Things to Do in Madrid: Itineraries, Costs and Food

Founded in 1819 and expanded in 2007 by Rafael Moneo, adding roughly 16,000 square metres of exhibition space. Come for Velazquez's Las Meninas and Goya's Black Paintings, and don't try to see the whole collection in one visit, there's too much of it.

At roughly 135,000 square metres and 3,418 rooms, this is the largest royal palace in Western Europe by floor area, though only a fraction of the rooms are open to the public. It's still used for state ceremonies, so which rooms are on view can shift and the palace occasionally closes for official functions.

The building was once a public hospital, and the newer Jean Nouvel wing next door hosts temporary shows. Most people come for one painting, Picasso's Guernica, and end up staying for the rest of the 20th-century Spanish collection.

Madrid's central park, genuinely used by locals for jogging and picnics rather than only visited for photos. Rent a rowboat on the lake in the afternoon, or skip the crowds near the entrance and take the quieter paths toward the Palacio de Cristal.

Built in the early 1600s as a market and bullfighting square, now ringed by cafes charging tourist prices for the location. Walk through it on the way somewhere else rather than sitting down to eat here.

Madrid's early 20th-century answer to Broadway: theatres, flagship stores, and architecture that rewards looking up rather than straight ahead. It's the busiest, loudest street in the centre, walk it once for the buildings and skip it if you want a quiet coffee.

The stadium tour and club museum operating at full capacity after a five-year renovation completed in late 2023 into 2024, with a retractable roof and a rebuilt capacity of about 83,186. Worth it even as a non-fan for the scale of the rebuild, book ahead since demand is higher post-renovation than it used to be.

The old working-class neighbourhood turned into Madrid's densest concentration of bars, vintage shops and late-opening venues. Genuinely local as much as visitor-driven, though the core streets get loud and crowded on weekend nights.

Madrid's long-running Sunday flea market along Ribera de Curtidores in La Latina, stalls selling everything from antiques to secondhand clothes. Come for the atmosphere and the bars that fill up afterward more than for a serious bargain. Pickpockets work the crowd here, keep bags zipped.

A ticketed rooftop terrace atop the Cibeles Palace, Madrid's city hall building, with a panoramic view over the fountain and the Gran Via skyline. Less crowded than Templo de Debod at sunset, a solid alternative if you want the view without the crush.

A former municipal slaughterhouse converted into a large arts and culture complex south of Retiro, hosting exhibitions, cinema, design markets and a food hall. A genuine local cultural hub rather than a tourist attraction dressed up as one, check the current exhibition schedule before making a special trip.

The Egyptian temple's terrace above Principe Pio has become one of the more reliably crowded sunset spots in the city as its reputation has spread. Still worth it, but arrive well before sunset for a spot on the terrace wall, it fills in fast.

A three-course chickpea stew: broth first, then vegetables and chickpeas, then the meats. Order it at lunch, it's too heavy for anything else and most kitchens only serve it midday.

Fried squid rings stuffed into a plain baguette roll, a Madrid classic born of a landlocked city's habits rather than proximity to the sea. Eat it standing at the counter.

Potato and egg omelette. Ask for it 'poco hecha' if you want the centre still soft, Madrid kitchens tend to lean that way more than other regions do.

Tripe stew with chorizo and morcilla, rich and an acquired texture for first-timers. Cold-weather food, don't expect to find it easily in the middle of summer.

Fried dough dipped in thick drinking chocolate, eaten either at breakfast or after a night out. Madrid treats both as equally normal times for it.

Prawns sizzled in olive oil, garlic and dried chilli, served still bubbling in the dish it was cooked in. Order bread specifically to mop up the oil.

Fried eggs broken over a bed of fries, often topped with jamon or chorizo. A newer bar dish rather than an old one, but it's everywhere now.

Twice-fried pork belly, crackling skin included, a Castile-and-Leon import that Madrid has fully adopted as a beer snack.

A newer Madrid restaurant named Spain's best new restaurant of 2026 in Tapas Magazine's awards, part of a wave of ambitious openings clustered around the city's autumn dining season. One specific award from one publication, not yet corroborated elsewhere in my research, treat it as promising rather than settled.

A resurgence of old-style vermouth-on-tap bars across La Latina and Malasana, pouring vermut with olives and canned seafood the way Barcelona treats its Saturday ritual. A real shift across a category, not one address. Worth building a Sunday late-morning around rather than chasing a single spot.

A wave of small natural-wine-focused bars opening across Malasana and Chamberi, leaning on low-intervention Spanish producers rather than the standard taberna house list. This one has staying power rather than being pure hype, worth seeking out if you want something other than the usual house red.

A multi-floor food market in Chueca, grocery stalls on the ground floor, tapas counters in the middle, and a rooftop restaurant on top. Less touristed than San Miguel and a fairer read on what Madrid actually eats day to day, worth the detour.

A growing number of small breweries and taprooms concentrated in Chamberi and around Conde Duque, a shift from Madrid's traditional caña-and-terraza culture. Worth knowing about if you want something other than the same lager, though it hasn't replaced the classic terraza scene.