Photo: Tim Adams · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Madrid
World-class art, a royal palace and tapas bars open late.
Spain's capital: three of Europe's great art museums along one boulevard, a royal palace, grand squares and a huge park, with tapas bars that stay busy past midnight. Several museums are free in their last hours.
Places to see
Prado MuseumMuseum · Room after room of Spanish masters: Velázquez's Las Meninas, Goya's dark Black Paintings…≈ A$26
Reina Sofía MuseumMuseum · Spain's modern art museum in an old hospital with glass lift towers: Picasso's huge…≈ A$21- Retiro ParkPark · Madrid's big central park: a lake with rowing boats below a colonnaded monument, shady…Free
Plaza Mayor
When to go
- Jan10° / 3°Some rainQuiet
- Feb12° / 3°Some rainQuiet
- Mar16° / 6°Some rainBusy
- Apr18° / 8°Some rainBusy
- May22° / 11°Some rainBusy
- Jun28° / 16°Mostly dryBusy
- Jul32° / 19°Mostly dryBusy
- Aug31° / 19°Mostly dryQuiet
- Sep
Staying and getting around
Good areas to stay
Sol, Plaza Mayor and the Royal Palace. The historic centre: Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor, Gran Vía and the palace, with the Temple of Debod on its park hill. Central and full of hostels.
Barrio de las Letras and the Paseo del Prado. The old writers' quarter of tapas bars and quotes on the pavement, running down to the Prado, the Thyssen and the Reina Sofía.
La Latina and Lavapiés. Steep old streets of tapas bars, the Sunday Rastro and Madrid's most mixed, cheapest neighbourhood. Lively and good value.
Flying in
Madrid Barajas (MAD): Exprés Aeropuerto bus to Cibeles and Atocha, about 40 min, ≈ A$9. Runs all night (to Cibeles only at night); the metro (line 8) also costs about €5 with its airport supplement (check).
Flewaway's estimate for the usual budget way into Madrid; check times and fares before you fly.
Getting around
Mostly on foot. A single ticket is ≈ A$3. The centre, from the Royal Palace to the Prado and the Retiro, is walkable. The metro is fast and cheap for the rest; local trains (Cercanías) run between Atocha, Sol and Chamartín.
Tourist tax
Madrid has no tourist tax at the time of writing (check).
