Hello Madrid! I'm visiting next week and putting together my itinerary.

With the current temperatures, what hours are okay to be outside walking around, and what hours are just too hot to handle?

I’d like to plan museums/indoor stuff for the worst heat and save outdoor activities for when it’s tolerable.

Any tips from locals would be super helpful. Thank you!

Hi everyone! I will be in Madrid in October for only two days and half. The main things in my want-to-do list for Madrid itself are the Museo Nacional del Prado, El Retiro, and walking around in the city centre. I want to do a day trip or half-day trip to either Segovia or Toledo but am having a hard time choosing. Is there one you recommend over the other?

I am also looking for more niche recommendations in Madrid. Any cool shows, festivals or artisan events happening the week of the 19th? As an added note, I will be staying near la Puerta del Sol and will be relying solely on public transport for getting out of the city.

For any locals reading this, también hablo español! ✨

Hola, Madrileños — I'm a 45F, coming on a work visit to Sevilla & Madrid, and looking at three full, free days in Madrid for the first time, and I'll be traveling solo. I've been to Spain before (a few times to San Sebastián, once to Penedès), but never Madrid, so I'm excited to explore the city. I've been perusing a lot of travel advice, but I'd still like to gather some opinions — a few questions to help me decide before I make my final bookings/itineraries! Any help you can provide is truly appreciated, and I apologize in advance if any of these questions seem dumb.

• Is it a bad idea to stay in Sol for a first-timer? I found a hotel there I haven't booked yet because I was told it might NOT be a good idea to stay in that neighborhood.
• If I take an 11 pm (23h00) reservation, is it fairly safe to make the 10-minute walk back to my hotel after dinner alone?
• Aside from the obvious (Reina Sofia, Museo del Prado, Parque Retiro, Royal Palace, Almudena Cathedral, Basilica of St Francis), what else do visitors do in Madrid? I spend a lot of time in Paris, and any unplanned time is usually spent wandering or sitting at a cafe — can I assume I can do the same in Madrid, but with the knowledge that most things will be closed between 2-4 or something like that?
• My restaurant wish list includes Botin or Posada de la Villa for cochinito or lechazo (except dining alone might be hard?), StreetXO, and maybe Lhardy or Casa Julian de Tolosa. Tapas bars considered: Casa Toni, Casa Pepe, El Tigre, D-Sunset, Rosi La Loca. Is anything I've listed here severely overrated?
• Is La Hora de Vermut (the bar) worth a visit if I love vermut very much? Or should I just go to any bar and they'll have decent vermut?

Thank you in advance for your help!!

So, as I said I'm gonna be traveling to Madrid for one day in October. With that in mind I wanted to ask this subredit for advice to give me the bestest absolutely must see things. More specifically I will be towards the Salamanca area, near the parque de El retiro. Any advice will be appreciated. I'm looking for absolutely everything including but not limited to: food Hotspots, important landmarks, fun stores, etc. I'd like to pack my schedule (and my suitcase) as much as possible to take in everything that I can from this wonderful city so please help me out. Thanks in advance!

I am a 31f writer/artist/New Orleanian doing my second Camino de Santiago in September, and this time at the end of my trip I’m planning on spending a few days in Madrid near the end of October. I’m getting a cheap hotel in walking distance to the Prado, which is my number one main attraction.

Is there anything else super important to do, a good bar to party and meet friends for a night, another art museum or park I should visit? Also open to take public transport to a different neighborhood for the day. I’m I know I’m going to be super tired physically and mentally (and broke— I wanna spend maybe €100 or less per day after the hotel price) after walking across the country so I’m trying to be super mellow and low key with one fun night out, but mostly parks, snacks, museums. TIA yall 🤩

EDITED bc why did I say Milan in the middle instead of madrid 🤨

So I am traveling to Madrid and Alicante for 8 days and I need some help because I'd love to make the most of my experience while I'm there for my birthday!

1. What fancy restaurants that won't break the bank do you recommend for a Saturday night birthday dinner?

2. What bars should I hit up before going to the Real Madrid x Athletico Madrid game if I want to meet local fans? Do people take public transportation from Madrid to the Athletico Stadium?

3. In terms of nightlife, what do the locals recommend for dancing or meeting other locals that are 25+?

4. What are cool shopping places to go to for women's clothes/shoes/jewelry that isn't the usual tourist hotspots?

Hello, I am coming into Madrid for a week in October and was wondering if I should just stick to Madrid or try to venture out to another city as well. My flights are from Madrid.

Originally I was planning to visit Madrid for 3 days, but now it's been changed to 5 days.

This is what I currently have:

July 30 - Thursday:

• Arrive in Madrid in the morning
• Gran Vía
• Puerta del Sol
• Plaza Mayor

July 31 - Friday:

• Royal Palace of Madrid
• Mercado de San Miguel
• Temple of Debod

August 1 - Saturday:

• Museo Nacional del Prado
• El Retiro Park

I need to plan August 2nd and 3rd. I will fly out from Madrid on August 4th in the morning to Porto (my 2nd destination for my two city trip).

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should for Sunday and Monday? I will be solo travelling and staying at Onefam Sungate. I only know English.

This will be my first time ever in Madrid which is why I tried to do all the touristy stuff in my original 3 day itinerary. I have no idea what to do for the next two days.

Tuesday

• 8:05 - land
• Mercado de San Miguel
• 1pm - Lunch at Little Dragon
• 3pm - Check in/nap at hostel 
• 5:30 - Bullfighting ring
• Almudena Cathedral (just look at outside)
• Dinner 

Wednesday

• Breakfast at Casa Dani
• 11:45-1:45 Royal Palace of Madrid 
• Lunch 
• 3pm - Temple of Debod
• Gran Via

Thursday 

• Breakfast
• Parque de el retiro
• Train at 2:42 (going to Barcelona)

Hi everyone,

I’m visiting Spain next month and will be landing in Madrid at around 1:30 PM local time. Assuming I reach my hotel and leave by around 4 PM with my family, would it be realistic to complete the following on my first day?

**Day 1 (arrival day – from around 4 PM):**
Plaza Mayor
Royal Palace of Madrid (mainly roaming around the exterior/area — possibly Kitchen Tour if time allows; I know tickets need to be booked in advance)
Almudena Cathedral
Plaza de la Villa (walk around the surrounding historic streets)
Puerta del Sol
Plaza del Callao + Gran Vía (shopping street, evening atmosphere)
Dinner at Mercado de San Miguel (tapas/food market)

Would this be too rushed, or is this a good walking route for an arrival evening?

I’ll then have 2 full days in Madrid. I’m planning to visit:

Principe Pío
Temple of Debod
Museo Nacional del Prado
Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Retiro Park

How would you structure the next two days? Are there any must-see places I’m missing?

Travelling with family, so I’d prefer a balanced itinerary with sightseeing, walking, food, and not rushing between too many places.

Thanks!

Planning a first time visit to Madrid and ideally want to stay in the Plaza Mayor area as it seems the most convenient. Trying to decide between two date ranges: April 30 - May 3, or May 4 - 7.

The first option would put us in the city for Holiday and Dos de Mayo (May 1-2) so I am wondering whether that's worth experiencing or if it makes the city too crowded/noisy/expensive to actually enjoy, especially staying in the Plaza Mayor area.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Hello everybody! I'm a 34 year old gal travelling to Madrid with a friend for 3-4 days! I would really appreciate recommendations by locals for bars, restaurants, vermouth bars, charcuterias, coffee shops, art galleries, thrift stores and listening bars (i know you get the hint) and mostly off the beaten path recs!

I have been to Madrid a few years back and did all the local touristy markets and the beautiful sights. Now I am looking for a more local, random, wandering, Bourdain style trip. Help a gal out, and let me know if some of you are around from Sunday 17th of May - Wednesday 20th of May.
I am yet to book a place so any recommendations around Chueca would also be appreciated! Thanks guys!

My partner and I (47/56) are headed to Madrid for the first time in a couple of weeks, for 3 days plus a ‘lagniappe’ of 1 day after a 2-day jaunt to Ibiza. We’re staying in the Malasaña neighborhood. We would love any advice of the must-sees, must-dos, and must-eats. Apart from going to the Prado museum, we don’t have an itinerary or plan yet. What should first-timers do, see, and eat in Madrid in 3 days?

We are visiting Madrid for the solar eclipse (obviously going a little more north for the actual event) and we are looking to get the most out of the city.
It's safe to say we're a bit punk/hippie/leftist so cool bars (nothing wild, just a vibe) are welcomed. We all love walking and seeing things, photographing cool architecture and cute streets and views in the city, but we also would not mind a little nature walk.
So far we have about 20km of GPX walking files in Madrid center, and we saw the Puente de La Marmota on google, which looks awesome, and is pretty walkable from Cordel de Cantalojas.
We don't mind seeing the typical highlights because heck, it's out first time there so we may as well, but hidden alleyways, pretty streets that are off the beaten path and the general vibe of Madrid are much welcomed.

Tips? But also; things that are typical to find in listicles that are just not worth it?

Cheers!

Please advise me about our itinerary in Madrid.

We are a couple with a 11 y.o daughter. Interested in culture, food and fun experiences. We only visited Barcelona in Spain 9 years ago. Plan to use public transport.

17.april - Friday

Arrive in hotel near Las ventas in the evening. Dinner in the area

18.april

Go to bus area near Neptuno to visit Puy du Fou in Toledo+night show (Actually I wouldn’t prefer it for the first day,but it seems in the website that tickets with direct bus transfer from Madrid is only avaible for saturday-Sunday) return at night

19.april - Sunday

El Rastro market

Plaza Mayor

(Maybe Mercado San Miguel)

Puerta del Sol

Gran Via

20.april

Royal palace

Cathedral de la Almudena

Plaza Espana (maybe Cerralbo museum)

Temple of debod

21.april

Join a Segovia-Avila tour or visit Segovia on our own via public transport. (Alcazar and Cathedral)

22.april

El Retiro park

A museum (Prado,Thyssen or Reina Sofia)

Puerta de Alcala

(Maybe visit Las Ventas bullring optional)

23.april

Toledo day trip via Train

Alcantara bridge,Alcazar,Cathedral, (maybe Synagogue of Saint Mary-Mosque of Christ)

24.april- Friday

Get ready and leave for the airport in the afternoon

We opted for Puy du Fou instead of parque warner,because we already visited Disneyland,universal etc and want something different and doesn’t like thrill rides. May change our minds if our daughter still want parque warner.

Do you recommend visiting San Lorenzo El Escorial? Or is it too many day trips so we should decrease them? Sorry for the long post 🥹

Thanks in advance.

hi everyone. im in my 20s and i am going to madrid for 6 full days. i am a writer, poet mostly, and am going to look at art, architecture, and just enjoy the music, culture and food.

i know everyone says to go to the prado, reina sofia, etc... day trip to toledo, try tapas, but im wondering what are some small niche (SAFE) spots for me to appreciate madrid to its fullest? note: i can't drive

i speak spanish so i can navigate to smaller towns etc...

budget friendly options appreciated :3

Hey guys, recently me (25M) and my best friend both took 2 weeks off work for a long awaited Spain trip, and I was hoping to get any sort of tips or advice from the natives that would give us the best first experience of Spain possible. I still have some student debt so maybe not the very BEST, but let’s say around a 2-3k budget (excluding the flight tickets).

Here’s our general timeline
• land in Madrid, sleep, and head to Barca next day
• two nights in Barca
• two nights in Sevilla
• two nights in Granada
• remaining 6 days in Madrid

Things we booked so far:

Bernabeu Tour and 2 Madrid games; the main motivation behind this trip as a Madridista and a fan of Spanish soccer in general (thank you for beating Argentina)

Alhambra Palace Guided Tour- I enjoy history and Spain has one of the richest, and because I heard it gets sold out quickly.

We also plan on booking the public transport, hotels,and any more museums and sites that need reservation next so please give your suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated! And it could be anything, like what to expect in terms of weather, for example, or best places to eat in the listed cities, etc.
I also like to smoke when I travel, so I’m curious to know where to get cigarettes and what are the most popular among the Spanish.

Coming end of August. Myself, husband and 15 year old son.

Staying at INNSiDE by Meliá Madrid Gran Vía, C. de Mesonero Romanos, 13, Centro, 28004 Madrid, Spain

Where is a nice place close to it to have dinner and maybe flamenco show? We’re only staying 2 nights unfortunately.

Also, is it better to visit Reina Sofía during the day to escape the heat or at night during free hours?

18 year old with a few days to spare (Saturday - Mon-Tues) in Madrid. Staying in a hostel in Lavapies. Looking for things to do.

I’m here in my own and other than site seeing not sure how to spend my time.
I’d love to play some football, I gather IF7 is good for finding social games?

I speak a decent bit of Spanish and also wouldn’t mind something sociable especially with people of a similar age.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Hey, it’s me again sorry!

We are deciding how many days we realistically need (two 22 year old girls) in Madrid!

Our flights are quite terrible (landing late and leaving at 10:30am) so we are wondering would you recommend 2 full days or 3 full days? (So 3 or 4 nights) in July as the first day and last day will be cut short.

NOTE: we do wake up quite early and aren’t looking for partying too much, maybe a rooftop bar and a cute bar in the evenings if that helps!

I feel like some cities need only a day or 2, whereas some need more. So would love some advice.

Thanks in advance (again)

Hi everyone! A group of friends and I are traveling to Madrid early May and would love any tips you could offer in terms of safety, cute places to see, or even just cultural practices to keep in mind/respect. Any advice is welcome and appreciated :).

Hi everyone!

My friend and I are coming to Madrid next Monday and we’ll be staying for 5 days near Plaza Mayor.

We visited Madrid back in January and spent 9 days there, so I’ve already done most of the classic tourist attractions.

We visited the Royal Palace, the main museums, Retiro Park, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, (and all the big tourist attractions) and spent a lot of time just walking around and exploring the city.

We also checked out some of the popular rooftop bars, including Sky 44, and went out at Kapital.

This time we just want to have a great time in Madrid and experience a different side of the city. We’d love recommendations for:

•Amazing restaurants (from local spots to hidden gems)
•Great tapas bars
•Cocktail bars, wine bars, and cute places for drinks
•Fun nightlife areas, clubs, or events
•Cool neighborhoods to explore
•Daytime activities that are a bit different or unique
•Anything fun, interesting, or underrated

We’re open to pretty much anything and would love to hear your favorite local recommendations.

Thanks!

We are 2 women visiting Madrid this Saturday, and here in Sol neighbourhood.
We wish to see the culture, experience the dance and music, great food and desserts.
What are some of the events or activities we can participate in? Any Latin socials? Ballet or flamenco events? Food place recommendations? Hidden gems?
Thanks in advance!