Madrid
5
Day Itinerary •
Spain
Madrid rewards those who stay longer. Five days lets you go beyond the surface and discover the city's extraordinary neighbourhood character, its world-class street culture, its hidden art collections and the spectacular royal landscapes it inherited from Spain's imperial centuries. This route covers hidden Habsburg Madrid, the Golden Age literary quarter, the extraordinary Retiro park beyond its main paths, the royal palace of Aranjuez and the perfectly preserved medieval plaza of Chinchon, El Escorial and Toledo, and two final days exploring the barrios that most visitors never find including the extraordinary Chueca and the art nouveau treasures of the Salamanca district.
Best Time To Visit
March to June or September to November
Getting There
Fly into Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD)
Getting Around
Rental car essential throughout
Budget Per Day
Approx 80 to 130 euros per person per day
Difficulity
Easy, walking and driving
DAY 1
HABSBURG MADRID
MORNING
THE HIDDEN COURTYARDS OF HABSBURG MADRID
The Patio del Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso, the cloisters of the Convento de las Descalzas Reales with an extraordinary art collection free on Sundays, and the extraordinary Egyptian temple of Debod in the Parque del Oeste, a real 2,200-year-old temple given to Spain by Egypt, free entry. Find all three before the crowds arrive. Drive: 15 min walk to La Latina
MIDDAY
LA LATINA AND EL RASTRO
The La Latina neighbourhood is the oldest in Madrid. On Sunday mornings El Rastro, Europe's largest open-air flea market, fills every street from the Plaza de Cascorra with over 3,000 stalls. The surrounding streets contain the finest tapas bars in the city. Walk them all before the market closes at 3pm. Drive: 15 min walk to Lavapies
AFTERNOON
LAVAPIES, MADRID'S MOST AUTHENTIC NEIGHBOURHOOD
Lavapies is Madrid's most multicultural and authentic neighbourhood, largely unknown to tourists. The streets around the Plaza de Lavapies contain extraordinary independent theatres, art studios, international restaurants and the Tabacalera, a former tobacco factory converted into one of Europe's largest self-managed cultural centres. Free to enter.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Basilica of San Francisco el Grande contains one of the finest collections of Spanish religious painting in Madrid, including an early Goya. Entry free on certain days. Located in La Latina, 5 minutes from El Rastro, and receives a fraction of the Prado's visitors.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Cafe del Nuncio, La Latina The finest historic cafe in La Latina on a beautiful terrace staircase. | Lunch: Casa Lucio, Madrid Most beloved traditional restaurant in Madrid. Huevos rotos since 1974. Book ahead. | Dinner: TabernaATEMPORAL, Lavapies Outstanding modern Spanish restaurant. Excellent tasting menu at honest prices.
DAY 2
LITERARY MADRID
MORNING
BARRIO DE LAS LETRAS, THE LITERARY GOLDEN AGE
Cervantes wrote Don Quixote here, Lope de Vega lived and died here. The house of Lope de Vega is the only preserved home of a Golden Age writer in Spain, an extraordinary recreation of his domestic life from 1610. Entry free. Look for the literary quotes embedded in the pavements throughout the neighbourhood. Drive: 10 min walk to Real Academia
MIDDAY
REAL ACADEMIA DE BELLAS ARTES, THE HIDDEN ART MUSEUM
One of the finest art museums in Spain and almost nobody visits it. Major works by Velázquez, Rubens, El Greco and an extraordinary series of Goya etchings. Entry approx 8 euros, free on Sundays. Located on Calle de Alcala a 5-minute walk from the Prado yet receiving perhaps 1 percent of its visitors. Drive: 15 min walk to Malasana
AFTERNOON
MALASANA, THE NEIGHBOURHOOD THAT INVENTED MODERN SPAIN
Malasana was the birthplace of La Movida, the cultural explosion after Franco's death in 1975. Today it is Madrid's most creative neighbourhood, full of vintage shops, natural wine bars and the finest vermouth culture in the city. The Bar Palentino serves the best croquetas in Madrid.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The CaixaForum Madrid is one of the finest contemporary art spaces in Spain, in a stunning building by Herzog and de Meuron with a vertical garden by Patrick Blanc on the facade. Entry approx 6 euros. Completely overlooked by visitors to the nearby Prado who walk straight past it.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Cafe Gijon, Paseo de Recoletos Most famous literary cafe in Madrid, open since 1888. Intellectuals have breakfasted here for generations. | Lunch: Casa Gonzalez, Barrio Letras Finest cheese and wine shop in Madrid with a wine bar attached. Outstanding Spanish cheeses and wines. | Dinner: Bodega de la Ardosa, Malasana Most beloved old bar in Malasana. Vermouth and traditional tapas since 1892.
DAY 3
EL ESCORIAL AND TOLEDO
MORNING
EL ESCORIAL, THE STONE HEART OF THE SPANISH EMPIRE
The most extraordinary building in Spain. A vast Renaissance monastery-palace-mausoleum built by Philip II between 1563 and 1584. The Pantheon of Kings beneath the basilica contains the remains of almost every Spanish monarch since Carlos I. The library contains 40,000 volumes from the 16th century, preserved almost intact. Entry approx 12 euros. Drive: 30 min high-speed train to Toledo
MIDDAY
TOLEDO, THE CITY OF THREE CULTURES
The Cathedral contains one of the finest El Greco collections in the world. The Synagogue of El Transito is the finest surviving medieval synagogue in Spain. The Mosque of Cristo de la Luz is a 10th-century mosque converted to a church with original Moorish arches intact. All within 10 minutes walk of each other. Drive: 30 min high-speed train back to Madrid
AFTERNOON
TOLEDO'S HIDDEN LAYERS
The Cigarrales on the hills opposite have the finest views of Toledo in afternoon light. Walk the Paseo de la Rosa below the city walls for the view El Greco painted. Eat marzipan from the nuns who still make it in the Convento de San Clemente, the oldest recipe in Spain.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Swords of Toledo have been made by the same families using the same techniques since the 16th century. The workshop of Mariano Zamorano can be visited by appointment. The swordsmiths of Toledo made blades for the Spanish conquistadors and the tradition is entirely alive.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Cafe in El Escorial village Breakfast before the monastery opens at 10am. | Lunch: Restaurante Adolfo, Toledo The finest restaurant in Toledo. Local game and Manchego cheese. Book well ahead. | Dinner: Taberna Labrador, Madrid Return to Madrid. Traditional taberna in Barrio de las Letras. Cocido madrileño on Thursdays.
DAY 4
ARANJUEZ AND CHINCHON
MORNING
ARANJUEZ, THE ROYAL GARDEN CITY
Aranjuez is one of the most extraordinary royal landscapes in Europe. The Palacio Real sits at the centre of a vast park system of formal gardens, forested islands and tree-lined avenues along the Tagus river. The Jardin del Principe contains 150 hectares of magnificent 18th-century gardens largely visited only by local families on weekends. The famous Strawberry Train from Madrid's Principe Pio station brings visitors in style on a vintage tourist train. Drive: 25 min drive to Chinchon
MIDDAY
CHINCHON, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLAZA MAYOR IN SPAIN
Chinchon has an extraordinary circular Plaza Mayor, one of the finest in Spain, ringed by wooden-balconied houses from the 16th and 17th centuries. The bull ring that occupies the plaza during the summer festival is set up inside the original square using the house balconies as viewing terraces. The town produces the finest anise spirit in Spain, Cazalla, and the local restaurants serve extraordinary roast suckling pig from wood-fired ovens. Drive: 45 min drive back to Madrid
AFTERNOON
CHINCHON HIDDEN GEMS AND RETURN
The Augustinian Convent at the top of the town contains an extraordinary altarpiece and the original painting by Goya of his brother-in-law, the priest of Chinchon, in a painting of enormous emotional directness. The castle above the town is ruined but the views from the walls over the plains of Castile are extraordinary. Drive the scenic route back to Madrid through the wine villages of the Denominacion de Origen Vinos de Madrid.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Casita del Labrador in the Aranjuez gardens is a small royal pavilion built for Carlos IV in 1803 and containing some of the finest Empire period interiors in Spain. Gold leaf, marble floors and extraordinary furnishings from the height of Spanish royal splendour. Entry approx 5 euros and almost never visited despite being extraordinary.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Cafe in Aranjuez centre Several excellent cafes near the royal palace entrance. Breakfast before the gardens open. | Lunch: Meson de la Virreina, Chinchon Most celebrated restaurant in Chinchon. Roast suckling pig from a wood-fired oven in a 17th-century building. | Dinner: Taberna El Sur, Madrid Outstanding neighbourhood restaurant in Madrid's Lavapies. Simple, excellent Castilian cooking at honest prices.
DAY 5
RETIRO AND HIDDEN BARRIOS
MORNING
EL RETIRO, THE PARK BEYOND THE LAKE
Most visitors see only the rowing lake and the Alfonso XII monument. But the Retiro is a 350-acre park with extraordinary hidden corners. The Palacio de Cristal is a stunning Victorian glass palace on a lake, built in 1887 and now used as a free contemporary art space by the Reina Sofia museum. The Rosaleda rose garden contains 4,000 roses from 90 varieties at their peak in May. The Bosque del Recuerdo memorial forest is deeply moving. Drive: 20 min walk to Salamanca district
MIDDAY
BARRIO DE SALAMANCA, THE ART NOUVEAU QUARTER
The Salamanca district is Madrid's most elegant neighbourhood and contains some of the finest art nouveau and modernist architecture in Spain. The Palacio de Linares, now the Casa de America, is one of the most extraordinary private palaces in Madrid, with extraordinary interior decorations from the 1870s. The Mercado de la Paz is the finest food market in the Salamanca district with an extraordinary selection of Spanish cheeses and Iberian products. Drive: 20 min walk to Chueca
AFTERNOON
CHUECA, THE NEIGHBOURHOOD THAT TRANSFORMED MADRID
Chueca transformed from one of Madrid's most troubled neighbourhoods in the 1980s to one of its most vibrant and celebrated over 30 years. The Mercado de San Anton is the finest gourmet market in Madrid, a three-floor space of specialist food stalls, a rooftop terrace bar and extraordinary local produce. The surrounding streets contain some of the finest independent restaurants in Madrid and the most extraordinary vermouth bars in the city.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE) building on the Calle Fernando VI is the most extraordinary piece of Art Nouveau architecture in Madrid. Built in 1902 by José Grases Riera, the undulating stone facade of organic forms and floral decoration is unlike anything else in the city. Free to view from outside and completely overlooked by the architecture guides.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Cafe at Retiro park entrance Several excellent cafes at the Puerta de Alcala entrance. Breakfast before the park fills up. | Lunch: Mercado de la Paz, Salamanca Eat at the market stalls. The finest Iberian ham, cheese and Spanish wine in one extraordinary building. | Dinner: Barra M, Chueca Outstanding modern Spanish restaurant in Chueca. Creative tapas, natural wines and the best atmosphere in Madrid.
Where To Stay
Madrid, all nights Hotel Urban, design hotel in the Barrio de las Letras. Approx 150 to 250 euros per night. Alternative Hotel Only YOU Boutique, Chueca. Excellent boutique hotel in the best neighbourhood. Approx 100 to 180 euros. Budget Option Hostal Central Palace Madrid from approx 45 euros. Excellent location near the Royal Palace.
Top Tips
1. El Rastro flea market runs every Sunday from 9am to 3pm. Arrive before 10am for the best finds.
2. Toledo is best visited on a weekday. Weekends are very crowded with day-trippers from Madrid.
3. Madrileños eat lunch at 2 to 4pm and dinner from 9 to 11pm. Embrace the schedule or go hungry.
4. The Real Academia de Bellas Artes is free on Sundays and Wednesdays. Book in advance.
5. Casa Lucio restaurant for huevos rotos is booked weeks ahead. Walk in at 1:30pm and ask for the bar.
6. Madrid gets very hot July to August. Visit museums in the afternoon and explore outdoors in the morning.
Total Budget
90 to 150 euros/day