Capital of Spain, Madrid is definitely a city to remember. I’ve been living here since mid-2019 and I’m madly in love with this city. I came to Spain in 2018 planning to be in Madrid, however not always life goes accordingly our plans, so I moved to Barcelona. A year later, I just felt like I was in the wrong place and here I am, in Madrid as I should.
That means I have already done many researches on places to stay, places to live, I understood almost each area of this city in detail and I believe my post can help you to identify where you should stay whenever you come visit 💛.
Madrid is a super vivid city, lots of things to do, but, first, let’s go through the basic:
📨 Official language: Castellano (Spanish) – If you don’t know spanish, don’t worry, English works just fine
⌛ Best Time to visit: For me, any shoulder season, however if I had to pick one, I’d say Spring. During summer (July/Aug) the hot can be unbearable for some people, it does get super super hot and you will find it hard to be on streets in the afternoon. During Mar to Jun and Sep to Nov you can enjoy the sun till 21:00 (depending on the month) and not melt outside. Winter is not that terrible compared to other countries, the lowest temperature you can get will probably be -2 (if it’s a veeeery cold), but normally temperature will be around 5-10 degrees (for me, this is too cold already :D)
💰 Currency: Euro – and you will never had problem with credit cards, so no need to carry money around if you don’t want to.
🗺 Area: 604.3 km²
👥 Population: 6.642 mi (2019)
⚡ Plugs: voltage is 230V (plugs C and F), and the standard frequency is 50Hz.
🛸 Transportation: Metro works perfectly in Madrid and i tis also very easy to understand. You can buy the tickets per day or units. Madrid is a big city, so if you planned to visit lots of places in a day, the daily ticket might be your best choice. If you are like me and you rather split your itinerary by áreas so you can walk a lot, than go by trip (I believe the minimum ticket is 10 trips). I do NOT recommend renting a car if you are going to stay in the city, it’s basically a nightmare to find a spot.
Last but, definitely, not leat: the SIESTA IS REAL! – and the vacations as well.
Lots of business close between 2:00pm and 4:00/5:00pm. Big stores will be open, so if you are planning to do some shopping, not a problem, but locals tend to close. It is also important to keep that in mind for lunch, I have this habit of eating late, around 2pm or 3pm) and when I first got here I couldn’t find a place to eat, so be aware.
Talking about lunch/dinner, if you have a restaurant that you really want to try, please make a reservation because they constantly full, everyday, every moment. People in Madrid loves to go out to eat, so it is very hard to find a table in a good restaurant if you don’t have a reservation.
Back to the business time in Spain, not just Madrid, between mid-August till mid-Sept it is vacation time. And this is real! Stores (again, no the huge ones like zara,etc.) and restaurants just close their doors during this period, so keep that in mind also when planning your trip.
PUERTA DEL SOL
Here you find 3 important “milestones” of the city:
REAL CASA DE CORREIOS (or Post Office): I tis currently the office of the President of the Community of Madrid (community not city, the city council is located in another beautiful building, the Cybele Palace, worth to visit). Its best feature is the central tower that bears a 19th Century turret clock. This is the clack that announces the New Year in Madrid. Here’s where lots of madrileños get together to celebrate this moment. Note: tradition here is to eat 12 grapes, one each chime that precedes the midnight – it’s super funny, interesting and challenging, you should try it.
KM 0 – Right in front of the Real Casa de Correos, you will find the Kilometer zero. Here is the starting point of the major streets of Spain. Tradition says that, if you want to come back to Madrid, you got to take a picture at the Km 0, so don’t miss it.
EL OSO Y EL MADROÑO (Statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree): Symbol of the City, the sculpture from the second half of the 20th century, represents the coat of arms of Madrid.
PLAZA MAYOR
The Plaza Mayor dates back to the 15th century, was used as the main market of the town, and suffered 3 major fires (1631, 1670 and 1790), so what we see now is a result of lots of reconstructions. The square itself it’s beautiful and full of bars and restaurants. My advice? Most of them are made for tourists – no need to say more, right?
One of the exists of the Plaza leads to “Arco de Cuchilleros” Street, here’s where you will find the oldest restaurant of the worlds, Botín. I still haven’t been there just because it is not my kind f restaurant, but I do want to go… not everyday you can visit the oldest restaurant of the world, right?
MERCADO DE SAN MIGUEL Y DE SAN ILDEFONSO
The Mercado de San Miguel is the most beautiful – and most famous – market in Madrid, it sits right next to Plaza Mayor and serves a variety of foods and drinks. It’s that place that is always packed, but, however it is worth the visit for its beauty and to grab some drink, food in there is not the best. Reason why I bring to you another market, the Mercado de San Ildefonso.
The Mercado de San Ildefonso is nothing similar to the San Miguel, you will notice instantly that this one is more local (and not that pretty). Food is on the 2nd floor and is much better – they have some Croquetas that is to die for. On the 3rd floor there’s a bar, you can grab some food and go up for drinks if you like. It is located close to Malasaña and Chueca, the two neighborhood known by its bars, tapas and relaxed environment.
PARQUE DEL BUEN RETIRO
Madrid’s green lungs is the most beautiful and joyful park in town. All locals that lives close by go to Retiro for a run, a picnic, a walk with the kids, etc. I cannot describe the feeling of being in this park, and I get so happy just to think about how I feel and I’m in there, cannot describe…
In the Retiro there are few “mandatory stops”:
- Palácio de Cristal (Crystal Palace) – The palace was built in 1887 and it is made
almost entirely of glass set in an iron framework. Nowadays is part of the Reina Sofia Museum, it is one of its exposition centres, so you might find some exhibiting when visiting. - Estanque (Retiro Pond) – walking by the pond is a fresh moment in the day, you can always stop for a beer and admire people walking buy. They also rent rowing boats 😉
- Cecílio Rodriguez Garden – Almost a hidden gem in the park, this garden is not well known by the tourists it seems, even when the park is super packed, you can have a moment of peace in this garden. It is gorgeous and you can spot few peacocks.
PRADO MUSEUM & REINA SOFIA MUSEUM
If you are a Museum person, you cannot miss none of those two. You will visit most of the famous arts in the world, by the way, Guernica is located in the Reina Sofia. You can visit for free on some specific hours. As the hours change depending on the season, I recommend visiting their page and checking it before going.
Prado: https://www.museodelprado.es/en/visit-the-museum
Reina Sofia: https://www.museoreinasofia.es/en/visit/reopen
ROYAL PALACE
Yes, it is the official residence of the Royal Family. No, they do not live in there. The Royal Family lives currently in the Zarzuela Palace. They do offer free entrance but under some constrains, you can check it our here.
the Royal Palace becomes every week on stage at the ‘Changing Guard’, worth seeing. Also the first Wednesday of the month (except the months of January, August and September), takes place the ‘Solemn Changing of the Royal Guard’. Check out the specific hours and don’t miss this event out. Note: Due to COVID this event is temporarily cancelled.
Ok, so… when I’m looking for hotels in a certain destination my researches are based on the areas, not the hotels specifically, unless when the hotel is the destination itself (Maldives, Safaris, etc…). I believe that each person has its own budget and preferences, so I rather explain a little bit about each area here in Madrid and I hope this helps you all.
First of all, I never had any violence or safety problems here in the city, which is the most important thing, but, as in any other major city, please be aware and if you think streets are not looking very safe at night, grab a cab instead of risking it, ok?
You will notice that I try to chose areas based on the metro station, because it does work A LOT in Madrid. And talking about metro, I highly recommend to be close to the Line 6 that is circular and can take you to different areas of the city and connection with all other lines.
Area 1 – It’s where you can find most of the touristic attractions and you can visit almost all of them by foot. It’s a great area to be not just during day light but also at night, as Malasaña and Chueca (known as a gay friendly neighborhood) are located in this area and where you are going to find lots of bars.
Area 2 – If you have no problem walking in your trips, this area is also kind of close to all points of interest and during the night, you have lots of restaurant options (Jorge Juan is my favorite street for good restaurants). Difference between Area 1 and 2, I’d say it’s the average rate. In area 1 you find more of a younger crowd.
Area 3 – More of a residential neighborhood and you will probably find better deals. You can also visit everything by foot but you got to love walking, if that’s not your kind of trip, then I suggest you grab a taxi or metro. For few cañas (beer in a small glass), I recommend the streets Sainz de Baranda and Ibiza.
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Have you ever been to Madrid? Share in the comments your favorite place in the city! And let me know if you are interested in tips on restaurants and hotels as well.
Have a safe trip!
