Madrid Travel Guide

The Royal Palace of Madrid is among the largest royal palaces in Europe by floor area, built in the 18th-century Bourbon era on the site of a former Muslim alcázar. Nearly 3,000 rooms glitter with gilt, tapestries and master paintings, still used for state ceremonies. Wandering here reveals the splendour of the Spanish monarchy and two centuries of power.

The Prado is among the world's greatest art temples, unrivalled for Spanish Golden Age painting — Velázquez's Las Meninas, Goya's Black Paintings and Bosch's fantasies all hang here. Within its Neoclassical halls the light is hushed; walking the galleries is reading an authoritative history of European painting.

Perched on a rocky hill almost encircled by the Tagus River, some 70 km south of Madrid, Toledo was Spain's capital for centuries and is a UNESCO World Heritage site, once home to Christians, Jews and Muslims living side by side. In the maze of steep lanes, Santo Tomé church holds El Greco's The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, while a former synagogue and a mosque-converted church stand within a few hundred metres of each other. The city has kept its reputation for swordmaking and damasquinado gold-inlay work. Follow the river path for a full view of the skyline at dusk.

Puerta del Sol is the heart of Madrid — the 'kilometre zero' of Spain's roads and home to the beloved 'Bear and Strawberry Tree' statue. Nearby, the Habsburg-era Plaza Mayor, with uniform red-brick arcades and a central equestrian statue of Philip III, freezes the market and festival memory of the Golden Age. A short walk apart, both are the easiest start to reading Madrid.

Puerta de Toledo is one of Madrid's neoclassical triumphal arches, begun under Joseph Bonaparte during the Napoleonic occupation and completed around 1827 under Ferdinand VII to commemorate victory in the Peninsular War and the restored monarchy. Its granite body opens in three arches, topped with sculpture and heraldry, a compact stone footnote to the city's turbulent history. The gate now stands in the middle of the Glorieta de Toledo roundabout, close to Madrid Rio park and the famous El Rastro flea market, making it an easy pairing with a riverside stroll or a Sunday market wander.

Retiro Park is a large, pleasant city park in central Madrid—a former royal garden and now the green playground of Madrilenos, with its broad greenery, beautiful lake, gardens and buildings, a delightful, relaxing retreat in Madrid, listed as a World Heritage Site (as part of the Paseo del Prado and Retiro). Retiro Park sits in central Madrid (next to the Prado Museum), a vast and lovely city park. Originally a 17th-century royal garden for the Spanish royal family's leisure, it later opened to the public and became the beloved place for Madrilenos to relax, exercise and unwind, the city's green heart. The park is vast and beautiful, shaded and lush; scattered within are many charming sights: the most famous and photogenic is the elegant artificial lake at its center (visitors can row on the lake; on its shore stands the grand Monument to Alfonso XII, like a graceful lakeside picture); besides, there is the unique Palacio de Cristal (Crystal Palace), built of iron and glass—a translucent, elegant glass palace often used for art exhibitions by a small lake, exquisite; a rose garden; and many gardens, sculptures, fountains and tree-lined avenues. Strolling Retiro, visitors can walk and rest among the broad greenery and flowers, enjoy the lake, row a boat, visit the Crystal Palace or relax on the lawn, savoring leisurely urban time—especially on sunny days, the park brims with fresh, relaxed city life. Visiting Madrid's Retiro Park, strolling the lovely royal garden and enjoying the lake and Crystal Palace, is a pleasant Madrid retreat.