Only a Weekend in Madrid? Top Must Sees and Dos

During my second week of volunteering abroad in Spain, some of the other volunteers and I took a weekend trip to Madrid. We all took trains from our placement locations and met up at our Airbnb in Madrid. I enjoyed it a lot and wish I had more time here. But, if you are like me and only have a day and a half there, here is a list of absolute MUSTS during that time frame. 

Do: Take a walk down Gran Via

Gran Via is Madrid’s Main Street (I would say it is the Broadway of Madrid). It is where all the main shopping centers are, along with major buildings including the Metropolis. All the architecture is also 20th-century revival, with many different styles. Whenever I google search Madrid, photos of Gran Via always pop up, showing how important it is! 

See: Plaza Mayor 

One of the many plazas in Madrid that include a man on a horse, this one is located in the heart of Madrid. While the men on horses in Madrid are all different, this one is of King Felipe III. This is the largest public space in Madrid and surrounded by various restaurants and gift shops. The huge building with matching architecture also surrounds the town square and is worth a look as well. Also, you may see character figures wandering around the square! For example, I saw a guy dressed as Buzz Lightyear who offered to take pics with tourists for free but then afterwards, he begged them for a tip. Therefore, it is not totally free to take a pic with character figures, just know what you are getting into! 

Do: Try the Madrid Special Calamari Sandwich

Or in Spanish, “Bocadillo de Calamares,” when people talk about this sandwich they only mention that it’s fried calamari inside bread. What they leave out when mentioning the Madrid Special is that you need to try it with the black garlic aioli. It made the sandwich 100x better! I tried one at Casa Castaña in Plaza Mayor, so that is a key recommendation for restaurants in Madrid. 

See: Puerta del Sol 

Another plaza with a man on a horse, this man is King Carlos III of Spain. This plaza serves as a communication hub, meeting point, a place for meetings, and a common place for celebrations. This plaza also isn’t too far from Plaza Mayor, so you can easily hit both in the same hour let alone day! 

Do: Go Bar Crawling At Night

They say NYC is the city that never sleeps but truth be told, neither does Madrid! My co-volunteers and I were out till 3:30 AM on a Friday night and the streets were still crowded around that time. I made sure to try the Sangria, since I love drinking them in the U.S. and totally predicted correctly that the Spanish one would be so much better! A couple bars I visited were Lolina Vintage, a retro themed bar and cafe. La Reina Lagarta, A cocktail bar/freakshow venue where the lighting inside is all red! If you have ever seen the show American Horror Story, this bar reminded me a lot of the elements used in that show, including a sign that says NORMAL PEOPLE SCARE ME. Whether you like freakshows or not, this bar is definitely worth checking out because of its uniqueness. Another notable one is Tupperware, but since this is such a popular bar, there is a cover fee of nine Euros. However, that cover fee does come with one cocktail or two beers, so do not let the cover fee discourage you! In addition, this bar also features a video on loop of a young boy dancing around adults at a bar, which I definitely think draws a lot of people in, haha! 

See: Temple of Debod 

Inside a park near the Royal Palace, this is a 2nd-century Egyptian temple that was donated to Spain. The best time of day to visit this site is in the evening, because the park has a wonderful Spanish sunset! It is totally free and not time-consuming at all to visit. 

Do: Try Tapas Bars and Churros

All of Spain has a plethora of tapas bars, and tapas literally means “snack” in Spanish, which is correct! There are obviously tapas bars on every corner in Madrid, so I cannot say which one is best because they are all so great! I did love everything I tried, though, especially croquetas! I also had sardine toast, manchego cheese, tortilla Espanola (potato omelet), and patatas bravas! I will have to do a separate blog post just for Spanish food! However, there is one churro place I recommend over all others and it is Chocolateria San Gines. This place has been around since 1894 and aside from churros with chocolate sauce, they also serve coffee, truffles, ice cream, and cookies. However, you should come here with the intention of getting churros with chocolate sauce! 

See: Inside the Museo Del Prado 

Beautiful on the inside and outside, this is the main Spanish national art museum located in Central Madrid. While ordering a ticket online prior to your visit is not required, it is highly recommended so you can skip the long line at the entrance. This museum is known for its Biblical inspiration, with a lot of art pertaining to Jesus's birth, crucifixion, and resurrection. There is also artwork pertaining to John the Baptist, the Virgin Mary, and the twelve apostles. Many saints in Catholicism are also depicted in the artwork, as well as a painting that regards a book ONLY in the Catholic and Orthodox Bibles. It is the story of Tobias from the book of Tobit in the Old Testament, who was sent by his blind father in the company of archangel Raphael to collect money from an old friend. The paintings in the museum depict Tobias returning to Nineveh with a wife who was formerly abandoned by her family, and the two heal Tobit. Lots of pieces of Roman bust statues as well! While photography here is limited to only a few spaces, one of those spaces shows a piece called, “The Garden of Earthly Delights”. The painting depicts the creation of the world in the Garden of Eden and not only do you have to see that part, there is also a way for you to look BEHIND the painting! Behind the painting shows two halves of the Earth so that if the trifold painting were to be closed, the shape of the Earth would appear. Then, you would open it to the Garden of Eden. What an awesome visual effect it was! 

Do: Take a FULL walkthrough tour of the Royal Palace 

Saved the best DO for last! This was by far my favorite thing to do in Madrid, and it was because of how detailed the Royal Palace was. While the views from the outside are breathtaking and serve as a good photo op, are not enough for full immersion. Like the Museo del Prado, it is highly recommended you buy tickets beforehand so you can skip the long line. The palace has 3418 rooms and my group and I started at the Prince’s Gate and walked into a room with magnificent ceiling art, a bust statue, and a banner with the Spain flag symbol on it. It was while standing in just that room that I knew the palace would be worth it. As the tourists and I progressed into the other rooms, we had to be quiet but photography was still allowed everywhere. I quickly realized that basically every room had ceiling art, pure gold chandeliers, and each room was a different color. For example, there was one room literally called the yellow room! For this entry, I decided to include more than one photo to show the many different extravagant parts of the Palace. 

See: Catedral de Santa María la Real de la Almudena

Pretty much a given if you go to the Royal Palace, because it is right across the street from Prince’s Gate. I did not have time to go in, but seeing it was just as great! I got plenty of pictures of it, and my co-volunteers even thought it looked a bit like the Disney Castle! Oddly enough, the castle that actually did inspire the Disney Castle is also in Spain, but in Segovia. 

Other attractions that I did not have time for but heard are great: 

-Teatro Real

-El Retiro Park

-Royal Armoury Museum of Madrid

-Museo del Romanticismo 

-Real Jardin Botanico 

-Puerta de Alcalá

-Santiago Bernabeu Stadium (Home of the Real Madrid futbol team!)