Madrid
Madrid travel guide
World-class art, royal palaces and late-night tapas.
Madrid, Spain's capital, is known for the Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen museums, the Royal Palace, Retiro Park, Plaza Mayor and a lively food and nightlife scene. Visit from April to June or September to October, allow 3 to 4 days, and add Toledo or Segovia. Prices are moderate, and many nationalities visit Spain visa-free.
Madrid, the capital of Spain, is a lively city on the central plateau known for its art, grand avenues and late-night culture. The 'Golden Triangle' of the Prado, the Reina Sofía and the Thyssen-Bornemisza museums holds masterpieces from Velázquez and Goya to Picasso's Guernica, and the Paseo del Prado and Retiro Park are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor and the old quarters of La Latina and Malasaña add history and atmosphere, while tapas bars and terraces keep the city busy well past midnight. High-speed trains make Toledo and Segovia easy day trips.
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Madrid at a glance
Best months, typical spend, Schengen rules, the euro and the time zone for a stay in the capital.
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Top things to do in Madrid
Museums, palaces, parks and neighbourhoods across Madrid.
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Where to stay in Madrid
Hotels and resorts in Madrid with guest scores, nightly prices and free cancellation.
Best time to visit Madrid
April to June and September to October suit walking; July and August often pass 35°C and many locals leave.
Warm, sunny and comfortable for walking.
Very hot, often above 35°C; many locals leave in August.
Cold, dry and sunny; good for museums.
The Prado and Reina Sofía offer free entry in the last opening hours on most days; expect queues then.
Packages in Demand
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Madrid travel tips
Getting in from Barajas, money, safety, health and which barrio to stay in.
Visas and entry
Schengen area
Spain's Schengen membership sets the entry rules for Madrid. Travellers on a visa-free passport can spend up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area; others apply for a Schengen visa in advance. At Barajas, non-EU passengers are enrolled in the Entry/Exit System (EES) the first time they cross the border.
- Passport validity
- At least 3 months beyond departure from Schengen
Getting there
Barajas and Atocha
Barajas (MAD) lies about 13 km northeast of central Madrid, and three services link it to the city: metro line 8, the 24-hour Airport Express bus and the Cercanías train from Terminal 4. If you come by rail from elsewhere in Spain, high-speed trains pull into either Atocha in the south or Chamartín in the north.
- Metro Line 8
- To Nuevos Ministerios
- Airport Express bus
- 24-hour bus to Cibeles and Atocha
- Cercanías train
- From Terminal 4 to Atocha and Sol
Money and costs
Euro and cards
Expect to pay by card for almost everything, and keep your passport handy, because shops often ask for photo ID with a card payment. Tipping is light: round up or leave small change. On weekdays the set lunch, the menú del día, is the cheapest way to eat a proper three-course meal.
Health and vaccines
Sun and heat
Heat is the health risk to plan for. July in Madrid averages 33°C and heatwaves push past 40°C, so carry water, avoid long walks in the midday sun and use the museums as cool refuges. Tap water is safe to drink, and healthcare in the city is good if you need a doctor.
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
Staying safe
Pickpockets
Madrid is a safe city for visitors, and the crime you are most likely to meet is pickpocketing on the metro and in crowded streets. Zip your bag, keep your phone off café tables and be suspicious of any sudden distraction in a crowd. The number for police, ambulance or fire is 112.
- Emergency
- 112
Where to stay
Best areas
Base yourself centrally and most sights are a walk away. Sol and Gran Vía are the busiest choice, Huertas and the Barrio de las Letras sit near the Prado with bars below, La Latina suits tapas and the Sunday Rastro, and Salamanca is the address for upmarket shopping.
- Sol / Gran Vía
- Central and busy
- Huertas / Barrio de las Letras
- Near the museums, lively bars
- La Latina
- Tapas and Sunday Rastro market
- Salamanca
- Upmarket shopping
Getting around
Metro
Walk the centre and ride the metro for longer hops. Madrid's network is the second largest in Europe after London's and trains come every few minutes by day. Fast trains make day trips easy, with Toledo and Segovia each about 30 minutes away.
- Day trips
- Toledo about 30 minutes from Atocha, Segovia about 30 minutes from Chamartín by fast train
- Metro hours
- 06:00 to about 01:30
- Tickets
- Multi Card or contactless; Tourist Ticket for 1 to 7 days
- Driving
- Low-emission zone in the centre
- Low-emission zone
- Outside cars barred from the centre since 2018
SIM and internet
Movistar, Vodafone, Orange
If your phone runs on an EU SIM, keep using it: roaming within the EU costs the same as at home. Visitors from elsewhere can pick up a prepaid card from Movistar, Vodafone, Orange or Yoigo. The shop registers each SIM to your passport, so take it along.
- Networks
- Movistar, Vodafone, Orange, Yoigo
Culture and etiquette
Late meals
Plan meals around Madrid's late clock: lunch near 14:00, dinner from 21:00 and seldom before 20:30. Say hola or buenos días when you walk into a shop or bar, reserve popular restaurants, and cover your shoulders inside churches. Beachwear in city streets can bring a fine in some Spanish cities.
- Book popular restaurants ahead
- Greet with 'hola' or 'buenos días'
- Cover shoulders in churches and cathedrals
- Wearing swimwear away from the beach, which is fined in some cities
- Expecting dinner before 8:30 pm in most places
Things to know before visiting Madrid
What makes Madrid worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- The Prado, with Velázquez, Goya and El Greco.
- Reina Sofía, home of Picasso's Guernica.
- The Royal Palace and Almudena Cathedral.
- Retiro Park and its Crystal Palace.
- Tapas in La Latina and the Mercado de San Miguel.
Good to know
- Meal times are late: lunch around 2 pm, dinner after 9 pm.
- Summer heat is intense.
- Pickpockets work Sol and the metro.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Madrid weather by month
Retiro Park records show Madrid at 33°C in July and 10°C by day in January, with 3°C nights. October is wettest, at about 64 mm.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Madrid (Retiro Park) (AEMET 1991–2020 normals, via Wikipedia).
The Prado, royal Madrid and two historic towns on the plain
Three days cover Madrid properly, and five let you add two historic towns on the plain around it. The sights fall into three clusters: the Paseo del Prado with its great galleries and the Retiro beside them, royal Madrid around Plaza Mayor and the palace, and the barrios where people eat and drink, from La Latina up to Malasaña.
- Art day: the Prado at opening time; after lunch either the Thyssen-Bornemisza or Picasso's Guernica at the Reina Sofía; a late stroll in the Retiro.
- Royal day: Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor, then the Royal Palace with the cathedral next door. Drop downhill into La Latina for tapas on Cava Baja.
- Barrio day: Sunday morning at the Rastro flea market, an afternoon in Chueca or Malasaña, and the Barrio de las Letras after dark.
- Out of town:Toledo is about 30 minutes from Atocha by fast train and Segovia about 30 minutes from Chamartín. Philip II's palace-monastery at El Escorial takes under an hour on a local train. With a fifth day, try the walls of Ávila (90 minutes from Chamartín) or the royal gardens of Aranjuez.
Do not try all three big museums in one day. The Prado and the Reina Sofía let people in free during the last opening hours on most days, but the queues then are long; a timed ticket bought online saves the afternoon for something else. Give Toledo a whole day: go early and come back for a late dinner.
A rental car only helps for the Sierra de Guadarrama or Chinchón.
Dry plateau air, cool nights and the odd Madrid snowfall
Spring and autumn are the comfortable seasons in Madrid. The city stands about 650 m up on the Castilian plateau, far from any sea, so the air is dry and nights run much cooler than afternoons.
Snow falls now and then. The storm of January 2021 buried the streets under 50 to 60 cm.
In August many Madrileños leave for the coast and the centre feels half empty; save walking for after sunset. Winter is cold but bright and dry, good weather for the galleries.
San Isidro, the patron saint's festival, brings street parties in mid-May. Pride runs from the last week of June into the first days of July and brings well over a million people onto the streets, with Chueca at its centre. Book rooms early for either.
Cocido madrileño lunches, callos and Madrid's winter dishes
Cocido madrileño is the dish to plan a Madrid lunch around: a chickpea stew with meats and vegetables, served with the broth first and the chickpeas and meat after on their own plate. Winter adds callos a la madrileña (spicy tripe) and sopa de ajo, garlic soup with paprika, ham and a poached egg.
The cheap classic is the bocata de calamares, fried squid packed into a bread roll.
Ignore the photo boards of paella around Sol and Plaza Mayor. Walk south instead to La Latina, where Calle Cava Baja is the city's best-known tapas street, or to Plaza Santa Ana and Calle Huertas. Order by size: a tapa is a bite, a media ración a half plate, a ración a full one. Many bars still bring a free tapa with each drink. Sobrino de Botín, open since 1725, claims to be the oldest restaurant in the world.
Kitchens close around 15:30 and reopen at 20:00, and bars fill around 23:00. Between meals, bars and mesones serve tapas and sandwiches all day.
Travelers are asking
Yes. High-speed trains take about 35 minutes from Atocha.
Our travel desk answers questions about Madrid
How We Research This Guide
Madrid's museum, transport and festival facts are cross-checked with Spain.info; seasonal figures use AEMET normals from the Retiro Park station.
Last updated . Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Checked against trusted sources:
Spain.infoAEMET
See all 2 sources
- Spain.info (official tourism website)
- AEMET (Spanish State Meteorological Agency) climate normals
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Madrid.
Timing & weather
April to June and September to October. Summers are very hot; winters are cold but sunny.
Getting there
Metro Line 8, the 24-hour Airport Express bus or the Cercanías train from Terminal 4.
About 30 minutes by fast train from Atocha. Segovia is also about 30 minutes, from Chamartín, and El Escorial under an hour on a local train.
General
Entry is free in the last opening hours on most days; at other times a ticket is needed.
From 06:00 until about 01:30, every few minutes by day. After that, the Búho night buses run from Plaza de Cibeles.
Rarely before 21:00 or 22:00. Kitchens open for lunch at 13:00, close around 15:30 and reopen at 20:00, while bars serve tapas all day.
Cocido madrileño, a chickpea stew with meats and vegetables served in stages, broth first. The bocata de calamares, a fried squid roll, is the cheap classic.
Calle Cava Baja in La Latina is the best-known. Plaza Santa Ana and Calle Huertas are the other good areas.
July averages 33°C highs with only 9 mm of rain, and heatwaves pass 40°C. Spend afternoons in the air-conditioned museums.
bookingMentor lists 1 place to stay in Madrid. Prices start from $330.00 per night. Types: Hotels.
Walk the centre and ride the metro for longer hops. Madrid's network is the second largest in Europe after London's and trains come every few minutes by day. Fast trains make day trips easy, with Toledo and Segovia each about 30 minutes away.
Prices & payment
Buy a reloadable Multi Card at any station machine, or tap a contactless bank card or phone at the gates. The Tourist Ticket gives unlimited travel for 1 to 7 days, airport stations included.
Daily travel costs in Madrid are moderate. Better value than much of western Europe.
Visa & documents
Spain's Schengen membership sets the entry rules for Madrid. Travellers on a visa-free passport can spend up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area; others apply for a Schengen visa in advance. At Barajas, non-EU passengers are enrolled in the Entry/Exit System (EES) the first time they cross the border.
Health & safety
Madrid is a safe city for visitors, and the crime you are most likely to meet is pickpocketing on the metro and in crowded streets. Zip your bag, keep your phone off café tables and be suspicious of any sudden distraction in a crowd. The number for police, ambulance or fire is 112.
