Top 10 Places to Visit in Madrid
Madrid has no shortage of “top 10” lists, most of them generated the same way. Here's one built from a decade of actually walking these streets.
- 1. Plaza Mayor
The city's grand central square, laid out in 1619. Come for the architecture, stay long enough to notice the details most people miss at a glance. - 2. The Royal Palace and Plaza de Oriente
Europe's largest royal palace by floor area, and the square in front of it, lined with statues of Spanish monarchs that were never installed where they were meant to be. Ask your guide about the earthquake story. - 3. Almudena Cathedral
Madrid's cathedral, completed far more recently than its neo-classical exterior suggests, sits right beside the Palace and is worth a look even from outside. - 4. Retiro Park
125 hectares of green space that used to be royal gardens. The lake, the rose garden, and the Palacio de Cristal are the highlights. - 5. Museo del Prado
One of the world's great art museums, founded in 1819. Velázquez's Las Meninas alone is worth the visit. - 6. Mercado de San Miguel
A beautiful 1916 iron-and-glass market building near Plaza Mayor, good for a browse even if you're not there to eat. - 7. Gran Vía
Madrid's answer to Broadway, a sweep of early 20th-century architecture and the city's main shopping and theatre strip. - 8. Barrio de las Letras
The old literary quarter, where Cervantes and Lope de Vega lived a few streets apart and famously despised each other. Quiet, atmospheric, and easy to wander without a plan. - 9. Templo de Debod
An genuine ancient Egyptian temple, gifted to Spain in the 1960s and rebuilt in a park with one of the best sunset views in the city.
- 10. Plaza de la Villa
One of Madrid's oldest surviving squares, tucked just off the tourist route between Plaza Mayor and the Palace, and skipped by most visitors entirely.
Numbers 2 and 8 on this list are both stops on our Crown to Constitution tour, told properly rather than in a two-line summary.