Community of Madrid (Spain)
Madrid
Madrid is the European capital that keeps the latest hours and the greatest paintings: Velázquez, Goya and Bosch in the Prado, Picasso's Guernica down the boulevard at the Reina Sofía, seven centuries of Western art across the street at the Thyssen, and a Royal Palace of more than three thousand rooms on the bluff where the old Moorish fortress once stood. This guide books the city properly — timed museum entries and the free evening hours worth planning around, the palace's Throne Room and armoury, the rebuilt Santiago Bernabéu with its new retractable roof, and fast-train day trips to Toledo and Segovia — and pairs it with Sunday mornings at El Rastro, vermouth and tapas crawls through La Latina, churros at dawn, and dinners that start at ten. Then it matches you to the right hotel, from the restored Ritz on the Paseo del Prado and the Four Seasons in Centro Canalejas to rooftop-pool towers on Gran Vía and good-value design rooms by Plaza de España, because in a city that lives on the street until two in the morning, where you sleep decides how much of the night you get to keep.
43 booking options
Hotels
Where to Stay
Mandarin Oriental Ritz Madrid
Paseo del Prado / Jerónimos
Madrid's grand dame, opened in 1910 with the backing of King Alfonso XIII and reborn after a top-to-bottom restoration — a glass-roofed Palm Court, Quique Dacosta's two-Michelin-star Deessa, a white marble spa, and the Prado across the street.
Four Seasons Hotel Madrid
Sol / Centro Canalejas
Seven restored historic buildings between Puerta del Sol and the Barrio de las Letras, joined into a 200-room palace with a rooftop brasserie, a full spa with an indoor pool, and the Centro Canalejas luxury galleria on the doorstep.
Hotel Urban
Barrio de las Letras / Sol
A glass-and-steel design hotel on Carrera de San Jerónimo with a private museum of ancient Egyptian, Asian and Papua New Guinean art in its corridors and rooms, a rooftop summer pool, and the Glass cocktail bar — steps from the Barrio de las Letras.
ME Madrid Reina Victoria
Plaza de Santa Ana / Barrio de las Letras
A gleaming white modernist palace presiding over the Plaza de Santa Ana, reborn as a style-conscious Meliá hotel with views over the square, suites with terraces, and the Radio rooftop bar — right in the tapas heart of the Barrio de las Letras.
Pestana Collection Plaza Mayor
Plaza Mayor / Madrid de los Austrias
Sleep on the Plaza Mayor itself — a baroque building restored as a heritage hotel, with balconies over the square, a café terrace on the cobbles, and a small seasonal rooftop pool with views over the spires of Habsburg Madrid.
Hotel Riu Plaza España
Plaza de España / Gran Vía
A big, polished hotel inside the landmark Edificio España at the top of the Gran Vía — sweeping views over the Royal Palace and Casa de Campo, an outdoor pool, and the 360 rooftop bar on the 27th floor, one of the most spectacular terraces in Madrid.
Motel One Madrid-Plaza de Espana
Argüelles / Plaza de España
Smart, stylish budget rooms a few minutes from Plaza de España and the Temple of Debod — compact but well designed, with a flamenco-red One Lounge, a good breakfast and two metro stations close by. The best-value base for walkers.
Rosewood Villa Magna
Paseo de la Castellana / Salamanca
Madrid's most polished modern grand hotel, on the Paseo de la Castellana at the edge of the Salamanca district: residential-style rooms, a celebrated chef's restaurant, a grill terrace, a patisserie and Sense spa, reopened under Rosewood in 2021.
Iberostar Las Letras Gran Via
Gran Vía / Barrio de las Letras
A stylish hotel in an early twentieth-century building at the start of the Gran Vía, full of literary touches, with a rooftop terrace bar, a small sixth-floor pool and the Barrio de las Letras and the Círculo de Bellas Artes on the doorstep.
Pestana CR7 Gran Via Madrid
Gran Vía / Callao
Cristiano Ronaldo's lifestyle hotel in a 1920 building on the Gran Vía: playful football-themed rooms, a 24-hour gym, a ninth-floor pizzeria and a seasonal 360-degree rooftop with a plunge pool.
Room Mate Oscar
Chueca
A bold, colourful design hotel on a square in Chueca, with a rooftop terrace and summer pool offering 360-degree views, a late breakfast and some of Madrid's best bars and restaurants on the doorstep.
Catalonia Atocha
Atocha / Barrio de las Letras
A comfortable, good-value hotel in an early twentieth-century building on Calle de Atocha, with family rooms with bunks, a seventh-floor rooftop pool in summer, a new gym and spa, and the museums ten minutes away.
Novotel Madrid Center
Retiro / Goya
A family-friendly modern hotel a ten-minute walk from the Retiro, with rooms that take two adults and two children, a swimming pool, a renovated rooftop terrace, a gym and on-site parking.
Petit Palace Puerta del Sol
Puerta del Sol / Arenal
A budget-friendly boutique hotel in a nineteenth-century building on Calle del Arenal, steps from the Puerta del Sol, with quadruple family rooms, free bikes, a pet-friendly policy and an interior renovated in 2026.
B and B Hotel Madrid Centro Puerta del Sol
Puerta del Sol / Gran Vía
A no-frills, well-run budget hotel on a pedestrian street a minute from the Puerta del Sol: 74 modern rooms, a few with terraces, all-you-can-eat breakfast, air conditioning and a 24-hour reception.
Attractions & Tours
What to Do
Museo Nacional del Prado
One of the greatest painting collections on earth — Velázquez's Las Meninas, Goya's Black Paintings and Third of May, Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, El Greco, Titian and Rubens — in a neoclassical palace on the Paseo del Prado. Book a timed ticket or plan around the free evening hours.
Royal Palace of Madrid
The largest royal palace in Western Europe, with more than three thousand rooms — a Tiepolo-painted Throne Room, a royal armoury of parade armour, a historic pharmacy and a vast parade ground facing the Almudena Cathedral. Still used for state ceremonies; book a timed slot.
Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza
The missing link between the Prado and the Reina Sofía — seven centuries of Western painting, from Italian primitives and Dutch masters to the Impressionists, German Expressionists and Edward Hopper, in a pink-walled palace opposite the Prado. The easiest of the big three to love.
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Tour
Real Madrid's rebuilt home on the Castellana — a steel-ribbed stadium with a retractable roof and a pitch that slides away underground — toured from the panoramic upper view to the changing rooms and benches, ending in a trophy room crowded with European Cups.
Toledo Day Trip from Madrid
Spain's former imperial capital on a rocky hill wrapped by the Tagus — a UNESCO old town of Christian, Jewish and Muslim monuments, a colossal Gothic cathedral, El Greco's masterpiece in Santo Tomé and marzipan in every bakery. Half an hour by fast train.
Plaza Mayor
The grand arcaded square of Habsburg Madrid — opened in 1620, rebuilt after fires, once a stage for bullfights, coronations and Inquisition trials, now a ring of terraces around Philip III on horseback, with the painted Casa de la Panadería and a famous Christmas market.
Temple of Debod
A genuine ancient Egyptian temple, more than two thousand years old, rebuilt stone by stone on a hilltop park above the Royal Palace — Egypt's thank-you for Spain's help saving the Nubian monuments, and Madrid's favourite place to watch the sunset. Free; book the interior.
El Rastro Flea Market
Madrid's Sunday-morning institution — hundreds of open-air stalls tumbling down the Ribera de Curtidores from Plaza de Cascorro, selling everything from antiques and vinyl to leather and junk, followed by vermouth and tapas in La Latina. Free, and only on Sundays and holidays.
Gallery of the Royal Collections
Madrid's newest great museum, cut into the hillside below the Royal Palace: five centuries of royal tapestries, armour, carriages and paintings by Velázquez, Goya and Caravaggio, laid out across three vast levels from the Catholic Monarchs to today.
Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida (Goya Frescoes)
Goya's own Sistine Chapel: a small neoclassical chapel by the river whose dome he painted with a crowd of Madrid street life in 1798, and where he now lies buried. Free entry, freshly reopened in June 2026 after restoration.
Travel Guides
Plan It Properly
Madrid in Three Days: The Prado, the Palace, El Retiro & Late Nights
A first-timer's itinerary that books the timed tickets in the right order — the Prado at opening, the Royal Palace, Guernica at the Reina Sofía — and fills the gaps with the Retiro, the Plaza Mayor, Sunday at the Rastro, tapas crawls and a sunset at the Temple of Debod.
Madrid for First-Timers: Tickets, Late Hours, Seasons, Safety & Local Rhythms
What to know before you land — which tickets to book, free museum hours, how late Madrid eats and sleeps, when to visit, getting around, staying safe, and the small courtesies that make you a welcome guest.
Where to Stay in Madrid: Sol, Las Letras, the Paseo del Prado, the Austrias or Gran Vía
A neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood guide to choosing your Madrid base — who each area suits, the trade-offs on noise and atmosphere, and the hotels we recommend from the restored Ritz to good-value design rooms.
Eating in Madrid: Tapas Crawls, Vermouth Hour, Cocido, Churros & the Markets
How to eat like a madrileño — the daily timetable, the dishes to seek out, where to crawl for tapas, how to use the markets, and the honest truth about the tourist traps around the Plaza Mayor.
Madrid's Golden Triangle of Art: The Prado, Reina Sofía & Thyssen Without the Overload
A deep dive into the three great art museums on the Paseo del Prado — what each does best, the masterpieces worth planning around, free hours, the Paseo del Arte pass, and how to see them over one, two or three days.
The Best Day Trips from Madrid: Toledo, Segovia, El Escorial & Ávila
How to choose and plan a day out from Madrid — fast trains versus guided tours, what to see in Toledo and Segovia, when to add El Escorial or Ávila, and the timings, food and pitfalls that make the difference.