Iglesia de San Ginés

Madrid

　　Due north of Plaza Mayor, San Ginés is one of Madrid’s oldest churches: it has been here in one form or another since at least the 14th century. What you see today was built in 1645 but largely reconstructed after a fire in 1824. The church houses some fine paintings,...

Museo al Aire Libre

Madrid

　　This fascinating open-air collection of 17 abstract sculptures includes works by renowned Basque artist Eduardo Chillida, Catalan master Joan Miró, as well as Eusebio Sempere and Alberto Sánchez, among Spain's foremost sculptors of the 20th century. The sculptures are beneath the overpass where Paseo de Eduardo Dato crosses Paseo de...

Museo de Historia

Madrid

　　The fine Museo de Historia (formerly the Museo Municipal) has an elaborate and restored baroque entrance, raised in 1721 by Pedro de Ribera. Behind this facade, the collection is dominated by paintings and other memorabilia charting the historical evolution of Madrid. The highlights are Goya's Allegory of the City of...

Biblioteca Nacional & Museo del Libro

Madrid

　　Perhaps the most impressive of the grand edifices erected along the Paseo de los Recoletos in the 19th century, the 1892 Biblioteca Nacional (National Library) dominates the southern end of Plaza de Colón. Downstairs, and entered via a separate entrance, the fascinating museum is a must for bibliophiles, with interactive...

Campo del Moro

Madrid

　　These gardens beneath the Palacio Real were designed to mimic the gardens surrounding the palace at Versailles; nowhere is this more in evidence than along the east–west Pradera, a lush lawn with the Palacio Real as its backdrop. The gardens’ centrepiece, which stands halfway along the Pradera, is the elegant...

Casa de Lope de Vega

Madrid

　　Lope de Vega may be little known outside the Spanish-speaking world, but he was one of the greatest playwrights ever to write in Spanish, not to mention one of Madrid’s favourite and most colourful literary sons. The house, which was restored in the 1950s, is filled with memorabilia related to...

Teatro Flamenco Madrid

Madrid

　　This excellent new flamenco venue is a terrific deal. With a focus on quality flamenco (dance, song and guitar) rather than the more formal meal-and-floor-show package of the tablaos (choreographed flamenco shows), and with a mixed crowd of locals and tourists, it generates a terrific atmosphere most nights for the...

Plaza Mayor

Madrid

　　Madrid's grand central square, a rare but expansive opening in the tightly packed streets of central Madrid, is one of the prettiest open spaces in Spain, a winning combination of imposing architecture, picaresque historical tales and vibrant street life. At once beautiful in its own right and a reference point...

Casa de Correos

Madrid

　　The main building on the Plaza de la Puerta del Sol houses the regional government of the Comunidad de Madrid. The Casa de Correos was built as the city’s main post office in 1768. The clock was added in 1856 and on New Year’s Eve people throng the square to...

Las Tablas

Madrid

　　Las Tablas has a reputation for quality flamenco and reasonable prices; it's among the best choices in town. Most nights you’ll see a classic flamenco show, with plenty of throaty singing and soul-baring dancing. Antonia Moya and Marisol Navarro, leading lights in the flamenco world, are regular performers here. ...

La Rosaleda

Madrid

　　At the southern end of the Parque del Buen Retiro is La Rosaleda with its more than 4000 roses. ...

El Rastro

Madrid

　　A Sunday morning at El Rastro flea market, Europe's largest, is a Madrid institution. You could easily spend the entire morning inching your way down the hill and the maze of streets. Cheap clothes, luggage, old flamenco records, even older photos of Madrid, faux-designer purses, grungy T-shirts, household goods and...

La Venencia

Madrid

　　La Venencia is a barrio classic, with manzanilla (chamomile-coloured sherry) from Sanlúcar and sherry from Jeréz poured straight from the dusty wooden barrels, accompanied by a small selection of tapas with an Andalucian bent. There’s no music, no flashy decorations; here it’s all about you, your fino (sherry) and your...

Plaza de la Puerta del Sol

Madrid

　　The official centre point of Spain is a gracious, crowded hemisphere of elegant facades. It is, above all, a crossroads: people here are forever heading somewhere else, on foot, by metro (three lines cross here) or by bus (many lines terminate and start nearby). Hard as it is to believe...

El Ángel Caído

Madrid

　　At the southern end of the park, near La Rosaleda with its more than 4000 roses, is a statue of El Ángel Caído (The Fallen Angel). Strangely, it sits 666m above sea level… ...

Palacio de Cristal

Madrid

　　Hidden among the trees south of Parque del Buen Retiro's lake is the Palacio de Cristal. Built in 1887, it's a magnificent metal-and-glass structure and El Retiro’s most beautiful architectural monument. Art and photo exhibitions are sometimes held here. ...

Corral de la Morería

Madrid

　　This is one of the most prestigious flamenco stages in Madrid, with 50 years of experience as a leading venue and top performers most nights. The stage area has a rustic feel, and tables are pushed up close. Unusually for Madrid's tablaos (choreographed flamenco shows), the Michelin-starred restaurant is excellent....

Plaza de España

Madrid

　　This central Madrid square was being given a major overhaul when we last visited. They'll no doubt find room for the 1927 statue of Cervantes, alongside a bronze statue of his immortal characters Don Quijote and Sancho Panza. The 1953 Edificio de España (Spain Building) on the northeast side clearly...

Cardamomo

Madrid

　　One of the better flamenco stages in town, Cardamomo draws more tourists than aficionados, but the flamenco is top-notch. The early show lasts just 50 minutes, the later 1½ hours. ...

Estadio Santiago Bernabéu

Madrid

　　Football fans and budding Madridistas (Real Madrid supporters) will want to make a pilgrimage to the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, a temple to all that’s extravagant and successful in football. Self-guided tours take you up into the stands for a panoramic view of the stadium, then through the presidential box, press...

Wanda Metropolitano

Madrid

　　The state-of-the-art new home of Atlético de Madrid – they moved in in late 2017 – seats 67,703 people and has already become a firm favourite among fans, even those who miss the cauldron-like Estadio Vicente Calderón. Tickets to matches can be purchased online – click on 'Entradas' then 'Aforo...

Palacio Real

Madrid

　　Spain's jewel-box Palacio Real is used only occasionally for royal ceremonies; the royal family moved to the modest Palacio de la Zarzuela years ago. 　　When the alcázar (Muslim fortress) burned down in 1734, Felipe V, the first of the Bourbon kings, decided to build a palace that would dwarf all...

Museo Lázaro Galdiano

Madrid

　　This imposing early-20th-century Italianate stone mansion, set discreetly back from the street, belonged to Don José Lázaro Galdiano (1862–1947), a successful businessman and passionate patron of the arts. His astonishing private collection, which he bequeathed to the city upon his death, includes 13,000 works of art and objets d’art, a...

Templo de Debod

Madrid

　　Few people would ever guess that a 2200-year-old Egyptian temple exists in the center of Madrid. Yet the Templo de Debod is in no way a Vegas-style replica of an Egyptian monument — its origins trace as far back as the 2nd century BCE to the ancient city of Meroë on...

Plaza de Toros Las Ventas

Madrid

　　One of Spain’s most atmospheric arenas, the Plaza de Toros Las Ventas has hosted everything from Beatles concerts to motocross competitions during its eight-decade history. But it is the controversial sport of bullfighting for which the stadium was built and is best known for, with aficionados of the activity hailing...

Basílica de San Francisco El Grande

Madrid

　　Crowning Madrid’s oldest neighborhood of La Latina is an architectural and visual masterpiece that is the Basílica de San Francisco el Grande (Basilica of Saint Francis the Great) — as much a place of Catholic worship as it is a temple paying homage to Spanish art. Its several marble and...

Parque del Buen Retiro

Madrid

　　Once the exclusive preserve of the Spanish royal family, Parque del Buen Retiro has been public property since the late 19th century. The park’s name means “retreat” in Spanish and the huge 292-acre (118-hectare) green space provides just that to Madrid’s citizens. On any weekend, there’s a festive atmosphere as...

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza

Madrid

　　The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum is one of the three points composing Madrid’s Golden Triangle of Art along the Paseo del Prado (Art Walk), together with the Museo del Prado and the Reina Sofía. Once a privately owned art collection started by the Baron Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, and later on expanded by his...

Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

Madrid

　　Part of Madrid’s golden triangle of art museums, The Reina Sofia is home to a huge collection of modern art. Focussing on Spanish works, the star attraction is indisputably Guernica. 　　A harrowing reflection on the atrocities committed during Spain’s Civil War, Picasso’s masterpiece still stuns crowds to this day. It’s...

Museo del Prado

Madrid

　　The Prado is one of the world’s most dazzling art museums. 　　From the medieval to early modern, its vast collection of European works is housed in a grand building on the Paseo del Prado. Smack in the heart of Madrid’s Golden Triangle of Art, an area that is now a...