My top 5 secret untouristy tourist places to visit in Madrid while on a budget

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I love traveling. I love experiencing a different culture and language and taking in unique views of a new city I'm visiting. Who doesn't?

But taveling can scarcely be appreciated when there are hundreds of other tourists around you, making you feel claustrophobic, un-special, and on top of that they're blocking your views with their selfie sticks. Ok I have a selfie stick too.

Anyway, you're in Madrid, and where do you go to feel like you're a special tourist? Here are my top five recommendations:

Campo del Moro

I love gardens and pretty naturey things. The Retiro Park is lovely and very well kept, and everybody goes there. For that reason, it's not my favourite place. I like places with more privacy to make it feel more special. One day by accident I discovered el Campo del Moro, which is one of the gardens of the Royal Palace (Palacio Real).

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Gorgeous! I thought it would be more frequented because it has an amazing view of the palace, it's quiet, you can walk around the gardens and paths, and the best part is that you can see and get close to the beautiful peacocks that live there. They're just roaming around!

I actually got this close to the peacocks, and they're totally worth seeing.

A fun fact is that in Spanish, the word peacock is "pavo real", which literally means "royal turkey". I guess they knew what they were doing when they decided to live by the Royal Palace.

You can usually find them if you walk down the path to the right of the palace view. There's a small pond with ducks and swans and parakeets living there too. I'm really surprised that this precious park/garden isn't crowded with people, but I'm also glad it isn't because I like to come here to relax.

It's situated where you wouldn't expect such a tranquil place to be: right next to the busy streets by the Principe Pio metro and commercial center. It's quite a sanctuary! I hope that it won't get busy now after writing this post about it.

Casa de Campo

Casa de Campo (nature park) is really nice and big. It's actually the largest park of Madrid. I recommend this especially for adventurey/naturey people. People come here to bike, run, walk, and some people canoe at the Lago (lake, but it's not really big) there.

There is a geyser-like fountain at the lake. There are usually more people around there, and there are sort of expensive cafes and restaurants, so that's why I recommend taking your own food and setting up a picnic at a location of your choice.

There are a few good picnic places there, with tables and chairs. You won't run into too many other tourists or humans because the park is so big and spread out, so you can walk around enjoying the scenery and there are plenty of amazing points to view Madrid from afar.

You can see the Madrid skyline from this view. Obviously in person it is way better.

Last year I came here with my Erasmus friend Andrea, who was visiting me from Italy. We walked from the Parroquia de San Antonio de la Florida (I will explain it more in detail if you keep reading) all the way to the terminal of the Teleférico (cable car) in Casa de Campo, and then we took the ride back for 4, 20€. You can also walk back if you're feeling extra energetic.

If you are interested in going to the Parque de Atracciones (amusement park) or the Zoo, they're not far away! One piece of advice, it's better to avoid this park at night, as it could get shady. Stick to the day-light hours.

La Mallorquina, upstairs

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As I mentioned in my last post, you MUST go to La Mallorquina in Sol.

This is the best pastry shop and it's probably the only place with too many people that I have tolerance for. And it's just really worth waiting to get some good omnomnoms. But here's where my special advice comes in: go upstairs.

Yup. Don't just wait on the main floor amongst so many people just to get a pastry and then shove through the crowd so you can leave and eat it. Go to the back where the staircase is, pull a ticket to wait and sit upstairs and be waited on. If you're lucky, you'll get a cute table by the windows where you get a full view of the Puerta del Sol square.

You can calmly sit, order your cakes and sweets, have a coffee or hot chocolate or both, and you're waited on while enjoying a nice view of Sol for the same price as ordering your stuff to-go in the claustrophobic cacophony downstairs. Which would you pick? Duh.

On a busy day, you might wait 10-15 minutes for a table, but it's worth it.

Behold:

Oh and I forgot to mention, it's not as expensive as you might expect! Prices for everything range, but you can satisfy your sweet tooth for 5-10€ (or less if you're really cheap and only get one thing).

My favourite thing on the menu is the la Suiza bun, which is featured in my photo, at the bottom left corner. I believe it's 1, 20€. It reminds me of something my grandmother used to make, and just brings tears of joy and nostalgia to my eyes every time I bite into it. But let's be honest, this pastry shop is so good, it's probably owned and run by Spanish grandmas.

Parroquia de San Antonio de la Florida

This small royal chapel has an identical twin built right next to it.

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Twins!

The original chapel has Goya frescos in it, and mass used to be given there. However, in order to preserve the frescos from damage from incense and wear-and-tear, an exact copy of the chapel was built right next door, with a copy of the frescos inside it, in order to give the mass.

The original chapel with the original frescos is now used as a mini-museum. You can go inside for free to see the fresco. I think it's a cute gem, and again, not a ton of people.

The only downside to coming here is that there isn't a whole lot to do in this area (you could walk to the Casa de Campo), so if you have a lot to do on your "things to do in Madrid" list, but you're limited on time, then you might be better off skipping this place. However if you're a big Goya fan, or you just appreciate art very much, then it's really worth it.

Calle de la Luna

Finally for those nerdy people out there, I have a special treat for you. Off of Gran Via, which is the most crowded street in Madrid, there's my favourite street of comic book stores.

The street is called Calle de la Luna. There are also a few pretty good Chinese restaurants, such as Kunfu.

Anyway, this street is full of comic stores, one after the other, for anime fans, video game fans, Marvel and DC comic fans, and much more. My favourite is Omega Center. It's relatively new, and it's really big inside. There's also Madrid Comics, Metropolis Comics, Atlantica Comics, Crisis Comics, and Elektra Comics (it's not exactly on the same street, but it's parallel).

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I wasn't kidding; it's basically Nerd Heaven Street. Yeah, this isn't traditional Madrid or Spanish anything, but it's a little piece of unique happiness in a bustling city full of tourists all going to see the same things. Go there. Enjoy it.

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