Sightseeing in Madrid

Let me tell a bit about the city. Madrid is divided into a lot of neighborhoods, but the most important ones are: the area of Sol, Salamanca – the most expensive and fancy one, Callao – the more modern city center with Plaza de Espana, Retiro – that’s the biggest park in Madrid and just amazing, you definitely need to check it out, Moncloa – it is the biggest student district with the university and all the student residences, La Latina – the latin district, as you can easily guess and Chueca – that’s the gay district, be careful at night!

As for the main tourist destinations, there are a lot of must see places in the city. Let me make a list of them for you, so that you don’t miss any of them.

1. Puerta del Sol: the main plaza in Madrid and the meeting point of the whole city. It is a central point and you can get anywhere from there. It is also where most clubs and bars are.
2. Gran Via: it is a famous street that begins on Plaza de España and is packed with bars, restaurants and fancy shops. You can go shopping there though the prices are quite high. There is also the most famous shopping center in Madrid, El Corte Ingles (now it is beautifully dressed in Christmas decorations, worth seeing).
3. Plaza Mayor: You can get there on foot from Puerta del Sol. It is another plaza that is a must see in Madrid. It’s a square with a few entrances, full of restaurants and street performers doing everything they can to get your attention – they will ask you to make a photo with them so you are forced to give them a coin. You can meet everything there – toreros, Mickey Mouse, a fat Spiderman, a mini-Spiderman… Seriously.
4. Opera: The main Opera building. It is not so overwhelming though, but since you are in Madrid, just pass by.
5. Palacio Real: You can get there by foot from Opera, it is really close, and this is a real must-see: the king palace. And the gardens. It is just breathtaking! And you can even visit it inside – costs around 17 euros per person normally, but there are days when you can come in for free.
6. Paseo del Prado: this is the alley that begins on la plaza de Cibeles and where every important museum is located. It is really nice to have a walk on.
7. Museo del Prado: if you are a fan of the art, this is a perfect place for you. The museum is huge and once in a while they hold some special art exposition. It is worth seeing even if you are not an art fan, just like me (I made an act of presence that lasted around 20minutes, only went to see Las Meninas and some main works of arts…). I don’t really know how much the ticket costs because I have entered during the free entrance hours which are everyday between 17 and 19, and on Saturdays between 18 and 20 (if I remember correctly, you’d better check it anyways…)
8. Museo Thyssen: another museum for art fans; it is a private collection of a Thyssen-Bornemisza family, gathered for 7 decades, and acquired by the government of Spain. The collection belonged to a Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza who married a Spanish woman Carmen Cervera (a former Miss Spain) and they both expanded the collection.
9. Los Jeronimos: it is the most important church in Madrid, and the most beautiful religious center in the city. Definitely worth seeing. It is just in front of the Museo del Prado, at the other side of the street. You can see the characteristic towers from the distance.
10. La Almudena: Catedral de Santa María la Real de la Almudena de Madrid – the main cathedral of Madrid, located just in front of the Palacio Real. It is overwhelmingly beautiful inside. A must see for everybody. I even stumbled across a celebrations that took place there on the day of Our Lady la Almudena on November 9th. There was an altar outside full of flowers and later there was a procession and a mass in the Cathedral. Just beautiful, and I am not a particularly religious person.
11. Jardin Botanico: A botanic garden, in front of the Museo del Prado. Worth seeing in the spring and summer, when all the plants are in their best state. Going there in autumn or winter doesn’t really make sense…
12. Parque del Retiro: The biggest park in Madrid. It is huge. And it is beautiful. Perfect for riding a bicycle, jogging or just taking a lazy walk on a Sunday afternoon.
13. Plaza de Cibeles, con el Mirador: Plaza de Cibeles is another plaza that you must see. There is a big white buiding that used to belong to the post office of Spain and is now a center of culture. You can buy a ticket to go to the view point on the 8thfloor from where you can see a panorama of the city for just 2 euros.
14. Puerta de Alcala: The Alcala Gate, located on the Plaza de la Independencia was supposed to be a monumental gate through which all the roads to the near city of Alcala passed. Constructed by Francesco Sabatini in 1774.
15. Estadio Santiago Bernabeu: If you are football fan, or if your favorite football team is Real Madrid, then you should definitely make a visit to the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. I suppose it makes no sense to tell the football fans why, because they probably already dream about going there... Still, if you do not really like football, it is worth paying a visit. Honestly, I did not enter, because the price of the tour is 17 euros. But it would be a wonderful experience to be able to go to one of the matches to see Cristiano Ronaldo in action... It's possible, though quite expensive...

By the way, if you like walking as much as I do, I suggest you start your walk on Plaza de la Independencia and then take one of the streets that will take you to Plaza de Cibeles, from where you have three possible ways: one, go to Puerta del Sol, then Plaza Mayor and Palacio Real (and la Almudena) through Opera (it will take around 40 minutes); second: take a walk through Paseo del Prado that will take you to the Museo del Prado, Los Jeronimos and el Jardin Botanico; third: go up until you get to Plaza de Colon and then until Plaza de Castilla with the two twin towers.

Apart from all of these, you should definitely find some time to go to the outskirts of Madrid, and the small towns close by, like Toledo, Segovia, Aranjuez and Escorial. To make the trip you can take a bus from Intercambiador de Moncloa, and it will cost you around 15 euros round trip. You can go in the morning and come back in the evening – it is definitely enough to see each of these towns.

Enjoy your visit to Madrid!

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