The capital of Spain is large and diverse. To get around it and get to know the sights, you need to prepare for the trip in advance.

Studying materials about what to see in 3 days, in five, in a week will help you save time and plan your active holiday exactly the way you want. Plan your itinerary around the city to fit your planned program during your stay.

Maybe something will change on the spot, some plans will change, but if an approximate route has been drawn up, then it will be easier to advance what is planned.

From the airport to the excursion

International flights are mainly served by Madrid Barajas Airport. This is a very large flight station, consisting of several units - terminals. Due to their distance from each other, communication between them is carried out by underground trains or bus.

Airplanes from Russia arrive at the T4S terminal. After the plane has landed, you will need to head to the underground train, move to terminal T4 and collect your luggage there.

The center of Madrid can be reached by metro in 50 minutes, as well as by any public transport.

The best time to travel to Madrid is May and October.

Where does the tour begin?

If you plan frequent trips around the city and its environs, then it would be more advisable to buy a travel ticket. With such a document you can use public transport services of all types. The passenger chooses the validity period of the ticket and travel area according to their needs.

A ticket with the indicated zone “A” will be valid in public transport within the capital, and a travel card marked “zone T” will give the right to travel on intercity transport.

You can purchase a pass:

• in an Aeroport,
• at newsstands,
• at major metro stations,
• in tourist centers,
• In a hotel.

For a small number of trips you can buy it at any ticket vending machine.

When you arrive in Madrid, you will likely be offered a Madrid Card. What it is?

This is a wonderful card that gives you the right to visit a large number of attractions and not have to stand in huge queues when buying excursion tickets at the box office.

With this card you can save a lot of precious time, receive discounts on excursions, and, most importantly, when shopping and dining in restaurants.

The cost of the card depends on its validity period. If you buy a card for a long time, the price goes down.

You can purchase a Madrid Card:

• in newspaper and tobacco kiosks;
• in hotels;
• in information centers, etc.

In Madrid, using this map you can visit:

1. Stadium;
2. Royal Palace;
3. Prado Museum;
4. The Wax Museum;
5. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.

Ten popular attractions you shouldn't miss

There are so many interesting places in Madrid that it is simply impossible to get to know them in one or two days.

So what should you visit in Madrid to feel the historical spirit of the city and get to know the character of its hospitable people?

It all depends on how long you will be in the city. If you have 7 days on an excursion, that’s great, because you can see a lot of interesting things in a week.

1. Prado Museum. Unique paintings are collected within its walls:
   • Velazquez,
   • El Greco,
   • Goya and many famous painters.
2. National Art Museum Reina Sofia. Here you can get acquainted with the works of brilliant contemporary artists, such as:
   • Salvador Dali;
   • Picasso and his famous painting “Guernica”;
   • Joana Miró and others
3. Private Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. Will delight visitors with paintings:
   • Rubens,
   • Van Gogh,
   • Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
   • Paul Gauguin.
4. Bullfight. Coming to Madrid and ignoring the spectacular sight will be one of your mistakes.
   Many fans of this extravagant performance come to the country to see Spanish daredevils with their own eyes.
   In summer it is held once a week.
5. Flamenco theaters. Where to watch flamenco? You can go to the city's famous Chinitas cafe, Las Carboneras, or the lesser-known Las Tablas or Toppec Bermeias. In addition, there are many flamenco theaters and thematic clubs in the capital.
6. Madrid Royal Palace. It surprises tourists with its excessive beauty and pomp.
7. Santiago Barnabeu Stadium. Football fans will find it interesting to take a tour of the stadium. It is here that the famous football team, Real Madrid, trains. There is also a museum there that tells about the formation of this team.
8. Cibeles Fountain. Be sure to throw a coin at it for good luck. The fountain is decorated with a statue of the fertility goddess Cybele.
9. Swap meet. The range of goods here is very large. You can buy:
   • old clothes,
   • antiques,
   • folk crafts, etc.
10. Capital parks. Madrid has wonderful places to relax where you can easily hide from the heat of the day and at the same time enjoy the extraordinary beauty of the local nature.
    One of these places is the town of Retiro. The park has areas where you can watch a puppet show with children and listen to music.

We were in Madrid for 4 days, without travel agencies, so I’m telling you how to get where.

From the airport to the city center it takes about 30 minutes by metro. The metro is not at all stressful and quite understandable. It is designated in Madrid as METRO. When leaving the customs zone, you can immediately see by the arrows where to go to find it. The walk takes about 10 minutes. At the entrance to the metro itself there are vending machines (there are no little girls in the windows, like in Moscow). The cost of the trip depends on the route, from approximately 1.5 to 4 euros.

We traveled for 3 euros from Aeropuerto station T1-T2-T3 to Plaza De Espana station to the hotel. When navigating the metro, you need to know the final station on this line so as not to go in the opposite direction).

In addition to our hotel Espahotel Plaza de Espana, at the Plaza de Espana station there is also a royal palace. To do this, you need to go straight out into the street (pass the first intersection, right after the metro station, then on the left there is a long multi-story building), then turn left and you will see the palace building on the right side. The cost of a ticket to the Palace is 10 euros per adult. Take an audio guide at the entrance (there is also one in Russian). The palace is of stunning beauty, many rooms are open.

At Callao metro station there are many shops such as ZARA, Bershka, Adidas, etc., etc. The prices are affordable, quite a bit cheaper than Moscow prices for the same brands of clothing and shoes.

There is an Outlet Village in the suburbs of Madrid, located about 30-40 minutes from the city center. We bought at the Julia travel agency (the office is located at the Plaza de Espana metro station, in a straight line from the exit on the left, about 2 minutes). The cost of the transfer is 16 euros in both directions. The departure time for the outlet can be chosen at 11.00. 13.00 15.00, back at 17.00 19.00. The outlet has a fairly good selection of stores (Armani, Furla, Levis, Swatch, etc., etc.). The difference in prices with Moscow companies of the same companies is colossal. We also went to the Warner Brothers theme park. The ticket cost 35 euros per person, you can get there first by metro, then by bus. Yellow line, at the bottom the station is called Villaverde Bajo-Cruce, at the exit there is a bus to the park (I don’t remember the exact number, like 412)

The park has a lot of roller coasters, which are quite fun. There is also a free fall tower of 132 meters - an unusual experience. The park is interesting for both adults and children. But the vestibular apparatus must be well developed, especially in the horror room, where you are turned upside down and you don’t understand whether you are on the ceiling or on the ground. Unusual, but a little nauseating.

There are many cafes on Grand Via street; if you want to save money, you can eat at “eat what you want”. I saw a chain of these cafes on many streets of Madrid, but we went to the one that is located between the Plaza de Espana and Callao metro stations somewhere in the middle, on the Grand Via street itself.

And if you take an apartment with a kitchen, you can cook yourself, which will be even more economical. The largest supermarket with excellent quality products is located at Callao station - no need to go up the street, go to the supermercado sign. If you come from the street, then go down to the metro (Callao) and turn immediately right up the stairs. There is a good selection of jamon (cheaper than at the grand villa), seafood, and meat. For example, the cheapest jamon on the street costs from 25-28 euros per kg, in this supermarket from 20 euros. Plus you can get a leg of white boar for 49 euros, black for 99 euros. Tiger shrimp cost 9 euros per kg (very tasty and the smell is amazing), crabs also cost 9 euros (more), small ones cost 13 euros. Plus, there are many small shops in the alleys off the main street.

For the last three years, we have been going on vacation to Spain as standard. I don’t even know why, it turns out this way when we choose where to go with my mother, we go through many options: Italy, Croatia, Greece, Portugal... But then I want to go to the Canaries, then my mother will decide that we definitely need to get to the Costa del Sol, otherwise Grandma will invite us to visit her on the Costa Blanca. This year there was Torrevieja, after which we went to Madrid for 3 days.

The first impression of Madrid is a modern city, with a huge number of people who are constantly moving, there are a lot of people in the center and in the area where we rented an apartment, but in the center there are always a lot of them... They communicate, come up with entertainment on the street, walk, eat, shopping and holding meetings:) Every day I saw protesters on the central square! I thought there were a lot of people in Paris, but Madrid is not far behind :)

I wrote this post for a very long time, I myself don’t understand how I managed to squeeze such a maximum program into 3 days, and this despite the fact that we devoted the whole day to shopping :)
How to get there:
Ryanair airlines, as always, are the cheapest, we flew from Warsaw Modlin. We got to Warsaw by bus from Rivne (this is Western Ukraine, where I’m from) 600 UAH, from Warsaw to Rivne we got by Blablacar, they picked us up from the airport and took us to Rivne for 500 UAH. True, we first flew to Alicante (by the sea), and then back from Madrid to Warsaw. This is not the first time I’ve used Blablacar, it’s very convenient and comfortable, the only thing is to find a suitable route for the day you need.
We traveled from Torrevieja to Madrid by high-speed train from Alicante, and to Alicante by bus. I will say this, Spain has very good transport links. Buses go to almost anywhere, and the trains are very comfortable. I bought train tickets on the Renfe website, where you can pay by card, one way per person 39 euros, the journey took 2.5 hours.
Then we got to the apartment in Madrid by metro, the metro is everywhere there.

Apartments:
I have been writing for a long time that I like to book apartments so that there is a kitchen. This time I used the Airbnb website for the first time. I booked an apartment near the Cuatro Caminos metro station, you can see these apartments using the link. Everything was good, close to the metro, market, shops, markets, cafes and outlets. I really liked the area.

Now, in order, I’ll tell you what’s on the mandatory program when you visit Madrid for the first time.

1. Puerta del Sol. The central square of Madrid, where there is 0 km, is the starting point of all road distances in Spain. On this same square you can see the symbol of the city - a statue of a Bear with a strawberry tree :) And there is also a beautiful fountain, on which there are always a lot of people sitting, and a monument to Charles III. It was on this square that there were protesters.






2. Main Square and Main Street. The square was created by order of Philip 3, on this square from numerous balconies people could see bullfights, tournaments, executions, marriages of kings... Naturally, on this square there is a statue of Philip 3. There are also two castles here, which are called the Baker's House and the Butcher's House. The main street Calle Mayor departs from this square, where there are many shops, old houses and cafes.

3. This is a huge square with beautiful fountains and a garden, but it is notable for its monument to Cervantes, which was painted by Don Quixote. Walking around the monument, you can recognize the heroes of the novel. I won’t write about the monument itself, since there is enough information in guidebooks and Wikipedia. Opposite the Cervantes Monument there are two huge buildings - the Building of Spain and the Tower of Madrid. It was from this square that we continued our walk to the Royal Palace.

4. The main entrance to the palace is located on Arsenal Square, right there is the Almudena Cathedral, very beautiful. You can go on a tour to the palace; it is open to tourists. The current king of Spain does not live in this palace, but ceremonial receptions and events of national importance are held here. I advise you to take a walk around the palace itself; on the other side there is a beautiful garden, Campo del Moro, with green lawns, fountains and statues; there is also a huge Oriente Square, which is a must see.

View of the Palace from Oriente Square

5. Night Madrid. Avenue Gran Via. Madrid is beautiful at night! It sparkles and shimmers with the lights of advertisements, lights, lanterns, it continues to live and seethe! Walking around Madrid in the evening is an incomparable pleasure. For our walk, we chose the modern, wide Madrid Avenue Gran Via, which begins with the beautiful Metropolis building with a black angel on the roof. There are many beautiful buildings, cafes, shops, and shop windows. It was on this avenue in Madrid that the first fashionable department stores opened, large cinemas appeared, huge hotels were built and neon advertising appeared for the first time. The first photo shows Alcalá Street, where the Bank of Spain is located (a beautiful building) and which leads to Plaza Cibelis.

6. Fountain of the goddess Sibelis. Observation deck. We also walked along Gran Via Avenue during the day, and it is also beautiful during the day, we reached Alcala Street and walked along it to Cibelis Square. In the center of the square is the fountain of the goddess Sibelis - the ancient Greek goddess of fertility on a chariot drawn by lions. On this square there is a white building of the Palace of Communications, where the City Hall of Madrid is now located and also an observation deck on the 8th floor; tickets can be bought in the Palace building. From the observation deck there is a very cool view of the square and streets.

Bank of Spain on Alcala street


I really liked this building, it is the Palace of Communications, on the 8th floor of which there is an observation deck.

View of Alcala street


7. Prado Alley. Prado Museum. From the Palace of Communications towards the Prado Museum leads the Prado Alley, a beautiful street on which there is another Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (paintings) and the Neptune Fountain. The Prado Museum is a collection of mainly three art schools: Italian, Flemish and Spanish. A distinctive feature of the Prado Museum is that there are no looted or conquered art objects in the museum; they are all collections of other museums, private or royal collections. After 18:00 entry is free and despite the huge queue, it moves quickly. We managed to walk around the museum for free for 2 hours, I’m not a connoisseur of paintings, so for me this item was just a tick, I like to walk around the city more and see the architecture and ancient streets :)


8. Retiro Park. Ideally, you should spend a whole day visiting this park. There are many alleys for walking, beautiful statues, fountains, and a pond. This is the most important park in Madrid, covering an area of ​​12 hectares. In the park you can take a boat ride on the pond, the shore of which is decorated with a statue of Alfonso 12, drink coffee in a cafe, watch an exhibition in the Velazquez Palace, admire the Crystal Palace, which was built as a greenhouse for the Philippine Exhibition, and see the rose garden if you visit during the period from April until June, see the only statue of Lucifer in the world or just sit on a bench and breathe fresh air :)

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace inside

Statue of Lucifer

9. Old Madrid. In every old European city that I have visited there is an area of ​​the old town with such narrow streets, old houses with traditional architecture, mosaics, stucco, beautiful old doors and interesting courtyards. There is also this area in Madrid and it’s worth going there for a walk, to have a look, to enjoy the beauty, because Madrid is so modern that you need to take your mind off this modernity :)

10. Flamenco. I think this point is mandatory. You can skip shopping, museums, statues, but flamenco is the soul of Madrid. This is a dance that moved me to tears, which I was able to feel and let through myself. We watched flamenco at Tablao Villa-Rosa.

11. Shopping. In principle, when traveling to Madrid, I couldn’t even think that we would spend one of the 3 days on shopping, this was not in the plans. But when we saw the multitude of shops, outlets, and huge markets, our eyes simply ran wild. We didn't get into the discount season, but even their regular prices are very good for us! Although I still bought a jacket and coat at the Mango outlet. Shops for every budget and taste. From Puerta del Sol there are many streets that simply consist of shops and cafes. Also in this square there is the famous Spanish El Corte Ingles, do not think that everything is expensive there, the prices are different. I would also like to mention Gran Via street, there are also many shops there. Prices at Mango and Zara are lower than ours and lower than in other European countries, since these are Spanish brands.

12. Food. Of course, being in Madrid and not trying churros with hot chocolate is simply an omission :)


You also need to try paella, we tried it at the La Baracca restaurant. An authentic restaurant, very beautiful inside and delicious sangria and paella.

Madrid in three days

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Madrid in three days Is it possible to explore, get around, and understand a city like Madrid in just three days? We arrived in Madrid early in the morning. The hotel in the very center of the capital of Spain was booked in advance via the Internet, all that was left was to get to it from the airport. Madrid airport is connected to the city by metro line. It is very comfortable. The entrance to the metro station is at the end of a long corridor leading to it directly from the airport building. A trolley with luggage can be taken to the escalator. We bought a magnetic ticket for 10 trips at the ticket office, each of us spent it at the turnstile once (for those who are not going to ride the metro all day long, this is more convenient than buying such a ticket for each), and now we are already on the train and We go to the Sol station, located in the central square of Madrid - Puerta del Sol, Gate of the Sun. This square is considered the center not only of Madrid, but of all of Spain. From it road distances in this country are measured, and the so-called “zero kilometer” is marked on its asphalt. In all the guidebooks you will find mention of a sculpture located in the square depicting a bear devouring the fruits of a raspberry tree. (However, why raspberries suddenly grow on a tree is not explained anywhere.) Here, in the ancient House of the Royal Mail, the Madrid municipal authorities are located. And our path lies to a hotel located a three-minute walk away, in Plaza Santa Cruz. It turned out that the hotel, although not considered chic and comfortable, is located literally a hundred meters from the Plaza Mayor, that is, the Main Square, a real architectural pearl, built in the 17th century on the site of the city's shopping arcades. Plaza Mayor - square in plan, with several asymmetrical gates, is the most popular place in the city, attracting both tourists and Madrid residents. The square's galleries house shops selling mainly souvenirs and restaurants. In the center is an equestrian statue of King Philip III of Spain, and street musicians and artists perform near it day and night. I don’t know if anyone lives in the frescoed houses of Plaza Mayor, but if some lucky person lives in this beautiful place, he will never see a quiet life.
The center of Madrid, its main attractions, are located very compactly, at a distance of no more than 40 minutes of quiet walking from one end to the other. I would mark its borders as follows: the Alcala Arch from the east, the Royal Palace from the west, Atocha Street from the south, Plaza España and Columbus (with an obelisk in honor of the great navigator) from the north. This area contains the most interesting things in Madrid - museums, palaces, parks, architectural monuments, busy streets and squares. We spent the first day simply walking around the city. Alcala Street starts at Puerta del Sol and leads to Cibeles Square, where there is a grand fountain with the goddess Cibela driving a chariot, and then to the triumphal arch of Alcala. On this street, old Spanish Baroque houses near Puerta del Sol are combined with the fundamental buildings of banks and ministries located closer to Plaza Cibeles. On the square itself there are a number of beautiful buildings, the Bank of Spain, the Buenavista and Linares palaces, as well as the monumental Palace of Communications - the main post office of Madrid. From Cibeles Square, the Paseo del Prado boulevard begins to the right, leading to the famous museum. Behind the museum are the Retiro Gardens, or Buen Retiro, a park with a pond and palaces. The continuation of Alcala in the other direction from Puerta del Sol is called Arenal Street and leads to Plaza Isabella II and the Opera building, and then to the Royal Palace.

Avenida Gran Via runs from Plaza España to the intersection with Alcalá near Plaza Cibeles. This street is less than a hundred years old and is built mainly with houses of eclectic architecture from the first half of the 20th century, mixed with modern buildings made of glass and concrete. Gran Via is very lively; the offices of numerous institutions are located here; passers-by are attracted by advertisements for cinemas, shop windows, signs for restaurants and cafes.

How to see Madrid in two days

From a distance you can see the Metropolis building with the figure of the goddess of victory above the dome; it is located at the very corner of Gran Via and Alcala. However, there are many striking houses on Gran Via, mainly in the area from Callao Square to Alcala Street. From Callao Square it is easy to return to Puerta del Sol in a few minutes, passing by the Corte Inglese department store, which also has a food supermarket. Here you can buy food, souvenirs, perfumes, clothes, dishes and so on. Calle San Jerónimo leaves Puerta del Sol and leads to Prado Boulevard, directly to the world famous museum. This is the shortest and most convenient way to it. On this street, not far from the Prado, there is the building of the Congress of Deputies, that is, the Spanish Parliament, decorated with figures of sitting lions. Paseo del Prado is a wide boulevard, in the shade of whose trees it is very pleasant to stroll, stopping at the fountains that decorate it. There are several museums here - the Maritime Museum, the Spanish Army Museum, the Museum of Decorative Arts, but the main attention of tourists and Madrid residents is attracted by art museums - the Thyssen-Bornemissee Gallery and, of course, the Prado. We headed there the next morning. Without any doubt, the Prado is one of the best museums in the world. Its collection is rich and varied, and it includes a magnificent collection of Spanish paintings - El Greco, Zurbaran, Ribera, Murillo, Velazquez, Goya, wonderful paintings by Rubens, Raphael, Titian, Durer, Caravaggio and other great artists. At the entrance to the museum's ticket office there is a monument to Francisco Goya, and near the main facade Diego Velazquez himself sits on a pedestal with a palette and brush.
One of the most interesting halls is dedicated to this great master. Here you can see his “Los Meninos”, “Surrender of Breda”, “Vulcan’s Forge”, portraits of infantas and dwarfs. The Goya exhibition is divided into two parts - one is located in the halls of the second floor, and his “Self-Portrait”, portraits of the royal family and other works are exhibited here, and the second part is located on the third floor, and the only way to get there that we were able to discover was to climb on the elevator. There, among the numerous paintings by Goya, there are two famous “Mahi” - “Nude” and “Clothed”, hanging side by side on the same wall.
El Greco's works are probably preferable to be viewed in Toledo churches; in the Prado he is represented relatively sparingly, but even here his constantly striving upward saints and virgins make a strong impression. I stood for a long time in front of the wonderful paintings of Hieronymus Bosch, who in Spain was called El Bosco. The “Garden of Delights” turned out to be more beautiful than in the reproductions that I knew well; it was impossible to tear myself away from the details of this amazing picture. The collection of the Prado Gallery also includes other significant works by Bosch - “The Seven Deadly Sins”, “The Temptation of St. Anthony”, “The Pilgrim”. After three hours of wandering through the halls of the museum, the impressions of what you saw are so dull that there is no point in continuing the excursion. We go outside. The best continuation of today would probably be a walk in the park. And we go to Retiro Park, especially since it is very close. Anyone who has read “Evenings in the Garden of Buen Retiro” by the classic of Spanish literature Pio Baroja can easily imagine the characters in the novel walking along the alleys of the park. Nowadays, at least during the daytime and on weekdays, a less sophisticated audience rests there - dark-skinned immigrants are located in the shade of chestnut trees near the monument to King Alfonso XII, a plump guy, having installed speakers right on one of the alleys, repeats over and over again pirouettes from the repertoire of Michael Jackson, several tireless runners are jogging, and a few tourists like us leisurely wander through the garden, enjoying the silence and fresh air. What stands out in the park, first of all, is the pond and the adjacent architectural complex dedicated to the already mentioned Alfonso XII. This is an impressive, if slightly pompous, structure. There are sculptures on the lawns and among the trees, and a little away from the bronze king prancing on his horse are the Velazquez Palace and the Crystal Pavilion. Diego Velazquez, of course, never lived in this palace; in his era, artists, even the most brilliant ones, were not entitled to palaces. And the building is not named after him, but after the architect Ricardo Velazquez Bosco, according to whose design it was built in 1883 for an exhibition of the mining industry. It still hosts a variety of art and historical exhibitions. During our walk the palace was closed. But the Crystal Pavilion hospitably opened its doors to us. To our surprise, there was nothing inside. Literally - nothing. This is just a glass structure, really reminiscent of crystal, once built for an international exhibition and serving as a kind of greenhouse. Next to the pavilion is a nice pond with swans and a fountain gushing out from under the water.
After walking around the park, rested and hungry, we went to have a bite to eat. I must say that on the first day of our Madrid wanderings we saw a huge number of restaurants, cafes, and snack bars, but we did not dare to enter any of them because of our own excessive timidity. At the entrance to each restaurant there is a slate board, and on it the names of the dishes on the current menu and their prices are written in chalk. Almost all the names turned out to be incomprehensible to us. What to order? as it is? what to drink with? - we didn’t know, and as a result we went to the symbol of globalization - McDonald’s, where we found exactly the same Macs, chips and cola as anywhere else on the globe. We also visited the supermarket located in the Corte Inglese department store near Puerta del Sol, everything there was simple and clear - the products are in front of your eyes, buy what you want. Subsequently, it turned out that in Madrid there are restaurants, or rather canteens, where you can dine at certain hours for a set amount, about 7-8 euros per person, on an “eat as much as you can” basis. All dishes are displayed, as in self-service canteens, come and choose, fill your plates until you are full. The choice of dishes is large - salads, soups, side dishes, meat, and fish; in some of these canteens, the price of lunch includes a glass of wine or a glass of beer. The quality of the food is quite acceptable, although our first visit to a similar establishment, discovered on Atocha Street, turned out, as further experience showed, to be the most unsuccessful in culinary terms. Another pleasant discovery was the Starbucks cafe chain. One such cafe is located opposite the Prado Museum, next door to the Planet Hollywood restaurant (damn globalization again!), on del Prado Boulevard. The other is on Alcalá Street, not far from Puerta del Sol. They make good coffee here, and, what is very important, they serve it not in tiny coffee cups, but in large disposable glasses. A variety of sandwiches, cakes and pies are on sale. All this at more or less normal prices, although you can find cheaper places. But the cozy atmosphere, pleasant service and, as already mentioned, a large glass of hot and strong coffee are well worth the cost. Note - in Spanish cafes, not only in the Starbucks chain, and not only in Madrid, the sellers, as a rule, are very young people suffering from a certain type of dyslexia. If you order, say, three coffees with milk ("con leche") and one without, then you most likely will not get this one at all - for some reason they either forget to prepare it, or they prepare all four coffees with milk for you. Only after an additional reminder and clarification of what exactly you ordered will you be able to receive your “non-standard” coffee. The same story repeats itself with sandwiches. We have observed this strange phenomenon in different places several times. The study of its causes should undoubtedly be carried out by specialists, not tourists. In the center of Madrid, you can see many pastry shops with delicious delicacies displayed in their windows. Another type of trade that, judging by the number of stores, is thriving in the Spanish capital is religious objects. Figurines of saints, crosses and crucifixes, mothers of God, postcards on religious themes are obviously in great demand in Catholic Castile. At the same time, there are no signs of religious expansion on the streets of the city. Lottery tickets are sold on every corner, in the evenings young people occupy squares, huge queues line up at popular cafes before opening, which, as soon as the doors open at the appointed hour, smoothly flow inside, without the slightest crush or attempts to jump the line. One evening, near Puerta del Sol, I noticed an incomprehensible crowd at the entrance to some drinking establishment, from which everyone was leaving with glasses in their hands. I decided that there must be some kind of special eatery here, adored by Madrid drunks. But about an hour later, there was no one there, and the next evening I saw that this place did not cause any excitement among the walking public. Obviously, this was a one-time drinking session. Another feature of Madrid life that I noticed is the homeless. During the day, they move around the city, pushing a cart with one or two suitcases in front of them. At night, these suitcases are unfolded, beds, screens and almost pajamas are taken out of them, the owners of the cart settle down for the night right on the street, and neither the police nor passers-by disturb them. One such couple settled near the hotel where we lived, and every morning we could watch them awaken. Getting up, they again put their belongings into suitcases, placed them on a cart and set off to wander through the streets of the city on their own business, unknown to us. The next day we went on a tour of the royal palace. You can get to the palace very easily from Puerta del Sol, walking along Arenal Street towards the Opera. After 10-15 minutes you will come to Piazza Oriente, located in front of the palace. But we took a “detour” - having taken the metro to the Plaza de España, we examined the square itself with a very impressive monument to Cervantes installed on it. It is known how great the love of the Spaniards is for Cervantes and his heroes. The monument consists of an obelisk, at which the great writer sits and watches from above as Don Quixote and Sancho Panza make their endless journey on horseback. Please note that Don Quixote's horse and Sancho Panza's donkey allowed climb, unlike, say, the horses of Yuri Dolgoruky in Moscow or Henry IV in Paris. From Plaza España we went left and came out to Prince Pio Hill with a park located on it. This is a historical place, witness to many important events in the history of Spain. In particular, it was here that the execution of the rebels took place, later captured by Francisco Goya in his famous painting. The park houses the ancient Egyptian Temple of Debod, an architectural monument dating back to the 4th century BC. But do not think that the ancient Egyptians lived on the Iberian Peninsula. No, the temple is just a gift from the Egyptian government, it was moved to Madrid in 1970. Obviously, Egypt has more than enough of this kind of goodness if they allow themselves to give gifts like this. Entrance to the temple is paid. We weren't able to get there because it was closed for a break. From Prince Pio Hill you can enjoy a beautiful view of the Royal Palace. It is very close - a few more minutes, and we are at the entrance to a magnificent building, with a baroque facade reminiscent of St. Petersburg palaces. The palace is open to visitors, except for a few rooms that are still used today for royal receptions. In fact, the Spanish king Juan Carlos lives in a country palace, only occasionally appearing at ceremonies at his Madrid residence. In the halls of the palace there is a collection of unique musical instruments, including violins and cellos by Stradivari, Guarneri, rare harpsichords and pianolas. On the walls are portraits of royalty, including works by Goya. A separate entrance will lead us to the palace pharmacy. There on the shelves are hundreds of bottles with various potions, ancient equipment for preparing medicines, some kind of flasks and mortars. The museum of weapons is very interesting, where authentic armor of Spanish kings and weapons of former times are preserved - halberds, swords, crossbows, spears. It is said that this is the most important meeting of its kind in the world.
The overall impression of the palace is beautiful, but does not match the rich interior decoration of the Winter Palace. It seems that Russian autocrats outdid European monarchs in their desire for luxury.
There are at least four major art museums in Madrid. We have already talked about the Prado. On Calle Alcala is the Museum of the Academy of Arts. As I walked past it, I imagined how, a couple of centuries ago, Don Francisco Goya y Lucientes, who held the position of deputy director of the Academy, opened this heavy door and went up to his office. During our short visit to Madrid, the Academy building was under renovation. Another world-famous museum, the Thyssen-Bornemissee Museum, is located on Paseo del Prado, almost opposite the Prado Gallery. We did not visit it due to lack of time. And on our last evening in Madrid, we went to the Reina Sofia Museum, which contains works by Spanish artists of the 20th century. This museum is located opposite the Atocha train station, on the street of the same name. In the past, this building was a hospital. Having taken the transparent elevator attached to the facade, visitors walk along long hospital corridors and finally find themselves in the halls - former wards, one must assume. Here are works by Picasso, Miro, Gris, Dali and other artists. In one of the halls, early films by Luis Buñuel are shown non-stop. “Un Chien Andalou,” which shocked audiences in the 1920s, I had already seen before, but I watched the surreal, indescribable 1928 film “The Golden Age,” in which Max Ernst played one of the main roles. interest, although I didn’t see the end.

Salvador Dali is represented in the museum with excellent works - such as “The Great Masturbator”, “The Invisible Man”, and the famous “Girl at the Window”. One of the halls is dedicated to the paintings of Joan Miro, which, for all its attractiveness, I could not understand. Well, the most famous painting in the collection of the Reina Sofia Museum is “Guernica” by Pablo Picasso. The huge, 3 and a half meters high and almost 8 meters long, black, gray and white canvas, dedicated to the suffering of the victims of the bombing of the city of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War, makes a strong impression. They say, however, that this painting was created by the artist two months before the tragedy of Guernica and initially had no title. Subsequently, Picasso decided to tie the content of the painting to a specific event, despite the fact that it does not depict falling bombs or diving planes, and since then it has been known as Guernica. After the museum we went for one last walk around the evening city. We visited our favorite places again - Paseo del Prado, Alcala Street, Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor. Finally, we head to the train station, from where we will take the overnight train to Barcelona. Our three days in Madrid have ended. It was impossible to “embrace the immensity” in such a short time; the suburbs of Madrid and many attractions in the city itself were left behind. But, as you can see, you can get a lot done in three days. And you can have time to fall in love with Madrid, with its openwork squares and noisy avenues.

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Madrid

This year's winter turned out to be surprisingly cold and dank, even the internationally advertised snowfall, which happens once every 18 years, visited us. And let someone laugh that we eat too much and -3 is a terrible cold for us. And you try it yourself, even in 0 in shoes and a light coat - I don’t want to buy boots to wear once every 18 years, just like our dear mayor of London wants to buy snow removal machines. And so the pundits released an official statement that February this year was February for all Februarys, once every 18 years.

Spring has also not gone very well so far. It seems sunny every other day, but cold and windy. And on other days it’s warm, but gray and drizzling. Here I am sitting and setting up karma that we will be rewarded with a hot and good summer.

And so, in a dream to escape from the cold, we decided to go to the sunny capital of Spain for the weekend. Well, it doesn’t take us long from decision to execution; we bought tickets and booked a hotel. A few days ago I checked the weather in Madrid and lost heart: from Monday to Friday the sun and +15, Saturday-Sunday +12 and heavy rains, on Monday – the sun and +15. Here, I think, is how karma works for summer. But I didn’t want to cancel the trip; after all, Madrid is full of museums - we’ll hang out there. True, closer to departure the forecast changed, at least they didn’t promise rain, but the weather was still expected to be cloudy. Well, that's bread.

We arrived in the morning as always, it’s very convenient from the airport the metro goes straight to the center, however, from our terminal to the entrance to the metro it was about 15 minutes at a brisk pace. Fortunately, we don’t need any luggage for two days, so we immediately went for a walk. We went out to Piazza di Spagna, walked around the monument (you can’t call it a monument - it’s too big) to Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, and sat down on a bench in the park. I was immediately struck by the huge number of police in crowded tourist areas. Everyone is very nice, taking pictures of tourists. Beauty. After Don Quixote, we went to the royal palace, which indeed looked a little abandoned: we walked through the neighboring garden, then walked towards the Square of the Sun, not without a photo of the symbol of the city, the bear and the strawberry tree.

Then we reached the famous Retiro Park, where we landed on a bench and began to look at passers-by. We observed a funny scene in which three young men walking their dogs played with them so much that two of the three dogs, one after the other, fell into the fountain with a running start. The third was unable to jump over the side due to her own pettiness. The dogs were taken out of the fountain by the scruff of the neck and began to be chased around the park so that they would not catch a cold. Gradually, sleep began to overcome me and I slept for about 15 minutes on Dima’s lap, to which he rightly noted that I was not the only one who got up at 5 in the morning and he also wanted to sleep. We considered it immodest for the two of us to sit on a bench, so we went to the hotel with oaths that we would sleep for an hour and then go on a spree around the city at night. Of course, we didn’t go anywhere, but slept until the morning.

The next day, frightened by the predicted rains, the first thing we did was hole up in the royal palace. It turned out to be a very nice place: here you will find luxurious interiors, knightly armor, and Stradivarius violins.

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We started with the botanical garden, which was not bad, but their meadows with crocuses and daffodils look naive - we have them under every second bush in the spring. But there were a bunch of cats in the garden, all of them quite well-fed, but they didn’t want to be petted. We decided that they were being kept on government rations to catch rats. From the botanical garden we went to Retiro, looked at the famous pavilions, the Crystal and Velazquez, and decided that it wouldn’t hurt to eat.

Not far from the park we found a restaurant packed to capacity with visitors, and without really hoping for luck, we went in and asked if there was a table. Miraculously, we took the last available one. The restaurant served a “set lunch” consisting of delicious soup, which was served in a huge tureen, and there was enough soup for 5 people. For the “second course” they gave us an assortment of boiled meat and sausages with boiled vegetables. Apparently, all this is terribly traditional. Tasty. The napkins had a strip of fabric sewn onto them and could be worn over the neck like a bib, funny. Already closer to 5 pm we decided to look into the Prado Museum, but because of the free entrance there was such a queue that we decided to go there next time when it really rained. In general, Russian flags were hanging all over Madrid regarding the visit of dear President Medvedev.

It was getting dark and we began to return to the hotel, and in order not to repeat the fiasco with walking around the city at night, we booked seats from the hotel for flamenco. In principle, I liked it, especially the combs in the dancers’ hair; I immediately remembered my school New Year’s Spanish costume. I don’t even know where my mother managed to get an ivory comb, very beautiful. I regretted that I had not thought about such a comb earlier - I could have bought something similar in Spain. But they were a little confused about the castanets: it turns out they are not used for traditional flamenco.

After the performance, we went to take a couple of photos of the city at night, and miraculously, only Dima got a chance to click on the building and took a couple of photos, when the lights went out. This happened with the cathedral near the royal palace and the horseman in front of the palace. Just like in Harry Potter, when Dumbledore turned off the street lights. Apparently around midnight the lights go out.

And the next morning we took a taxi to the airport and, after a short flight, came straight to work. I generally liked Madrid, but without much enthusiasm. I’m thinking of flying there again to go to Toledo, according to stories, it’s great there.

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Madrid in 2 days. What to see. In Madrid.

Start your journey at Plaza Mayor Continue along Calle Mayor

Start your journey at Plaza Mayor, admire its amazing architecture, appreciate the sophisticated terrazas, as the bars and cafes here are called, with their tables lined up on the street, and if you're lucky, admire one of the exciting parades taking place in the square.

By the way, check out my complete guide to Madrid on → this page.

Further along Calle Mayor and before and further - until Malasana or Chueca

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Madrid in three days: what to see, what to do and what places to visit

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• Madrid in 2 days

Start your journey at Plaza Mayor, admire its amazing architecture, appreciate the sophisticated terrazas, as the bars and cafes here are called, with their tables lined up on the street, and if you're lucky, admire one of the exciting parades taking place in the square.

By the way, check out my complete guide to Madrid on → this page.

Further along Calle Mayor you can go down to the beautiful Plaza de la Villa and up to Royal Palace (Real Palacio). The best place to relax is in such a beautiful place as Eastern Square (Plaza de Oriente). Then you can walk back a little to Plaza de la Puerta del Sol and further - until Plaza de Santa Ana– it’s hard to think of a better place to have a glass. If you still have time left and want to devote it to high culture, the road down the hill will lead you to Prado Museum (Museo del Prado), one of the world's finest art galleries. To catch your breath before a long night, you can relax in Buen Retiro Park and only then go to the neighborhoods Malasana or Chueca, known for their excellent restaurants with live jazz music.

Over the next day, you should try to get around everything that you didn’t have time to see on the first day. You can start with Reina Sofia Center for Contemporary Art (Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía), then continue exploring the city's attractions by visiting Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, take the metro to the Chapel of San Antonio de la Florida (Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida). Finish off your visit to Madrid with tapas at La Letina and great drinks at the Museo Chicote cocktail bar.

How do I save on hotels?

It’s very simple - look not only on booking. I prefer the search engine RoomGuru. He searches simultaneously on Booking and dozens of other booking sites. Look→

• Madrid in 2 days
• Madrid what to see in 2 days
• what to see in 2 days in Madrid

What to see in Madrid in 1, 2 days

Madrid has not gained such great popularity among travelers, unlike Barcelona, ​​remaining in its shadow. But this does not mean that the capital of Spain has no cultural and historical value. Here, as in many popular tourist centers in Europe, there is something to see and do for the average tourist. We will talk about this in more detail in this article.

What to see on your own in Madrid in 1 day

For many tourists, Madrid is not the main destination of the trip, but is used rather as a transit point. This is logical, since all its attractions can, in principle, be explored in 1-2, or at most 3 days. But from Madrid you can easily reach cities such as Barcelona, ​​Seville or Lisbon and Porto. In a word, the question of what to see in Madrid in a short time is very relevant.

So, what to see and where to go in the capital of Spain on day 1? It is worth considering here that this 1st day is often incomplete. By the time we get to the airport, we’ll check into a hotel (most hotels check in at 1-2 p.m.), find somewhere to eat, etc.

For Day 1, we have developed a special route that passes through the main attractions of the city and forms the first impression of Madrid.

Madrid route on the map

Puerto del Sol Square

It starts from Puerto del Sol Square - one of the main squares of Madrid and located in its very center. On the square there is the Sol metro station, where 3 metro lines intersect.

Plaza Mayor

The next goal is Plaza Mayor. You can reach it in a straight line, along the street of the same name. We advise you to turn onto Espos and Mina Street and then get lost a little. There are very colorful and atmospheric places here.

Check out Plaza Santa Ana. You can stop at one of the many tapas bars, restaurants and cafes.

We go out to the colorful Plaza Mayor - this is the historical “heart” of Madrid. The area has a rectangular shape. There are several restaurants. Street musicians play in the evening.

San Miguel Market

After the square, visit the San Miguel Market. This is a very interesting market with a huge assortment - the Madrid equivalent of the Boqueria in Barcelona.

Mainly aimed at tourists. Tapas, seafood, fruits and vegetables, meat and jamon are sold here. There are several cafe counters where you can prepare the above-mentioned seafood, pour sangria, wine or beer.

A great place to grab a bite to eat and generally have a good time.

Almudena Cathedral

Then we move along Mayor Street (here, by the way, you can buy cheap souvenirs). The first important attraction on our way is the Cathedral of Madrid - Almudena.

Don't be lazy and go inside, it's free.

Royal Palace

Then the famous Royal Palace of Madrid appears before your eyes - one of the largest in Europe.

In front of the palace lies the magnificent Piazza-Park Oriente. Be sure to take a walk here too.

You can also get inside the cathedral and examine its rich interior decorations. To do this you need to pay 10 euros and stand in a short queue.

Around the palace there are picturesque parks and gardens - Sabatini and Campo del Moro. It's also worth a look here.

Madrid, as you know, is one of the greenest cities in Europe and there are a huge number of park areas.

Plaza de España

After a walk around the Royal Palace, we head to Plaza de España. There are several interesting objects here. This is a monument to the famous Spanish writer Cervantes and his most famous heroes - Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. As well as two monumental buildings - the 142-meter Madrid Tower and the 117-meter Spain building.

Gran Via

If you still have enough time and energy, then from Plaza España we go out onto the main avenue of Madrid - Gran Via. On the main "artery" of Madrid there are many cafes and restaurants, shops and boutiques, souvenir shops and many, many other interesting things.

After walking 1.5 km along Gran Via, we will go to Plaza Cibeles to the “calling card” of Madrid - the Cibeles Palace.

You can end the day in the Retiro Park, which is located just nearby. But if this is not your last day in Madrid, then it is better to postpone your walk in the park to the next day.

Madrid - day 2

On the second day we will not give a specific route, but will simply list the places that are worth visiting. In what order to do this is up to you, depending on where you are staying.

Cable car (Teleferico de Madrid)

Be sure to take a ride on the Madrid cable car. For us personally, this is one of our favorite entertainments when traveling, which never gets boring, since every time we see more and more new landscapes from the cabins.

The cable car in Madrid connects the city center with the Casa de Campo park. Travel time is about 10 minutes.

Prado Museum

The most popular museum in Madrid, the Prado, is one of the 20 most visited art museums in the world. The Prado houses a collection of masterpieces of fine art from all over Europe (Flemish, Spanish, Italian, English, French, etc.)

Royal Botanic Garden

The Botanical Garden of Madrid contains more than 5,000 plants of different types: flowers, herbs, trees, palms, etc. There is a greenhouse with many types of cacti and vegetation of the humid tropics. Plant lovers should definitely check this place out.

Retiro Park

The most famous park in Madrid is called Buen Retiro.

This holiday destination is popular with both local residents and city visitors. The park has a small lake where you can go boating.

The Prado Museum, Retiro Park and Botanical Garden are located next to each other, so it is convenient to visit these attractions in one day.

The cable car is located near Plaza España, so you can visit it on the first day, and postpone the walk along Gran Via to the second.

Excursions in Madrid

You can spend time in Madrid with interest by taking a tour with a Russian-speaking guide. A classic sightseeing tour of the city will cost only 20 euros, but there are also more unusual options.

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Insurance

To obtain a Schengen visa, as is known, the list of required documents includes an insurance policy for those traveling abroad.

When traveling to other countries where a visa is not required, taking out an insurance policy for the safety of you and your family members will also not be amiss, especially if you are traveling with children.

Excursions

The best way to get to know a new city is through guided tours from local residents. To do this, many travelers use services such as Sputnik8.