Experience the best Madrid tours

Spain’s beautiful capital city is unlike any place in the world with its mix of historical and modern landmarks. With so much to see and do, we’ve narrowed down the list into an itinerary you can tackle in a few hours with a local guide, or visit in more depth if you have time. Here are nine of Madrid’s must-see landmarks: 

• In the heart of Madrid, Puerta del Sol is home to the iconic “The Bear and the Strawberry Tree” (“El Oso y el Madroño”) statue that’s easy to spot — it’s about 13 feet high and weighs 20 tons. 
• Imagine what Plaza Mayor was like when it was the center of old Madrid, which you’ll hear about on our Highlights of Madrid Walking Tour. 
• Spain loves its plazas, so be sure to stop by Plaza de la Villa, one of Madrid’s oldest squares. 
• The stunning white Almudena Cathedral is where Madrid’s noble families are laid to rest. Try to guess how old it is when you see it! 
• The Prado Museum is located in an 18th-century Neoclassical building with galleries that lead you on a journey through the masterpieces of Flemish, Italian, and, of course, Spanish art. 
• The Royal Palace is not only the official residence of the Spanish royal family, but also the largest royal palace in Western Europe. 
• Fancy an opera? Madrid’s Royal Theater is one of the most prestigious opera houses in Europe that’s been around since the 19th century. 
• Plaza de España is another square and houses the famous monument to Miguel de Cervantes, author of “Don Quixote.” 
• A true treasure in Madrid is the fully preserved Egyptian temple, Temple of Debod. The monument was a gift from Egypt for the role Spain played in saving the Abu Simbel temples from being swallowed by water.

Whether you’re visiting with young or big kids, Madrid is known for being family-friendly. From museums to parks, here’s a list of recommendations to keep the family entertained. 

Museums 

Spain’s capital is famous for its art collections, but it also has museums that are more targeted to young visitors. Here are the best family-friendly museums in Madrid: 

• Teens and young adults are sure to appreciate the Prado Museum, but it can be fun for young kids, too. You can turn your visit into a scavenger hunt or even see if there’s a company offering tours for kids. 
• The Railway Museum (Museo del Ferrocarril) is located in an old train station and has interactive exhibits that everyone will enjoy. Who doesn’t love looking at vintage trains? 
• Madrid’s National Archaeological Museum displays a fascinating collection of artifacts from prehistory to the 19th century. The family will be amazed by the replica of the Altamira Cave, where prehistoric cave art was first discovered in 1868. Guided tours in English happen every Saturday at 12:30 p.m. 
• At the Royal Palace, don’t miss the Royal Armory — kids will love seeing all the suits of armor and shields. For the adults in the group, you’ll enjoy hearing about Spain’s royal family. 

Parks  

Although Madrid is a big city, its greenspaces are great places to take a break during a busy day of sightseeing. Here’s your list of the best parks in Madrid to visit with the family: 

• El Retiro Park (Parque del Retiro) is filled with walking paths, bike trails, playgrounds, and even a lake for a calm boating adventure. 
• Madrid Río Park is a favorite among locals and tourists for its 17 play areas, urban beach, cultural activities, and shopping center. 
• Five times the size of New York City’s Central Park, Casa de Campo was once a royal hunting estate before it was transformed into the family-friendly park it is today. This huge greenspace has everything, including two outdoor pools, a zoo, and even an amusement park. 

Markets and squares

The squares and markets of Madrid are vibrant introductions to Spanish culture, and your family will have a blast trying new foods and learning the history of its many plazas. Here are the ones you don’t want to miss: 

• At Puerta del Sol Square, don’t leave without getting a picture of its iconic “The Bear and the Strawberry Tree” statue. 
• Mercado de San Miguel isn’t far from Plaza Mayor, which is one of the stops on our Madrid highlights tour. This famous covered market is used more as a meeting point for friends to grab drinks and delicious tapas than as a traditional market, and it’s a fun way to try lots of different dishes. 
• While the Temple of Debod is not really a square, the fascinating history of how this authentic Egyptian temple from 200 BC ended up in Spain will have the whole family talking. 

The best tours give you interesting stories to bring back from your trip. That’s why our top-rated Madrid tours not only take you to the best cultural attractions but tell you the history, lore, and secrets behind them.

After all, if you really want to get to know Madrid, you’ve got to explore it with someone who knows it like a local (and is a local!).

The best tours in Madrid include:

• A skip-the-line tour of the Prado Museum to show you some of the city’s best art.
• A combo tour of the Prado Museum and the Royal Palace with an optional upgrade for a tapas lunch in between.
• A Madrid highlights tour that includes the best of the city in just two hours.

What else is great about our Madrid tours? You get to explore its scenic streets on foot, which gives you a deeper experience of this amazing city.

The best times to visit Madrid are from September to November and March to May when the temperatures aren’t sweltering or too cold. If your goal is to avoid large crowds and lines while you’re sightseeing, then late October through December is a good time to come. Hotels sometimes drop their rates in the winter, and you’ll get to see all the lights and markets if you’re around for Christmas. 

Avoid visiting in August if you can. Not only are the temperatures unbearable, but many Madrileños leave for vacation.

Choose where you stay in Madrid based on the attractions you most want to see and the vibe you want to have. If you’re looking for a mix of contemporary and old-world Madrid, try Malasaña where you’ll find modern shops alongside traditional bars, and graffiti that residents treat as “real” art. Chueca is the place for gay pride with most of its shops, bars, and cultural attractions catering to Madrid’s LGBTQ+ communities. 

La Latina is flooded with tapas bars, and Sol-Gran Vía is in the center of everything — it’s where Puerta del Sol and Gran Vía are located. But if you’re looking for something with more of a historic feel, Los Austrias was once home to some of Spain’s monarchs and puts you closer to popular attractions like Almudena Cathedral and Plaza Mayor. 

From concerts to book fairs, Madrid seems to always be in party mode. Here’s our list of Madrid’s best annual events. 

Winter 

• New Year’s Eve (Nochevieja) is celebrated under the clock of the regional government building where crowds gather to eat a grape with each chime of the clock in the final countdown to midnight. It’s a special tradition that kicks off a night of partying!   
• Carnival isn’t specific to Madrid, but it’s a Spanish celebration the week before the start of Lent that you won’t want to miss. The highlights include a huge parade, adults and kids in costumes, and a concert in Plaza Mayor. 
• The Madrid Jazz Festival seems to happen every November and December to close the tourist season and welcome the holidays. This world-class festival that includes international and Spanish performers is a must for jazz lovers. 

Spring 

• Fiesta de San Isidoro falls every May 15 to celebrate Madrid’s patron saint. The city organizes lots of free activities like concerts and religious ceremonies. 
• The Madrid Book Fair is any book lover’s dream, bringing together booksellers, authors, and readers for a week-long event in El Retiro Park. 

Summer 

• Los Veranos de la Villa is Madrid’s summer art festival that features the best in everything from cinema, dance, theater, music, circus, opera, and more!
• Madrid Pride Week has to take the prize for the best celebration hosted in a European capital. Around 2 million people visit the city each year for this week-long event at the end of June.   

Fall 

• Suma Flamenco celebrates the passion of Flamenco from October until November. Throughout the month, dancers, singers, and guitar players display their talents in venues across Madrid. 
• The Festival de Otono de Madrid welcomes fall with theater, dance, and music events around the city. 

From paella to Spanish tortilla, you can find most dishes popular throughout Spain in Madrid, but there are also many unique Madrileño dishes you can’t leave without trying:

• Callos a la Madrileña is a tripe stew that’s typically eaten in the cold winter months. It’s a smoky dish that also includes chunks of chorizo and morcilla (or blood sausage), so you wouldn’t really want to walk around in the summer after eating a big bowl of this. 
• Cocido Madrileño is another winter dish that’s full of chorizo and pork, but it’s also full of vegetables. What’s cool about this dish is that it’s three courses in one: Once the vegetables and meats finish cooking, it’s common to separate the broth and add vermicelli noodles to make a soup for the first course. Then the vegetables become a starter, with the meat starring as the main dish. 
• Huevos rotos look like the perfect drunk (or hangover) food. It consists of fried potatoes topped with broken fried eggs. Keep it vegetarian or have your server add some bits of jamon.
• Oreja a la plancha is a pan-seared pig’s ear that’s popular with locals. Sprinkled with paprika and served with toothpicks for eating, this dish needs no other accompaniment. 
• Pollo en pepitoria is a chicken dish that uses ingredients that were available in Spain before the colonization of the Americas. Look for this dish if you happen to be stopping at a traditional restaurant for lunch. 
• Now for something sweet: churros con chocolate. The best time to have churros is after a night of partying, but you can also dunk these fried treats into a cup of thick chocolate for breakfast or a late-afternoon snack (to tide you over until Spanish dinner time).  

Don’t know what to try first? Your tour guide will have recommendations based on where you’re staying or where you start and end your tour. Puerta del Sol, for example, has lots of tapas bars and restaurants to satisfy any appetite. Tapas are a great way to sample multiple dishes at once and learn what you like. We’ve even included a tapas lunch as an available upgrade for our Royal Palace and Prado Museum Tour.

If you’re looking for things to do in Madrid that are off the beaten tourist path, you don’t have to look too far past the attractions visitors flock to — our tour guides will even show some of them to you!

Not far from Plaza Mayor, which is one of the stops on our Madrid walking tour, is the oldest restaurant in the world called Casa Botín. Founded in 1725, the restaurant has been making Spanish roast meat dishes for nearly 300 years. Oh, and a writer named Ernest Hemingway reportedly ate there. 

After visiting the Prado Museum, appeal to your romantic side at the Museo del Romanticismo, a less popular but equally interesting museum that focuses on the Romantic era in Spain. The museum also has a secret garden cafe, Café del Jardín, that’s truly a gem many people don’t know about. 

Love taking pictures of statues? Everyone knows about the “The Bear and the Strawberry Tree” in Puerta del Sol, but if you look up at the rooftops on Calle Mayor, you’ll eventually find “Accidente aéreo” at 3 Milaneses Street. This humorous sculpture depicts an angel crashing headfirst into a building. 

Our itinerary for a first-time visitor includes everything from city walking tours to a skip-the-line Prado Museum experience:

• Spend a culture-packed morning getting to know the best of what Madrid has to offer. On our highlights tour, a local expert will take you to the beautiful squares, share stories about the royal family while you explore the Royal Palace, bring history to life at the Egyptian Temple of Debod, and more. 
• Get recommendations for a delicious lunch from your tour guide, who’s happy to share where to get the best patatas bravas and croquettes. 
• Skip the line to spend an afternoon at the Prado Museum, one of Spain’s most important art museums. With a collection that spans Finish, Italian, and, of course, Spanish masterpieces, our two-hour tour will make you feel like an expert on European art when it’s over. 
• If you’d rather spend more time outdoors, then El Retiro Park is the place to go. This 291-acre greenspace was property of the Spanish monarchy before it became a public park in 1868, but today it’s popular with the people. Throughout the day, it’s filled with locals jogging, boating, laying in the grass, and walking their pets. You can either do what the locals do or visit El Retiro’s many other attractions like a beautiful rose garden or the famous Fallen Angel statue. 
• Love getting up early on a Sunday morning? Then head to the El Rastro in the Embajadores neighborhood, a huge flea market with hundreds of stalls lining the streets. Browse everything from vintage clothes, vinyl records, band T-shirts, and more. The shopping starts every Sunday at 9 a.m., and we recommend getting there early if you want to find the good stuff. 

You can rush to visit the highlights of Madrid in 2-3 days, but you’re in Spain! Go at a slower pace and spend 5-7 days in the capital. This will give you enough time to see the main attractions and even explore beyond them. 

A mix of walking and Madrid’s public transportation system is the best way to get around the city. With over 300 stations, the metro can take you anywhere fast! It runs from 6 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. every day, and there are ticket options for shorter and longer visits.

Each neighborhood in Madrid not only has its own character but offers its own unique shopping experiences. Whether you’re looking for a designer product or a gourmet treat, you’ll want to check out these shopping districts:

• El Rastro is a colorful neighborhood with an outdoor flea market on Sundays and holidays. You’ll be able to find anything from curiosities to antiques. 
• Chueca and Malasaña are shopping areas for well-known fashion brands, emerging designers, tattoo parlors, and more. It’s also a great place to do some vintage shopping. 
• Gran Vía is the busiest street in Madrid that is pedestrian friendly and lined with popular retail chains and traditional shops.