Attractions in Madrid: what to see?

Travel Diary

I didn’t sleep that well. The beds were okay, but there were some English tourists that got back in the middle of the night. But we’re on vacation, so I’ll relax and enjoy the city! And the location of the hotel is great, that’s the most important thing for me, when I’m visiting a city!

After breakfast (which, by the way, was standard with toast, eggs, bacon…) we headed out to see some attractions in Madrid. We went to Parque del Retiro, like the Spanish people do on Sunday.

On our way to the park, we walked by the Bank of Spain, the beautiful Post Office and Plaza de Cibeles. In the park there was a nice ambiance, because of all the people that were walking around, enjoying the sun! You can walk through Rosaleda (=rose garden), see the Palacio del Cristal (a building made of glass) or just sit down on a bench and relax.

When we finished our stroll through the park, we decided to see the Palacio Real. One of the attractions in Madrid you definitely have to see.

On our way there we made a stop at the Mercado de San Miguel. At this covered market you can buy bread, fruit, ice cream, pastries, cheese,… well everything to eat and drink at different booths. You can either stand at the bar in front of the stalls or sit down in the middle where they placed tables to sit at.

Because it was such a lovely day, we wanted to have a picnic and bought some bread, drinks, cheese,… We ate our picnic outside of Palacio Real in the gardens.

Next stop: Templo de Debod, this is an ancient Egyptian Temple, which you can visit as well. Unfortunately we were too late (on Sundays it’s only open until 2.00 PM). There is a surrounding park from where you have a nice view over Casa de Campo park, with the mountains in the distance.

Afterwards we walked back, passing Plaza España and Gran Via, to the hotel to freshen up and to get ready for dinner.

But before dinner, we wanted to make a stop at the Museum del Prado, which has a free admission on Sunday from 5 PM – 8 PM (Tuesday-Saturday: it’s from 6 – 8 PM). The full ticket price is 8 euros. This museum is one of the world’s greatest art galleries. So, what to see in 1 hour, 2 or 3 hours? Check out the official website to help you out there. And this cool tool to see the Masterpieces with Google Earth.

There are much more attractions in Madrid to see, but it was time to eat!

We had dinner at a place called La Vaca Argentinia, this was an Argentinean restaurant, where they serve steaks. You could choose between smaller and larger pieces of meat, which is convenient if you’re a small eater 🙂 When we finished our dessert, we went back to our hotel and called it a night, because tomorrow we have to get up early to visit Segovia!