Madrid Travel Guide
Three Days in Madrid
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 is a city that rewards rhythm more than rushing. Its great museums sit along a single boulevard, its old town is compact enough to cross on foot in twenty minutes, and its real life happens in the bars and squares between lunch at two and dinner at ten. Three days is enough to see the essentials if you group them by area, book a handful of timed tickets in advance, and adapt to local hours rather than fighting them.
Before you fly: the booking list. The Prado is the first ticket to buy; choose an opening-time slot on your first full day. Next, the Royal Palace, which sells out in spring and summer and can close at short notice for state ceremonies, so check the calendar. The Reina Sofía (closed Tuesdays) and the Thyssen are rarely sold out, but timed tickets save queuing; if you plan to see all three art museums, the Paseo del Arte pass is the cheapest way. Book a free slot for the interior of the Temple of Debod through the city reservation system if you want to go inside, and if you are a football fan, check Real Madrid's fixtures before booking the Bernabéu tour. Reserve any special dinners — Madrid's best restaurants fill up, especially on Friday and Saturday nights.
Getting around. The centre is walkable, and the metro is fast, clean and cheap, with a ten-trip ticket that groups can share; the airport is connected by metro line 8 and by an express bus to Atocha and Cibeles. Taxis are inexpensive for short hops. The one real hazard is pickpocketing on the metro and in crowded spots like the Puerta del Sol, the Rastro and the Gran Vía, so keep phones and wallets secure.
Day one — the Golden Triangle of Art. Be at the Prado for opening and follow a plan: Velázquez and Las Meninas, the Goya rooms with the Third of May and the Black Paintings, then Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights. Two to three hours is plenty for a first visit. Walk up into the Barrio de las Letras for lunch — a weekday menú del día at a neighbourhood tavern is the best-value meal in Spain — and then cross back over the Paseo del Prado into El Retiro. Row a boat on the Great Pond, wander south to the Crystal Palace, and leave through the Puerta de Alcalá. In the early evening, visit the Reina Sofía to see Picasso's Guernica, ideally in one of the free evening slots if you do not mind a short queue, and finish with dinner in Lavapiés or back in the Barrio de las Letras, around the Plaza de Santa Ana, where the bars spill onto the square.
Day two — Habsburg and Bourbon Madrid. Start at the Royal Palace with a morning slot: the grand staircase, the Throne Room with its Tiepolo ceiling, and the Royal Armoury. If it is the first Wednesday of the month, catch the Solemn Changing of the Guard at midday. Walk past the Almudena Cathedral and down the Calle Mayor to the Mercado de San Miguel for a few bites and a vermouth, then into the Plaza Mayor. After a long lunch and, if you can manage it, a short siesta, spend the late afternoon walking the Gran Vía from the Metrópolis building to the Plaza de España, with a stop on a rooftop for the view. Finish at the Temple of Debod for sunset over the Royal Palace and the Casa de Campo, then have dinner in Malasaña or Conde Duque.
Day three — a choice of pace. If your third day is a Sunday, begin at the Rastro flea market in La Latina, arriving by ten, and follow it with the local ritual of vermouth and tapas on Cava Baja and the Plaza de la Paja. On any other day, choose between the Thyssen, the most enjoyable of the three art museums with its sweep from the Renaissance to Pop Art, and a day trip: Toledo is half an hour by fast train, Segovia a little less, and either makes an unforgettable day. Football fans can slot in the Bernabéu tour in the morning. On your last evening, go out properly — dinner at ten, drinks in Chueca or Malasaña, and churros con chocolate on the way home.
If you have a fourth day. Take the day trip you skipped, or explore more of the city: the Sorolla Museum in the painter's own house and garden, Goya's frescoes in the tiny church of San Antonio de la Florida, the Gallery of Royal Collections beside the palace, the Real Jardín Botánico, or the riverside park of Madrid Río and the arts centre at Matadero.
Where to base yourself for this plan. The area between Sol, the Barrio de las Letras and the Paseo del Prado is the most efficient base, with the museums downhill and the old town uphill. The Plaza Mayor and the Madrid of the Austrias suit history lovers who want to step straight into the old town, while the Gran Vía and Plaza de España offer big hotels with rooftops and good metro links. Our hotel picks cover all of these, from the Ritz opposite the Prado to good-value rooms near the Temple of Debod.
The honest adjustments. With children, swap the Reina Sofía for more time in the Retiro, take them to the Royal Armoury, and consider Segovia, with its fairy-tale castle, over Toledo. In summer, Madrid is very hot: plan museums for the afternoons, outdoor sights for the mornings and evenings, and embrace the late-night culture. In winter, days are shorter but crisp and often sunny, the museums are calmer, and December brings the Christmas market to the Plaza Mayor. Whatever the season, leave space for a long lunch and an unplanned evening — in Madrid, the best moments are often the ones you did not schedule.