples to culinary innovation.

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Cervecería El Doble |CASSANDRA GAMBILL/LONELY PLANET ©

Madrid’s Top Experiences

4ARCHITECTURE AS ART

Perhaps it has something to do with Gaudí’s architectural legacy up the road in Barcelona, but Madrid is one of Europe’s most underrated destinations when it comes to architectural excellence. From the historical heart around the royal palace and out across the city, Madrid’s architecture spans the centuries.

Palacio Real

Madrid’s Palacio Real ranks among the city’s most beautiful buildings. Overlooking an elegant square and shadowed by gorgeous ornamental gardens, the palace is a stately affair, combining grandeur with an imperial past.

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Palacio Real | FOTOEVENTIS/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Plaza de la Cibeles

Operating as the heartbeat of Madrid’s grandest boulevard, Plaza de la Cibeles is a stirring celebration of the belle époque. It has an ornamental fountain and the extravagant Palacio de Comunicaciones.

Gran Vía

Cutting through the heart of Madrid, Gran Vía is one big, bold facade after another. There are highlights all along Gran Vía’s length, but none more exquisite than the domed Edificio Metrópolis.

Madrid’s Top Experiences

5KILLING THE NIGHT

Ernest Hemingway once wrote that no one in Madrid goes to bed before first killing the night, and it remains as true today as it was when he wrote it. The legend of Madrid’s hedonistic nights was born in the narrow, inner-city streets of Malasaña, Chueca and Huertas. More than anywhere in the city, Malasaña and Chueca are where locals come for a night out.

Malasaña

In gritty, grungy Malasaña, hard-living rock venues share punters with elegant 19th-century literary cafes. This is where la movida madrileña lives on.

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Cafe, Malasaña | JJFARQ/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Chueca

Chueca is one cool barrio, and its clientele knows how to light up the night. Everyone’s welcome in Chueca’s illustrious cocktail bars, uber-cool lounge bars and nightclubs.

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Plaza de Chueca | KRZYSZTOF DYDYNSKI/LONELY PLANET ©

Huertas

Nights in Huertas are long and loud, and very often begin in the Plaza de Santa Ana. Nearby there are old-style sherry bars, rooftop hang-outs, wine bars and nightclubs.

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Huertas | ALEX SEGRE/GETTY IMAGES ©

Madrid’s Top Experiences

6GOYA’S MADRID

Few European master painters loom so large over the artistic legacy of a city quite like Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (Goya) does in Madrid. Goya was a larger-than-life personality in medieval Madrid and a court painter who left a remarkable legacy in so many galleries in the city, including the Museo del Prado. Letting him guide you through the city is a great way to get to know Madrid.

Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida

In a small, nondescript hermitage in 1798, Goya painted a series of frescoes under royal orders; these extraordinary paintings remain exactly where he first created them. Breathtaking in their vivid portrayal of Madrid life and the Miracle of St Anthony, they’re worth the trip across town to get here.

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Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida | JJFARQ/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando

One of Europe’s most prestigious artistic schools, the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando is where many of Europe’s finest artists learned their craft. Highlights among many are the 13 works of art by Goya.

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Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando | TK KURIKAWA/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Madrid’s Top Experiences

7THE GRAND HINTERLAND

Down through the centuries, Madrid’s hinterland has been a royal playground: a place where the city’s great and good can escape the city in luxury. This is especially true of the grand, royal getaways San Lorenzo de El Escorial and Aranjuez. Also nearby is Alcalá de Henares, one of Spain’s most vibrant university towns, and a place that’s rich in both history and architecture.

San Lorenzo de El Escorial

The Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo, in the hills west of Madrid, is an imposing 16th-century monument to royal extravagance with priceless artworks, stunning architecture and fine museums and gardens.

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Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo | MARQUES/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Aranjuez

Aranjuez has a spectacular royal palace set amid monumental gardens, but that only tells half the town’s story. It’s a dynamic town with a small but high-class collection of places to eat.

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Palacio Real | TAKASHI IMAGES/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Segovia

Stunning ancient town strung out along a ridge, with a fairytale fortress, a Roman aqueduct, and a backdrop of often-snowcapped mountains.

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Acueducto | SORIN RECHITAN/EYEEM/GETTY IMAGES ©

Madrid’s Top Experiences

8MADRID AT PLAY

Madrid takes its weekends seriously, and some of the best Madrid Sundays are to be spent at El Rastro in the morning and the Parque del Buen Retiro until after sunset. It can be tempting to think of Madrid as one big playground, but places like Casa de Campo are a big focal point for locals looking for an escape from the city streets to have some fun in Madrid’s biggest green space.

Parque del Buen Retiro

Unesco World Heritage–listed Parque del Buen Retiro is one of our favourite corners of the city. Beautiful by any standards, with eye-catching architectural monuments and abundant statues among the trees, El Retiro is where madrileños come to relax and play.

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Parque del Buen Retiro | CATARINA BELOVA/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

El Rastro

Every Sunday, one of Europe’s largest flea markets tumbles down the hill from La Latina to Lavapiés. It’s as beloved by treasure-seekers as by local families, and the bars in nearby (and not so nearby) streets do a roaring trade. It’s a wonderful way to spend your Sunday morning.

What’s New

With its roots in tradition even as it races headlong towards what’s next, Madrid is quite a ride. Things slowed down during the COVID-19 pandemic but the city is back into gear. Chamberí is the epicentre of the city’s reinvention, at once faithful to old Madrid and the most exciting place to be in town. Spanish food and new ways to enjoy it are always a Madrid passion.

Chamberí

We’ve known about Chamberí’s charms for years, but the rest of Madrid is finally catching up. Chamberí has very few sights that draw tourists here into Madrid’s inner north, but it has long been a favourite place for in-the-know locals to experience Madrid life without the tourist fanfare. Plaza de Olavide has been the quiet hub for these simple pleasures. Suddenly, new restaurants, cafes and tapas bars are appearing across the neighbourhood to the point where this is the place to go out any night of the week. It’s also the barrio (district) to watch over the coming years.

Calle de Ponzano

It’s unusual for one street to become so popular so quickly that its name becomes a verb. Very often when madrileños (people from Madrid) now go out in the evening, it’s known as ponzanear (to go out on Calle de Ponzano). Madrid’s most dynamic night-time street, Calle de Ponzano is massively popular for its bars serving the city’s best tapas and long lists of Spanish wines, as well as craft beer and cocktails. The street is also a touchstone for a wider phenomenon, the emergence of Chamberí (where Calle de Ponzano is found) as Madrid’s coolest neighbourhood.

Cooking Classes

Food has always been, and remains, a highlight of visiting Madrid, and the city’s portfolio of restaurants, tapas bars, food markets and gourmet delis just keeps getting better with each passing year. A growing cast of cooking classes is increasingly adding a whole new dimension to that experience, with English-speaking coursestoo. It’s a fun, immersive way to understand what all the fuss is about, and a wonderful way to take a little bit home with you.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MADRID

Anthony Ham, Lonely Planet writer

For years, all that anyone in Spain seemed to talk about was the economic crisis. Then it was Catalonia, followed by the rise of Vox and the far right. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, which knocked Madrid off its stride in 2020 and into 2021. Take it all to heart and it can seem as if the country and city stand perennially on the brink of crisis.

But Madrid is back, and all of these issues are most likely being discussed over craft beers or innovative tapas while everyone seems to be having a terribly good time. Madrid’s speciality is to do everything with great passion, talk about it at full volume and embrace whatever’s new.

What does change is the details – the sudden emergence of a previously quiet street into the next big thing, or adopting the latest food trend and finding new ways to enjoy it. Just like the kind of artful conversion of a medieval building into a warm and contemporary architectural showpiece in which Madrid so clearly excels, this is one city that keeps on getting better without selling its soul.

Food Trends

Madrid may sometimes seem a little slow to take a shine to culinary trends from beyond the Spanish pantheon. Craft beer, for one, took far longer than you might expect to catch fire. But once it appears, the latest food trend is everywhere. Ten years ago, finding gluten-free anything was near impossible in Madrid. Now it’s on every menu and there are even dedicated bakeries. Asian food was the same. In recent years, Vietnamese bun and Hawaiian poke have swept the menus by storm. What’s next? Whatever it is, Madrid’s newly adventurous food lovers and restaurateurs will embrace it with their customary passion and make it their own.

Vegetarians & Vegans

Madrid has always catered for everyone when it comes to culinary tastes, but vegetarians were historically seen as a little strange, while vegans appeared as if from another planet. No more. It’s not so much that there has been an explosion of vegetarian and vegan restaurants – it’s more of a cultural shift. With 10% of Spaniards now identifying as vegetarian, and an awareness of the health benefits of organic produce seeping into mainstream society, you’re no longer looked at strangely when you ask for a dish sin carne (without meat).

Political Winds

Politics in Madrid was getting boring. The conservatives held office for nearly three decades, and their grip on power seemed unshakeable. Then along came a new mayor in 2015, retired judge Manuela Carmena, La abuela (‘the Grandmother’, as she was fondly known), who brought humility and common-sense policies to the most powerful office in the city. She remained popular throughout her transformative four-year reign, but it was not enough to stave off the conservative coalition arrayed against her, which took power in 2019; the new governing coalition, for the first time, included the far-right, anti-immigrant Vox party. The People’s Party’s José Luis Martínez-Almeida has been mayor since 2019, with the next elections due in 2023. At a regional level, the conservative Popular Party swept to a landslide victory in 2021 elections, cementing the conservative hold on the city.

Green Madrid

A centrepiece of Mayor Manuela Carmena’s programme was Madrid Central, a suite of environmental policies to improve Madrid’s air quality by, among other initiatives, making central Madrid largely off-limits to non-residential vehicles. Madrid Central was a huge success – pollution fell by 20% in its first year. Carmena’s conservative opponents railed against the policy, however, and threatened to overturn it on their first day in office. They’ve rebranded it as Madrid 360, and weakened many of its provisions, even if it hasn’t been dismantled entirely.

LISTEN, WATCH & FOLLOW

For inspiration and up-to-date news, visit www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/madrid/articles.

Spanish Sabores (www.spanishsabores.com) Spanish food blog with a focus on Madrid.

News in Slow Spanish (www.newsinslowspanish.com) Spanish news told at a not-so-Spanish pace.

Naked Madrid (www.nakedmadrid.com) Has its finger on the pulse of Madrid life.

LeCool (http://madrid.lecool.com) Madrid for locals.

FAST FACTS

Food trend Vietnamese bun, Hawaiian poke, gluten-free everything

Altitude Madrid has the highest altitude (667m) of any capital city in Europe

Champions League Real Madrid has won 13 times; the next best is seven

Population 3.27 million

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Need to Know

For more information, see Survival Guide

Currency

Euro (€)

Language

Spanish (castellano)

Visas

Generally not required for up to 90 days (not at all for EU or Schengen countries) in any six-month period. Some nationalities need a Schengen visa.

Money

ATMs widely available; credit cards accepted in most hotels, restaurants and shops.

Mobile Phones

Local SIM cards widely available; can be used in European and Australian mobile phones.

Time

Western European (GMT/UTC plus one hour in winter, or two hours in daylight-saving period)

Tourist Information

Turismo de la Ciudad de Madrid (www.esmadrid.com) is the official tourist office, with branches and information points located around the city.

Daily Costs

Budget: Less than €110

A Dorm bed: €18–30

A Hostal (budget hotel) double: €50–75

A Three-course menú del día (daily set menu) lunch: €10–18

Midrange: €110–200

A Double room in midrange hotel: €75–150

A Lunch and/or dinner in decent restaurants: €20–50 per person per meal

A Museum entry: €10–15

Top End: More than €200

A Double room in top-end hotel: from €150

A Fine dining for lunch and dinner: from €50 per person per meal

A Cocktails: €8–15

Advance Planning

Three months before Book dinner at Paco Roncero Restaurante.

One month before Reserve a table at DiverXo and your accommodation, especially at the top end of the market.

One week before Book online entry to the Museo del Prado and tickets to a Real Madrid game.

Useful Websites

Turismo de la Ciudad de Madrid (www.esmadrid.com) City tourist office website.

Le Cool (http://madrid.lecool.com) Alternative, offbeat and avant-garde.

Lonely Planet (lonelyplanet.com/madrid) Destination information, hotel reviews and more.

Turismo en la Comunidad de Madrid (www.turismomadrid.es) Regional tourist office website.

Madrid Diferente (www.madriddiferente.com) Offbeat guide to the city’s attractions.

WHEN TO GO

Spring and autumn are the best times to visit. Summer can be fiercely hot, although it’s a dry heat, while winter can be bitterly cold and snow is possible though rare.

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Arriving in Madrid

Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas (Madrid-Barajas Airport) Metro (6.05am to 1.30am; €4.50); bus (€5; runs 24 hours) to central Madrid; taxis €30.

Estación Puerta de Atocha (Atocha Train Station) Metro and bus to central Madrid (6.05am to 1.30am); taxi around €8.

Estación de Chamartín (Chamartín Train Station) Metro and bus to central Madrid (6.05am to 1.30am); taxi around €15.

Estación Sur de Autobuses (Bus Station) Metro and bus to central Madrid (6.05am to 1.30am); taxi from around €15.

For much more on arrival.

Getting Around

Ten-trip Metrobús tickets cost €12.20, charged to your Tarjeta Multi; they are valid for journeys on Madrid’s metro and bus network. Tarjeta Multi (€2.50) can be purchased and topped up at machines in most metro stations.

Metro The quickest and easiest way to get around. Runs 6.05am to 1.30am.

Bus Extensive network but careful planning is needed to make the most of over 200 routes. Runs 6.30am to 11.30pm.

Taxi Cheap fares by European standards; plentiful.

Walking Compact city centre makes walking a good option, but it’s hillier than it first appears.

For much more on getting around.

Sleeping

Madrid has high-quality accommodation at prices that haven’t been seen in the centre of other Western European capitals in decades. Five-star temples to good taste and a handful of buzzing hostels bookend a fabulous collection of midrange hotels; most of the midrangers are creative originals, blending high levels of comfort with an often-quirky sense of style.

Useful Websites

Turismo de la Ciudad de Madrid (www.esmadrid.com) Good for an overview of the accommodation scene.

Home Club (www.homeclub.com) Dozens of apartments across Madrid for short or long stays.

Atrápalo (www.atrapalo.com) Spanish-language booking service for flights and hotels.

Lonely Planet (lonelyplanet.com/spain/madrid/hotels) Independent reviews.

For much more on sleeping.

First Time Madrid

For more information, see Survival Guide

Checklist

A Make sure your passport is valid for at least six months past your arrival date

A Inform your debit-/credit-card company of your intention to travel

A Arrange appropriate travel insurance

A Ask your mobile-phone provider about roaming charges (if any)

A Plan your route into the city on the metro or bus

A Check the calendar to work out which festivals to visit or avoid

What to Pack

A Good walking shoes – Madrid is best appreciated on foot

A A small day pack

A Two-pin continental Europe electrical adaptors

A Sunscreen in summer, warm clothes in winter

A Ear plugs to keep out Madrid’s night-time noise

A Spanish phrasebook – not everyone speaks English

Top Tips for Your Trip

A Plan to spend at least part of every day sipping wine in one of Madrid’s plazas and watching the world go by.

A Madrid is a compact city when compared with other European capitals. Although most of it can be easily explored on foot, if time is tight don’t hesitate to use the metro. Cross-city trips are rarely more than four or five stops.

A To avoid going hungry, adjust your body clock on arrival. In no time, you’ll be eating lunch at 2.30pm and dinner at 9pm.

A A few words of Spanish can go a long way. English is widely (but not universally) spoken.

A Spain is a food-obsessed country and you’ll miss half the fun if you don’t linger over your meals. Always ask for the local speciality.

What to Wear

Like most Western European cities, Madrid is a fashion-conscious place. Smart casual is considered the bare minimum any time you step outside. For men, that means jeans and T-shirt at least, for women a little more. As a guide, you’d probably dress up more here than you would in London, but less than in Paris or Rome. If you’re going out for a meal or to a nightclub, the same rules apply – smart casual is the norm – although it depends on the place. In Malasaña you’re more likely to see people dressing down.

Be Forewarned

Madrid is generally safe, but as in any large European city, keep an eye on your belongings and exercise common sense.

A El Rastro, around the Museo del Prado and the metro are favourite pickpocketing haunts, as are any areas where tourists congregate in large numbers.

A Avoid park areas (such as the Parque del Buen Retiro) after dark.

A Keep a close eye on your taxi’s meter and try to keep track of the route to make sure you’re not being taken for a ride.

Tours

Like any large European city, Madrid has its share of hop-on/hop-off bus tours. The city is becoming more cyclist-friendly with each passing year, and bicycle tours of Madrid and surrounding areas are offered by Bike Spain and Trixi.com – they’re a great way to see the city. Numerous private companies run tours of everything from the city’s history to its culinary and tapas scene; the food-focused tours are a particular highlight with a number of excellent choices.

Taxes & Refunds

A In Spain, value-added tax (VAT) is known as IVA ( impuesto sobre el valor añadido ).

A Hotel rooms and restaurant meals attract an additional 10% (usually included in the quoted price); most other items have 21% added.

A Visitors are entitled to a refund of the 21% IVA on purchases of more than €90.16 from any shop, if they are taking them out of the EU within three months. Ask the shop for a refund form showing the price and IVA paid for each item, plus the vendor and purchaser.

A Present your IVA refund form to the customs booth for refunds at the airport, port or border when you leave the EU.

Tipping

Tipping is not common.

Taxis Locals usually round up fares to the nearest euro.

Restaurants Locals leave a few coins; in better restaurants, 5% is ample.

Language

When it comes to speaking English, Spain comes somewhere between France and Germany – English is widely spoken (although often not very well), but Spaniards almost always seem happy to give it a try. Many restaurants have English-language menus. It always helps to learn a few basic phrases. See the Language chapter for more.

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Etiquette

Greetings Greetings should precede even the most casual encounter – ‘Hola, buenos días’ is the perfect way to start.

Bars Don’t be surprised to see people throwing their serviettes and olive stones on the floor – don’t be the first to do it, but otherwise you might as well join in because a waiter will come around from time to time to sweep them all up.

Escalators Stand on the right on escalators in metro stations and elsewhere.

Churches Unless you’re there for religious reasons, avoid visiting churches (or taking photos) during Mass.

Bargaining Haggling is OK at El Rastro, but not the done thing elsewhere.

Perfect Days

Day One

Plaza Mayor & Royal Madrid

icon-icon-morning MSo many Madrid days begin in the Plaza Mayor or nearby with a breakfast of chocolate con churros (chocolate with deep-fried doughnuts) at Chocolatería de San Ginés. Drop by the Plaza de la Villa and Plaza de Oriente, then stop for a coffee or wine at Café de Oriente and visit the Palacio Real.

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Lunch Mercado de San Miguel is one of Madrid’s most dynamic gastronomic spaces.

El Retiro & the Art Museums

icon-icon-afternoon RSpend as much of the afternoon as you can at the Museo del Prado. When this priceless collection of Spanish and European masterpieces gets too much, visit the Iglesia de San Jerónimo El Real and Caixa Forum.

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Dinner Restaurante Sobrino de Botín is the world’s oldest restaurant.

Plaza Mayor & Royal Madrid

icon-icon-evening NTo kick off the night, take in a flamenco show at Las Tablas, followed by an intimate drink at Plaza Menor. If you’re up for a long night, Teatro Joy Eslava is an icon of the Madrid night.

Perfect Days

Day Two

El Retiro & the Art Museums

icon-icon-morning MGet to the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía early to beat the crowds, then climb up through sedate streets to spend a couple of hours soaking up the calm of the Parque del Buen Retiro. Wander down to admire the Plaza de la Cibeles.

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Lunch Estado Puro is one of Madrid’s most creative tapas bars.

Plaza Mayor & Royal Madrid

icon-icon-afternoon RCatch the metro across town to admire the Goya frescoes in the Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida. Afterwards Templo de Debod and the surrounding gardens are fine places for a stroll.

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Dinner Casa Alberto is a storied Madrid taberna (tavern).

Sol, Santa Ana & Huertas

icon-icon-evening NBegin the night at the Plaza de Santa Ana for a drink or three at an outdoor table if the weather’s fine. After another tipple at La Venencia, check out if there’s live jazz on offer at wonderful Café Central. Have an after-show drink at El Imperfecto. The night is still young – Costello Café & Niteclub is good if you’re in the mood to dance, La Terraza del Urban if you’re in need of more sybaritic pleasures.

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Plaza Mayor | MAYLAT/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Perfect Days

Day Three

El Retiro & the Art Museums

icon-icon-morning MBegin the morning at the third of Madrid’s world-class art galleries, the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. It’s such a rich collection that you could easily spend the whole morning here. If you have time to spare, consider dipping back into the Prado or Reina Sofía.

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Lunch Platea is one of Madrid’s most exciting culinary experiences.

Salamanca

icon-icon-afternoon RHead out east to take a tour of the Plaza de Toros bullring, before dipping into the Museo Lázaro Galdiano. Spend the rest of the afternoon shopping along Calle de