Madrid Travel Guide
Where to Stay in Madrid
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.
Madrid's historic centre is compact, and almost anywhere inside it puts you within walking distance of the main sights. But each neighbourhood has a different character — grand and quiet, buzzing and late, historic and atmospheric — and the right choice depends on how you want to spend your days and nights. Here is how to choose.
Paseo del Prado and Jerónimos: for art lovers. The elegant streets around the Prado and the Retiro are the calmest and most refined part of central Madrid. You are steps from the three great art museums and the park, with the old town and the Barrio de las Letras a ten-to-fifteen-minute walk uphill. Evenings are quiet, which suits couples and families, though you will walk or take a taxi to the nightlife. This is where you find the Mandarin Oriental Ritz, the city's grand dame, opened in 1910 and restored to Belle Époque splendour, with Quique Dacosta's two-Michelin-star Deessa, a glass-roofed Palm Court, a marble spa and the Prado literally across the street.
Sol and Centro Canalejas: for being in the middle of everything. The Puerta del Sol is Madrid's kilometre zero, the hub of the metro and the meeting point of the old town, the Gran Vía and the Barrio de las Letras. Staying here means you can walk everywhere, but the area is busy and commercial, and the square itself is crowded day and night. The Four Seasons Hotel Madrid, created from seven historic bank buildings at the junction of Calle de Alcalá and Calle de Sevilla, offers the most polished luxury in the area, with a rooftop brasserie, a spa with an indoor pool and the Canalejas galleria downstairs.
Barrio de las Letras and Huertas: for tapas and atmosphere. The old literary quarter, where Cervantes and Lope de Vega lived, slopes down from Sol to the Paseo del Prado, and it is our favourite base for food lovers and couples. Its lanes are lined with traditional taverns, wine bars and good restaurants, the Plaza de Santa Ana is the heart of the evening scene, and the museums are a short walk downhill. The trade-off is noise: the area is lively late at night, especially at weekends, so choose an inside room if you are a light sleeper. The ME Madrid Reina Victoria, a modernist palace on the Plaza de Santa Ana, puts you right on the square with a stylish rooftop, while Hotel Urban, on the Carrera de San Jerónimo, combines five-star design, a summer rooftop pool and a remarkable collection of ancient art.
Madrid de los Austrias and La Latina: for history. The old Habsburg town, between the Plaza Mayor and the Royal Palace, is the most historic part of the city, with narrow streets, convents, small palaces and old taverns, and La Latina, just south, has some of the best tapas bars in Madrid and the Sunday Rastro. Hotels are fewer here, and streets can be noisy on weekend nights in La Latina, but the atmosphere is unbeatable. The Pestana Collection Plaza Mayor lets you sleep on the grand square itself, with a café terrace on the cobbles and a small seasonal rooftop pool looking over the spires.
Gran Vía and Plaza de España: for big hotels and connections. The Gran Vía is Madrid's main boulevard of theatres, shops and rooftop bars, and its western end at the Plaza de España, remodelled as a green pedestrian square, is a practical base with excellent metro links and the Royal Palace and Temple of Debod nearby. Hotels here are larger, often with pools and rooftops. The Hotel Riu Plaza España, in the landmark Edificio España, has the spectacular 360 rooftop bar on its twenty-seventh floor and an outdoor pool. A few minutes away in the residential Argüelles area, Motel One Madrid-Plaza de España offers compact, stylish rooms at excellent value, with two metro stations nearby and local bars all around.
Malasaña and Chueca: for nightlife and independent style. North of the Gran Vía, these two neighbourhoods are the bohemian and LGBTQ heart of Madrid, with vintage shops, cafés, cocktail bars and late-night venues. They suit younger travellers and night owls, though weekend nights are loud. They are a short walk from the Gran Vía hotels if you prefer to sleep somewhere calmer and visit for the evening.
Salamanca and the Castellana: for shopping and calm. The upscale Salamanca district, with its designer boutiques on Calle de Serrano, and the business district along the Paseo de la Castellana toward the Bernabéu, are elegant and quiet, with grand hotels, but further from the old town. They suit return visitors, shoppers and business travellers more than first-timers.
Practical tips for booking. Rates rise sharply during big trade fairs, major football matches and concerts, and the spring and autumn high seasons, so book early for those dates. Ask for an inside or upper-floor room in the livelier neighbourhoods, check whether a rooftop or pool is seasonal before paying extra for it, and confirm air conditioning if you are travelling in summer.
Our quick picks. For a once-in-a-lifetime stay: the Mandarin Oriental Ritz. For central luxury with a pool and rooftop: the Four Seasons. For design and art: Hotel Urban. For tapas on the doorstep: the ME Madrid. For history: the Pestana Plaza Mayor. For the best rooftop view and a pool at a mid-range price: the Riu Plaza España. And for the best value: Motel One. Whichever you choose, remember that Madrid lives late — a hotel within walking distance of where you plan to spend your evenings is worth more than an extra star.