Madrid
November 2018
3 Days
My dad and sister wanted to go on a trip and since I was spending a lot of time in Europe for work, it made it easy to join them for a portion of their trip. They had planned to go to Madrid, Athens, and Santorini so I joined for the first two spots before leaving to go back to work. This was my first time to either Spain or Greece and although it was winter, I still enjoyed both very much. I could easily eat tapas for every meal for a very long time.
Contents
Daily Itinerary
Walk Madrid's most famous street Gran Vía
Tapas and Sangria at Mercado de San Miguel
Evening sightseeing at Palacio Real de Madrid, Catedral de la Almudena, and Puerta del Sol
Paella for dinner at La Barraca
Morning churros at Chocolatería San Ginés
Museo del Prado
Afternoon walk in Parque del Buen Retiro
Guided tapas tour to try the most popular local dishes
Day trip to the historical hilltop city of Toledo
Dinner at the oldest restaurant in the world in continuous operation, Sobrino de Botín
Flights
United Airlines Economy ORD-EWR-MAD-FRA-ATH-FRA-ORD: 60,000 United miles roundtrip with excursionist perk + $138 taxes & fees
Hotels
We stayed at an Airbnb for this trip, in the Centro district on Calle Mayor
Food (With Beli Ranking)
La Barraca (7.2) - Serving paella in Madrid for nearly 90 years so they must be doing something right! I'm certainly not a paella expert, but I enjoyed this meal.
Sobrino de Botín (5.7) - Opened in 1725, this is the oldest restaurant in the world in continuous operation. Although the food was so-so, eating in the cellar of the oldest restaurant in the world was a unique experience.
Mercado de San Miguel - Covered market that's over 100 years old, but is very modern inside. There are many stalls to buy fresh meats and produce as well as all the tapas you could want. We ate several meals here during out trip.
Chocolatería San Ginés - This cafe has been serving the popular churros and chocolate since 1894. It's open 24 hours a day and there's always a line but it went pretty fast when we were there.
Full Itinerary
Day 1
Gran Vía
After arriving in Madrid and getting settled in our Airbnb, located on Calle Mayor and centrally located to most tourist attractions, we did some sightseeing in the afternoon. Gran Vía is probably the most famous street in Madrid and is lined with stores and hotels.
Gran Vía - Madrid, Spain 2018
After an afternoon of walking around the next order of business was eating. Our Airbnb was right near Mercado de San Miguel, so we figured why not waste time and dive right in to Spain's most famous type of dish - tapas.
Mercado de San Miguel - Madrid, Spain 2018
The market is filled with vendors and counters filled with bite-sized tapas including all kinds of olives, empanadas, small slices of bread topped with various tapenades, meats, and of course sangria to wash it all down.
Mercado de San Miguel - Madrid, Spain 2018
Catedral de la Almudena
After dinner we did a bit of nighttime walking and sightseeing first stopping at the Almudena Cathedral.
Catedral de la Almudena - Madrid, Spain 2018
Palacio Real de Madrid
The Royal Palace of Madrid is the largest in Europe and the official home of the Spanish Royal Family.
Palacio Real de Madrid - Madrid, Spain 2018
Puerta del Sol
Puerta del Sol is a public square and a very popular spot filled with street performers and shops and restaurants filling the nearby streets. Our tour guide the next day would inform us that this actually marks the very center of Madrid and all road measurements in Madrid start here at Kilometer 0.
Puerta del Sol - Madrid, Spain 2018
With tapas already checked off, paella was next on the food list. A quick google search pointed us to La Barraca. I am no paella expert, but this one was outstanding! With the good service and nice ambiance, I would certainly return here.
Paella at La Barraca - Madrid, Spain 2018
Day 2
What would a trip to Spain be without some churros? For breakfast? Even better. Actually Chocolatería San Ginés is open 24 hours so you can get churros and chocolate any time you want.
Chocolatería San Ginés - Madrid, Spain 2018
Museo del Prado
As a family of artists (except for me) we had to visit Museo del Prado, Spain's main National Art Museum. While there aren't any globally famous pieces like the Mona Lisa here, there are some pieces you might recognize by painters like Velasquez, Goya, and El Greco.
Museo del Prado - Madrid, Spain 2018
Parque del Bueno Retiro
Near the Museo del Prado is Parque del Buen Retiro, one of the largest public parks in Madrid. After spending a few hours in the museum, we rested a bit in the park and had a late afternoon snack.
Parque del Bueno Retiro - Madrid, Spain 2018
Tapas Tour
Prior to our trip, we had booked a tapas tour. One of the advantages of being a part of the tour was visiting some very small restaurants that we surely would have never found on our own.
Of course another advantage to a tour is that you have someone who actually knows what to order!
Tapas - Madrid, Spain 2018
If you can read the sign, yes it does say Museo del Jamón - the Ham Palace, serving one of Spain's most famous delicacies, Jamón Ibérico. A single one of those hanging hams costs well over 1,000€
Museo del Jamón - Madrid, Spain 2018
Day 3
Toledo
At the last minute, we decided to book a day trip to the historical city of Toledo, located atop a hill. A former capital of the Spanish Empire, Toldeo was an important city in Spain's history, particularly throughout the Middle Ages with influence from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim cultures.
View of Toledo from Mirador del Valle - Toledo, Spain 2018
Plaza de Zocodover
The Plaza de Zocodover is the main square of the city of Toldeo. The narrow streets of the city lead off from the square for you to expore.
Plaza de Zocodover - Toldeo, Spain 2018
Puente de Segovia
A picture of this bridge was in a book in our Airbnb and we thought it looked cool, so after returning from Toledo we went to check it out. It did turn out to make a good photo op.
Puente de Segovia - Madrid, Spain 2018
The Guiness Book of World Records recognizes Sobrino de Botín as the oldest retaurant in the world in continuous operation. There are some tables in the upstairs level, but the majority of seating is in the cellar below.
The cochinillo asado, or roast suckling pig, is the most famous dish here so I had to try that. While it wasn't a meal that I would rave about, it was still a cool experience overall that I would recommend to anyone who hasn't been.
Sobrino de Botín - Madrid, Spain 2018
Overall
This was my first time in Spain and I can definitely get behind having more tapas in my life. I think my dad agreed to because he made his own tapas for Christmas that year! Madrid is a huge city with more than enough to do for everyone. With that being said, it also very much felt like another big city in that I would definitely want to visit other parts of Spain before making it a priority to return.
To see the next stop on this trip, go here to Athens.
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