Even if you are a pure castizo and you know the Gran Vía like the back of your hand, there is always something to do in Madrid. It doesn’t matter if you know the paintings of the Prado Museum by heart (or you haven’t set foot in it since your school trips), sometimes you need help to know what to do typically made in Madrid.
You may have done some of them more than once, who can resist a calamari sandwich, but others may not sound so familiar or even have them written down in your list of plans, it’s time to carry them out. Here are these 50 things to do in Madrid.
1. Visit the Puerta de Alcalá
Because beyond the songs that have been dedicated to it, it has been an icon almost since it was built (1778) and has gone from being one of the five original doors that gave access to the city to being in the center of it. In 2023 it was undergoing restoration, but it is back and shinier than ever.
2. Stroll through the Retiro
All major cities have a central park, but few can boast of having two palaces (Velázquez and Crystal) or having one with its age: it is from the seventeenth century.
3. Eating grapes at Puerta del Sol
“Between shouts and whistles, the little Spaniards, huge, short, for once we do something at the same time”. As Mecano’s lyrics say, that shared euphoria is the best way to start the year.
4. Dine at one of the Chinese restaurants in Plaza de España.
Traveling, culinarily speaking, is as easy as walking up Leganitos street or just at the back of the España building, where you will discover both non-westernized Asian dishes and the most surprising ones.
5. Watch the sunset from the Debod Temple
Worthy of the best museums in Madrid, we can enjoy it for free and without previous queues. In addition, the views of the cornice of the Manzanares from the park are the best.
6. See the almond trees in bloom at Quinta de los Molinos
The exact date varies each year but from mid-February you can start to see the blossoms. It usually lasts about three weeks, so as soon as it starts you have to go and see it.
7. Buy antiques at El Rastro
The range of flea markets in Madrid is becoming more extensive and varied, but El Rastro is and will remain the first of all.
8. Eat a calamari sandwich in the Plaza Mayor
Madrid has no sea, but we have no shortage of fish and seafood, in fact, is the largest fish market in Spain. This explains why the calamari sandwich is a crucial part of Madrid’s gastronomy, as well as its simplicity and price. There is no sandwich that can beat it.
9. Remembering that you went into the Eslava Theater
And not knowing how or when you left. Partying until dawn in this city is a popular tradition and is passed down from generation to generation.
10. Strolling through the Vista Alegre estate.
In the neighborhood of Vista Alegre in Carabanchel is one of the largest historic gardens in the city, which also surrounds a palace. This estate is the only one that survives from when this area of Madrid became a place of recreation and rest for nobles and bourgeois in the 18th century.
11. Visit the Chinese quarter of Usera
Usera is the Spanish neighborhood with the largest population of Chinese origin and is decorated every year to welcome the Chinese New Year. Parades, gastronomic proposals, specific decoration and much more. The rest of the year it also has some of the most authentic Chinese restaurants in the city.
12. Picnic at the Casa de Campo lake.
The perfect plan for when the good weather arrives and it gets dark late, plus you can watch the canoeists play kayak-polo if you’re lucky.
13. Be dazzled by Las Meninas and the Prado Museum
One of the most important art galleries in the world and cultural star of the city, sooner or later you have to visit the Prado. But you can’t leave without seeing its great icon: Las Meninas by Velázquez, song and sculptures (little loved by the Madrileños) through, there is always a new detail to observe in this masterpiece.
14. Take a route through “la sierra” (the mountains)
Every good Madrid Sunday-goer gets up early on a weekend morning (preferably in winter) to go for a walk in “la sierra”. This fuzzy concept usually refers to a walk through the Guadarrama mountains and end up eating a roast in a mountain restaurant.
15. Strolling through the Campo del Moro
Especially in autumn. It’s one of the most romantic gardens in the city and the 19th century pavilions and the Queen’s Chalet are most mysterious. You might also come across one of the peacocks that live there.
16. Visit Cortyland
Even if you don’t like crowds of people, waiting for Cortylandia to start at Christmas and seeing the children’s excited faces or remembering when you were taken there as a child is not to be missed.
17. Buying a book on the Moyano slope
Those mythical blue booths deserve a visit from time to time. With a century of life (they were established on the slope in 1925) these small bookstores are already part of the most typical traditional landscape. Some of them also buy books.
18. Stepping on Km 0
You may step on it one day without realizing it while walking in a hurry, either because you are trying to dodge clueless tourists or because it is raining, but it is an obligatory stop if you pass through the Puerta del Sol. In addition, it is now wrapped in a compass rose that includes the names of the country’s provincial capitals and autonomous cities.
19. Buy sweets at La Mallorquina
Any sweet? Yes, whichever you feel like. If it has been a success since the nineteenth century is for a reason. Although their chocolate napolitanas and palmeras are especially famous. It is worth the wait if there is a queue.
20. Order a ration of bravas in Las Bravas
This tapa is typical of Madrid, and although you can eat it anywhere in Spain … the originals are from here.
21. Have a drink in one of the exclusive terraces of the Gran Via.
We could say that this street has two lives, the sidewalks and the rooftops. And you have to know both. Especially when Gran Vía is crowded, discovering the Madrid sky from its terraces will make you feel privileged.
22. Go to a candlelight concert at Candlelight
Hundreds of candles illuminate the most impressive stages of the city of Madrid (the Ateneo, the Four Seasons Hotel, the German-speaking evangelical church…) in Candlelight concerts, an experience that you have to enjoy at least once in a lifetime.
23. See a musical on Gran Vía
The Lion King has been around for so many years that it’s hard not to have seen it, but on Madrid’s Gran Vía, which has little to envy to Broadway in New York, there are always new musical premieres for all audiences.
24. Swim in the Casa de Campo pool or escape to one of the natural beaches.
We Madrileños love swimming pools, because we also have great water in which to bathe, we hardly miss the beach. Almost.
25. Go to see Guernica at the Reina Sofia Museum
With this painting is the opposite of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre in Paris, with the Guernica you are surprised by how huge it is and that there is not a huge crowd of people trying to see it.
26. Going for beers in La Latina
Knowing how to alternate between tapas and beer is also popular culture. For the Madrilenians the bars are a fundamental theme and even more so in such a traditional neighborhood.
27. Eating strawberries in Aranjuez (and seeing the palace)
The kings, since Philip II, spent the spring in Aranjuez for several reasons: its majestic palace, bordered by the Tagus, the splendor of its gardens, a temperature always a few degrees warmer than the rest of Madrid and of course, its delicious strawberries. Now you don’t have to be of noble ancestry to make the same plan. You can go there on the Strawberry Train.
28. Go to the meadow in San Isidro
Eat, drink and dance almost as if you were in a village, but with a chulapo touch and at the end of the day you smell like gallinejas. You have to live at least once the 15th of May in Madrid.
29. Visit the Royal Palace as one more tourist.
If you have time it is a good opportunity to see the temporary exhibitions that are usually of great artists. And a chance, of course, to visit the impressive kitchens.
30. Finish the night out with a chocolate and churros from San Ginés.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_4LOtlcO4E
We don’t know if it cures the hangover, but it has been proven by generations of Madrilenians that it leaves the body perfect for going to bed.
31. Go to the Parque de Atracciones de Madrid and reminisce about your childhood
It’s not the big rides, it’s a mix of excitement and tradition. The views of the Casa de Campo and even the city are very good at the top of some of them.
Watch the sunrise (or sunset) from the Siete Tetas de Vallecas (or any of these viewpoints).
Vallecas, as a town annexed to Madrid that is, has some identifying features that are only found in some localities. And the famous Siete Tetas have a magic that is not found in many other places in the city. Vallecas has its own historic center, stadium, soccer team? It lacks nothing.
33. Eating a portion of grilled ears
They have fewer detractors than the gallinejas and generally before ordering them in the center of a table it is necessary to generate consensus. It does not matter. You have to try them once, twice and three times.
34. Eating a San Isidro doughnut
The Listas or Tontas are not the best known or the tastiest, but the Madrilenian is proud of everything from here. You will almost only have the opportunity to try them during San Isidro.
35. Meet at the osa y el madroño (bear and strawberry tree).
Although every now and then it changes location slightly, it’s always in Sol, so you can’t miss it. And yes, there are strawberry trees in Madrid. Not bears.
36. Drink some “yayos” in Casa Camacho
It is easy to get lost among so much modern in Malasaña, but the classics can not be replaced, and although it seems crowded, try to enter: they will make room for you.
37. Go to the verbenas castizas in August
When Madrid empties out in summer, it brings out its most traditional and small-town side with the celebration of the verbenas of San Lorenzo, San Cayetano and, of course, La Paloma (around August 7 and 15). The streets are decorated with paper decorations and shawls and the areas of El Rastro, Embajadores, Lavapiés and La Latina become the stage for musical performances, religious events, regional dances, tastings and much more.
38. Buy wafers from a chulapo in El Rastro.
“They are made of coconut and are worth little; they are made of mint and nourish”, sing the wafer sellers, who are fewer and fewer but still survive the times of specialty coffees and prefabricated cupcakes.
39. Spending the day in El Escorial
The city is great, but you have to take a break from it from time to time and if you take the Renfe it is easy to make a getaway to visit one of the most spectacular places in the whole country. And if Easter is coming, you can also visit the Casita del Príncipe and eat a torrija at Paco Pastel.
40. Skate (or at least try to) in the Retiro
Skating in the Retiro (possible rain, people strolling peacefully…) can be a challenge, but that’s what challenges are for: to overcome them.
41. Climbing to the roof of City Hall
The photo to Cibeles and the beginning of Alcalá street corner with Gran Vía is one of the best, you can also take the opportunity to have a drink on the terrace while enjoying the views.
42. Take your date to the CaprichoPark
Although its fame has been increasing in recent years, it is one of the lesser known parks and you are sure to look good. However, keep in mind that it is only open on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays and with different schedules during spring-summer and autumn-winter.
43. Eating cocido madrileño in a mythical place
There are many restaurants where you can eat a cocido, but if you are lucky and some authentic castizo invites you to his house, take advantage of the opportunity.
44. Buy figurines for the Nativity Scene at the Christmas Market in the Plaza Mayor.
Every year one or at most two, it is a tradition that forces you to return to complete the scene. If possible all of the same size.
45. Take a picture with the Schweppes sign in the background.
It’s a first class tourist photo, but it can really look great from one of the crosswalks (without putting you in danger).
46. Party at Kapital
Stopping to watch the people dancing from the upper floors is an experience that every Madrilenian or visitor should do.
47. See a play in the center of town
Madrid is the city of theatrical shows: it has classic and contemporary plays that can be enjoyed in historic theaters such as the Teatro Español, founded in 1583, or on Gran Vía, Madrid’s little Broadway that attracts thousands of tourists every month.
48. Stroll through the botanical garden of the Atocha station.
Just before leaving Madrid, who hasn’t taken a photo here as a preamble to a train ride from this mythical station?
49. Cultural afternoon at the Matadero
In the same place there are movies, exhibitions, restaurants, courses and all kinds of activities for adults and children, plus the occasional weekend flea market. The Matadero is the great center of alternative leisure in the south of the capital.
50. Dressing up as a chulapa or chulapo
And do it well, we Madrileños are not very picky with our traditions, but our grandmothers keep the Manila shawls like gold in cloth and we have to take advantage of them. Now the City Council also gives away the patterns so you can make it to measure.