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Madrid is a city that can easily be explored in just 1 perfect day. I spent 2 days in Madrid and found that to be more than enough time to see the city. I honestly found Madrid to be underwhelming for a European capitol city. Madrid was the most crowded place I visited and honestly felt like it was lacking the Spanish charm I felt in both Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca. If I were to redo my trip, I would only spend 1 perfect day in Madrid and then spend my second day on a trip to a nearby town like Toledo or Segovia.
Even so, Madrid did have some great sights and delicious food that can easily be seen and eaten in a day of exploring the city. Below is an outline of the top sights to visit for the perfect day in Madrid.
What to See:
The Royal Palace
The Spanish Royal Palace in Madrid was my favorite stop in the city. The palace is quite large and has plenty of really extravagent rooms to see within the residence. You’ll start in the large courtyard admiring the palace’s construction. There are a few guard towers spread throughout the courtyard though no guards were present during my visit. From the courtyard, you can enter the palace and explore two floors of rooms. Each room is uniquely decorated with eleborate paintings and fancy furniture. Admiring each room was my favorite activity! The gold decor, colors, and paintings everywhere were so fun to see.
Along with touring the residence, there are a few permanent and temporary exhibits to walk through. The Royal Armory was my favorite exhibit in the palace. The exhibit showcased a variety of different armor and weapons worn throughout Spain’s history by both men and horses.
Tickets: Admission to the Royal Palace costs12€ and can be purchased either in person or in advance. Open hours vary by season so I’d recommend checking the Royal Palace website in advance to plan your visiting time accordingly. Visiting the royal kitchen costs an additional 4€. I opted to skip the kitchen and thought that the rest of the palace provided more than enough to see.
Recommended Time: Plan to spend 1 – 2 hours exploring the Royal Palace. You can explore at your own pace, take an audio tour, or take a guided tour. Lengths of tours likely vary. I opted out of taking any form of tour and walked trhoguh at my own pace. There is signage in every room providing information on the palace.
Getting Here: The Royal Palace is easily accessible by Metro or foot. I walked to the Palace from my hotel and found it to be vary centrally located. Metro lines 2 (blue), 5 (red), and R (blue) all stop nearby at the Opera station a short walk away.
La Almudena Cathedral
Directly across the plaza from the Royal Palace stands the Almudena Cathedral. This is a beautiful Gothic Cathedral. Although construction on the Cathedral began in 1879, it wasn;t completed until 1993. The exterior matches the nearby Royal Palace with white and grey coloring.
I opted not to go inside the Cathedral but you definitely can. From pictures I’ve seen, the inside of the Cathedral is gorgeous.
Tickets: The Almudena Cathedral recommends a 1€ donation upon entry, but there is not ticket fee to enter. Admission to the Cathedral museum and crypt do cost extra.
Recommended Time: 10 minutes to 1 hour. Depending on if you choose to tour the cathedral or not, you may not spend much time. I spent about 10 minutes admiring the architecture and taking photos of the Cathedral from the outside. Visiting the inside will take additional time.
Getting Here: The Almudena Cathedral is easily accessible by Metro or foot. Metro lines 2 (blue), 5 (red), and R (blue) all stop nearby at ther Opera station a short walk away. This stop is best combined with a visit to the Royal Palace, which is directly across the plaza and a short walk to the entrance.
Las Ventas Bullfighting Ring
Las Ventas Bullfighting Ring was one of my favorite sights in Madrid. This is an active bull fighting ring which still holds bull fights throughout the year. As an American, bull fighting has always sounded like a very exotic sport and something I’ve always associated with Spain.
The arena is open during the day for tours. The tour takes you throughout the arena, both into the stands and onto the ground. You can see the box where the Spanish royal family sits when they attend fights. You’ll also have the opportunity to stand where the bull fighters do before a fight and see where the bulls enter the arena. The tour talks about the history of Spanish bullfighting, history of the arena, and notable fights and bulls that have been in the arena. It also touches on injuries that have occured to bull fighters. There is also a museum included with admissions that talks more in depth about the history of bull fighting as well as the custumes and other details.
I found this entire tour to be really interesting! I also learned that I would never want to attend an actual bull fight due to the violence.
Tickets: Admission for an arena tour costs 14.9€ and can be bought upon arrival. The arena hosts numerous events like bull fights and concerts, and prices for these will vary. Events like bull fights and concerts are held in the arena at night. If you’re planning to visit late in the day, check the admissions hours in advance to make sure it is not closing early for an event.
Recommended Time: 1 – 2 hours. I spent about 1.5 hours on the arena tour. An audio guide is included with the admission ticket with numbered stops throughout the arena. At each numbered stop I would play the guide and stay to listen. You can skip the audio guide and explore at your own pace.
Getting Here: There is a Metro stop just outside the arena making this a very accessible location. Metro lines 2 (red) and 5 (green) stop at the Ventas station right outside of the arena.
El Retiro Park
El Retiro Park is a popular attraction and hang out spot in Madrid’s city center. This park provides a large greenspace for all sorts of activities. I visited on a sunny, warm day and was surprised by how crowded the park was. It felt like everyone in Madrid was out enjoying the sunshine. There is a large lake in the middle of the park that was covered with people out row boating and sunbathers nearby. Food and drink stands were scattered throughout the park along with numerous monuments and a rose garden.
One of the most popular destinations in the park is the Glass House. This old greenhouse has been converted into an exhibit hall that showcases varies art exhibits throughout the year. The house itself is beautiful to see – walls of solid glass that glimmer in the sunlight. I opted to skip going inside the Glass House due to the long line, but have read that it is worth a visit.
Tickets: Free! Although visiting the park is free, additional activities like eating and drinking, or renting a boat will cost extra.
Recommended Time: 1 – 2 hours, varies depending on what you want to do in the park. I spent about an hour wandering through the park, but did not stop to row a boat or see the exhibits inside the Glass House.
Getting Here: Metro station Retiro is located across the street from the North side of the park that can be accessed from line 2 (red). There are other Metro stations within walking distance of the park like Banco de España and Estación Del Arte making it very easy to get to El Retiro Park.
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