Madrid Weekend Escape

Madrid, apart from having beautiful architecture and one of the biggest museums in the world (El Prado), is a great place for a gastronomic weekend or a shopping weekend. I grew up in Madrid and because of all the good memories that I have from my childhood and teenage years here, it is without a doubt my favourite city in Europe.

Ideally for your trip to Madrid you would need more time than just a weekend… I have summarised all the ideas and places to visit in just 3 very busy days, however 4 days would be perfect to properly see it all. If you have less time, you can adapt or just do one of the plans below.

The best method of transportation in Madrid is the underground (el metro). It works incredibly well and it is so clean! But to be fair most of the things in the city centre are close enough to just do everything walking.

In terms of where to stay, my favourite area is Salamanca that has all the nice shops and restaurants. In this area I would recommend "ICON Wipton by Petit Palace” hotel, the location is great and the design is beautiful. If you want to be closer to the sightseeing attractions and you don’t mind taking the underground or a taxi to go for dinner, I would stay at one of the Room Mate hotels that are very well priced and are beautiful. Room Mate Oscar, Alicia or Alba are great options.

Day 1: Sol, Plaza Mayor, Palacio Real, Malasaña and Debod

This is the most touristic plan and something that you only have to do once. In my view, even though this part of Madrid is beautiful, it is not an area that I would visit with my friends on a weekend. I would not recommend stopping around here for a drink or food as these are very touristic places where you will pay double of the real cost of the food anywhere else.

• The Puerta del Sol is a square and one of the busiest places in the city. This is the centre of the radial network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous clock whose bells mark the traditional eating of the Twelve Grapes and the beginning of a new year. Just have a quick look as you have a long day ahead! You can walk 5 min from here to Plaza Mayor.

• Plaza Mayor is another major public space in the heart of Madrid, and it was once the centre of Old Madrid. It was first built during the reign of Philip III. Walking just 8 min from here you will arrive to the Palacio Real.

• The Royal Palace of Madrid is the official residence of the Spanish royal family, although now is only used for state ceremonies. The palace has 135,000 square metres of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the largest functioning royal palace and the largest by floor area in Europe. You can of course visit the inside of the palace, but this visits usually takes a full morning so either you wake up very early to have time to do everything or you just visit the surroundings of the palace.

• From Palacio Real the next stop is Malasaña that is 25 minutes’ walk from the palace or if you are tired you can take the underground from opera to San Bernardo. Malasaña is the hipster neighbour of Madrid full of nice cafes and vintage clothing stores, it is worth having a walk around and exploring the tiny pretty streets. It is also a nice area to stop for lunch, my favourites here are “Ochenta grados” and “Lamucca de Pez”.

• To end a great day in a beautiful spot I would recommend to go to watch the sunset to the Temple of Debod. This is an Egyptian temple dating back to the 2nd century BC that was donated to Spain by the Egyptian government to save it from floods following the construction of the great Aswan Dam. The views of the Palacio Real from here are incredible.

Day 2: El Retiro, Círculo de Bellas Artes and Mercado de San Anton

El Retiro is one of the largest parks of the city and it is worth it to have a walk around it. Particularly nice are the Palacio de Cristal that is a beautiful building that usually holds different exhibitions and the lake where you can rent boats and sale around.

I would recommend exiting the Retiro by the Puerta de Alcala exit so you can admire the neo-classical gate that was a gate of the former walls of the city. It was the first of its kind to be built after the fall of the Roman Empire, making it even older than Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate or the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

From here, you can walk down and you will arrive at Cibeles. You will see here four prominent buildings: the Bank of Spain Building, the Palacio de Buenavista, Palacio de Linares and Palacio de Cibeles. In my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful spots in the city and I love the design of these buildings…

Your next stop should be the rooftop at the Circulo de Bellas Artes. The rooftop is so nice and the views over the Gran Via are iconic.

After having a refreshing caña at the rooftop, you should go for lunch to San Anton Market. In general, most tourists end up visiting the San Miguel Market but it has become so popular and so crowded that the experience is no longer what it used to be. However, the San Anton Market is a great alternative located in a great trendy neighbourhood (Chueca) that you have to visit. The second floor of the market is fully dedicated to tapas with a lot of stands full of delicious Spanish products. Don’t forget to get some jamon iberico and croquetas! The market also has a beautiful terrace with a restaurant that serves the products of the market.

Day 3: Museums, Aperitivo and shopping.

Madrid has great options in terms of museums. If you want to visit a classic, I would go to “El Prado”, you can spend a full morning here or even a day! You will find here the works of artists like Velazquez, Goya, Rembrandt, El Greco, Rubens, Raphael or Bosch.

However, if you do not have much time and would like just a dip into Spanish art, I would visit the house of Joaquin Sorolla. The house is absolutely stunning, and it contains many of the beautiful pictures of the artist.

If you like the impressionist movement the Thyssen-Bornemisza is the best option for you. And finally, if you would like to see one of the most important Spanish pieces of art in history, you must visit the “Reina Sofia” museum to see the “Guernica”.

If you are in Madrid on a Saturday (you can do this any day of the week but on Saturdays the atmosphere is great and very lively), it is very important that you go for aperitivo in Ponzano street. Starting around 1 pm, the idea is to go to few places that are on the same street for one tapa or two in each place with a caña and then move on to the next. There are amazing places in this street, so you don’t have to stick to this list, but my favourite places and tapas are the following:

• De Atun (Ponzano 59) – order “trio de atún”

• La máquina (Ponzano, 39-41) – order ensaladilla rusa

• Sala de Despiece (Ponzano 11) – order “presa ibérica” and “pulpo a la gallega”

• El Fide (Ponzano 8) - and last but not least “gambas a la plancha”

After this great plan you can spend some hours shopping. My favourite area to go shopping is in the neighbourhood called “ Salamaca” the streets of Serrano, Lagasca, Claudio Coello and Hermosilla . The reason why going shopping in Madrid is great is because all the Inditex brands are cheaper (because it is a Spanish company and this includes Oysho, Zara, Massimo Dutti, Uterque etc) and there are many independent shops that just make beautiful clothes and in particular shoes!

Restaurants:

There are so many nice places that I would like to recommend….. here you have a few that I love:

• St James: for paella. Calle de Juan Bravo, 26

• Casa Julian: for steak. Calle de Don Ramón de la Cruz, 12

• El Barril de Goya: for seafood. Calle de Goya, 86

• El Pimiento Verde: Basque Country cuisine. There are few locations

• Cilindro Restaurante: Peruvian food fused with recipes & ingredients from Asturias region. Calle de Don Ramón de la Cruz, 83