My sister and I visited Madrid for a few days in late April/early May 2022 after hearing great things. Having travelled to Spain often but only to the south, I was keen to see what the north and capital city had to offer.

So where did we go and what did we do…?

El Rastro

An open-air market every Sunday and public holiday, offering a wide array of goods. It was very busy and perhaps not my scene, as I didn’t enjoy it very much but if you like flea markets, and don’t mind crowds, there’s a lot to see – and buy!

El Retiro

A very pleasant and grand park where people picnic, eat, drink, meet and socialise. Find ornate fountains, landscaped gardens and a lake in which you can hire a paddle boat. On sunny days at the weekend, the park gets very busy.

Plaza Mayor

The grandest square in Madrid and very beautiful. The square is well worth a visit but is popular with tourist groups and traders so arrive early in the day to beat the crowds. The perimeter is dotted with restaurants, if you fancy returning later in the day for a bite to eat. However, these are perhaps less authentic eateries than what you can find down the side streets and in less touristy parts of the city. We enjoyed a paella here which was nice but not the best I’ve tasted.

Royal Palace of Madrid

An utterly stunning and impressive palace with a nice view over the greener parts of the city. Inside is exactly how you would imagine: tapestries, ceiling paintings, gold frames and chandeliers adorn everywhere you look. Take a tour or explore at your own leisure.

Top tip: Book your ticket online in advance to skip the queue!

San Miguel Food Market

In yet another splendid building (they are everywhere you look), sits the San Miguel Food Market. Not overly big and as with all food markets, it gets busy so try to avoid peak meal times for the best experience. Food here was a little pricey but fresh and delicious. You’ll find a lot of tasty ‘snacky bits’ so can mix and match what you have from different stalls and experience a number of different foods.

Flamenco show

After seeing a flamenco show in Seville and thoroughly enjoying it, I was keen to see another in Madrid. A wonderful experience and always worth doing when you go to Spain. Read reviews before you book and don’t pay over the odds – other than that, you can’t go wrong.

Temple de Debod

An Egyptian temple donated to Spain and free to visit. It’s small and unusual and won’t take you long to look around but definitely worth a visit if you are passing.

Sky bar

For our last evening, we booked a sky bar to see the city from above at night. This was a nice experience and especially worth doing if you have a clear and sunny day. Ours was a little overcast but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless.

In addition to the above, we enjoyed walking around the neighbourhoods, taking in our surroundings, window shopping and sampling Spanish food and snacks.

To conclude, we both agreed that although a beautiful city boasting the most magnificent palace and gorgeous buildings, we didn’t fall in love with Madrid. There lacked a passion, a richness and a sense of culture that I had found and loved in Seville. The Madrilenos were not overly friendly and felt a little detached. Perhaps bored of British tourists!

A heads up that restaurants and taxi companies didn’t speak much English (which surprised us) so make sure you brush up on your Spanish before you go. All in all, we won’t return to Madrid but we had a nice time regardless 🙂