A Madrid Itinerary That Leaves the City

Day 1 — the centre, and adjusting to the hours

Start at Puerta del Sol and walk into the Habsburg quarter: Plaza Mayor, Plaza de la Villa, the narrow streets around Cava Baja. Stop at the Mercado de San Miguel for something small rather than a meal — it’s touristy and it’s still worth twenty minutes.

Late afternoon, walk up to the Templo de Debod, an Egyptian temple given to Spain and rebuilt in a park, for the sunset over the Casa de Campo. Then dinner — and the thing to internalise on day one is that nobody eats before nine. Restaurants at seven are for tourists.

Day 2 — the museums

The Prado in the morning, when you’re sharp. Three hours is enough for the Velázquez, Goya and Bosch rooms without collapsing; the Prado is not a building you brute-force.

Afternoon in the Retiro — the Crystal Palace, the lake, and the fact that it’s the best place in Madrid to do nothing. Then the Reina Sofía if you have energy, mainly for Guernica, which is worth the visit alone.

Don’t do all three galleries in a day. People try and it ruins all three.

Day 3 — palace and neighbourhoods

Royal Palace and the Almudena cathedral in the morning — it’s the largest functioning royal palace in Europe and half-empty compared with the Prado. Then pick a neighbourhood and walk it: Malasaña for bars and design shops, La Latina for tapas and Sunday’s El Rastro flea market, Lavapiés for the most mixed part of the city.

This is the day to eat properly. Book somewhere; the good places fill.

Day 4 — Toledo

First train from Atocha, 33 minutes. Cathedral before eleven while the coach tours are still on the motorway, the Jewish Quarter, lunch late, then the Alcázar and the viewpoint across the gorge. Stay past six if you can — the old town empties and it’s the best hour of the day.

The full Toledo guide →

Day 5 — Segovia

From Chamartín, not Atocha. The aqueduct, the walk up through the old town to the cathedral, a long cochinillo lunch — booked in advance — and the Alcázar in the afternoon. Remember the station is 5 km out and the bus is part of the plan.

If five days is your limit, this is the right last day: it’s the trip people talk about afterwards.

Days 6 and 7, if you have them

Options, in the order I’d take them: El Escorial for a half-day with a slow afternoon; hire a car and do Manzanares el Real and the Sierra; Aranjuez if you want gardens and quiet; or take the Saturday train to Valencia and come back Sunday.

What I’d cut if you only have three days

The Reina Sofía and the Royal Palace. Do the Prado, the centre, one neighbourhood — and if you can bear to lose a museum, go to Toledo on day three. A walled city on a hill will stay with you longer than a second gallery.