Europe

Madrid

Madrid is so far, in my opinion, the best capital city in Europe!
The food is great.
The architecture is impressive.
The people are lovely (and beautiful!)

And there’s so much to do and see in this awesome city, that I just can’t wait to visit there again!

In this post you can read some interesting information and my recommendations of this awesome city.

Main neighborhoods in Madrid:

  • Malasaña
    Young, hipster area, with many lovely Cafés and vintage clothing stores. Very recommended to discover this part of the city. It’s very central, full of bars and nice restaurants.
  • Chueca
    Considered as downtown Madrid, Chueca is known as Madrid’s gay neighborhood, and I absolutely love it!
  • Salamanca
    The posh area of Madrid, where you can find all the big brands (Clothing and accessories).
    I didn’t really like it, but the market (MERCADO DE LA PAZ) is awesome, and you can find there fresh cheese, meat and pastries.

Malasaña neighborhood:

“Must Visit” Points:

I especially liked the open gates that lead you in and out of the plaza, each and one of them looks like a window to another world.

 

  • Puerta del Sol – another public square in Madrid, located only a few minutes away from Plaza Mayor.
    Here you can find one of Madrid’s most famous symbol- the statue of a bear eating fruits from a tree.

  • Gran Via
    Madrid’s biggest and most famous street, full of restaurants, stores (including one of the world’s biggest Primark store), bars and galleries.

    This long street starts from Calle de Alcalá and ends at Plaza de España
  • Plaza de Cibeles
    A beautiful square that is considered as an iconic symbol of Madrid, thanks to its neo-classical complex of marble sculptures and fountains.

    I highly recommend the plaza’s viewpoint (mirador). It’s stunning.

  • Temple of Debod (Templo de Debod)
    An ancient Egyptian temple that was dismantled and rebuilt in Madrid, located in a nice park.

    Although I listed it as a “must see” location, it’s hardly impressive, but I do recommend to visit it if you’re interested in architecture.
    Also, the view from the park is beautiful.
    Address:

    Calle de Ferraz, 1, 28008 Madrid
  • Viewpoints:
  1. Mirador del Palacio de Cibeles
    Beautiful panoramic view on Madrid,
    Highly recommended!
    Price: 3 Eur (30 min)
    Address: Plaza Cibeles, 28014 Madrid

  2. Temple of Debod – An ancient Egyptian temple, located in a nice garden with a beautiful view to the city.

  3. The Sky Bar in NH Collection Madrid Gran Vía Hotel.

Restaurants and tapas bars:

  • The Lobstar
    AMAZING lobster restaurants with yummy dishes- all about delicious lobsters. Great location, very recommended!
    Address: Calle de Carranza, 4, 28004 Madrid

  • Museo Chicote
    An amazing restaurant \ cocktail bar on Gran Via.
    Classic cocktails, delicious steak, the perfect dinner!
    Address: Calle Gran Vía, 12, 28013 Madrid
  • Cervantes – An AWEOSME tapas bar.
    Address: Plaza Jesús, 7, 28014 Madrid
  • El cisne azul – a great restaurant, with a coll twist- everything is based on mushrooms. I warmly recommend the hot mushroom plate- very special. The steak is also very good.
    Address: Calle de Gravina, 19, 28004 Madrid
  • Ten con Ten – A very recommended restaurant. Not as cheap as a typical tapas bar, but worth the price.
    Address: Calle de Ayala, 6, 28001 Madrid
  • La pescaderia – A nice restaurant bar in Malasaña.
    Recommended dishes: Ceviche, pumpkin salad, burger.
    Address: Calle de la Ballesta, 32, 28004 Madrid

Breakfast and Brunch:

  • La Bicicleta Café
    A cute-hipster place. Good coffee.
    Address: Plaza de San Ildefonso, 9, 28004 Madrid

  • Toma Café
    A lovely café, with the best toast I’ve ever had. Try the Ricotta toast with olive tapenade and sun dried tomatoes, and the Camembert toast with strawberries and honey. Thank me later. The downside is that the coffee is not great.
    Address: Calle de la Palma, 49, 28004 Madrid
  • HanSo Café
    You might wait a bit before you’ll get a table, but it worth the waiting.
    Address: Calle del Pez, 20, 28004 Madrid
  • Café federal
    Awesome location, great breakfast. Nice coffee, but wasn’t hot enough, so maybe mention that you want your coffee extra hot 🙂 Don’t compromise! Take a table outside, and enjoy the sun.
    Address: Plaza de las Comendadoras, 9, 28015 Madrid
  • El Patio Vertical
    A very very cute place. The coffee was nice, and it’s located few steps away from the botanic garden. I really liked the vertical garden outside of the café. Check it out.
    Address: Calle de Almadén, 26, 28014 Madrid

Markets:

  • Mercado De San Miguel
    This place is so awesome, full of little food stands and even a great coffee stand. My recommendation is to take a little bit of everything (tapas, tapas, tapas), and enjoy every byte, with a glass of white wine or Aperol Spritz. Cheers!
    Address: Plaza de San Miguel, 5, 28005 Madrid

  • El Rastro – Sunday’s open-air flea market
    Address: Calle de la Ribera de Curtidores, 28005 Madrid
  • Mercado de la Paz
    A very nice indoor marketplace offers food stands with meat, fruits, cheese, pastries and gourmet food.
    Address: Calle de Ayala, 28B, 28001 Madrid

Museums:

  • Museo Nacional del Prado
    This impressive museum is a MUST for art lovers. In this museum you can find the finest collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century.
    Price: 15 Euros
    Address: Paseo del Prado, s/n, 28014 Madrid
  • Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
    This is Spain’s national museum of 20th-century art.
    The most important work presented in the museum is the Guernica by Picasso.
    Address: Calle de Santa Isabel, 52, 28012 Madrid
    Price: 10 Euros
  • National Archaeological Museum
    Very nice if you’re into archaeology
    Address: Calle de Serrano, 13, 28001 Madrid
  • CaixaForum Madrid
    Price: 5 Euros
    Address: Paseo del Prado, 36, 28014 Madrid

Parks and Gardens:

  • El Retiro Park
    Beautiful, big park.
    The perfect location for a picnic, some tapas, a bottle of wine and chillin’ in the sun.
    One of the park’s highlights in renting a boat in the lake.
    Price: 6 Eur for 45 min.
    Address: Plaza de la Independencia, 7, 28001 Madrid (Main Entrance)

  • Real Jardín Botánico – The botanic garden in Madrid. I really liked it.
    A ticket costs 4 Euro for entry or 6 Euros for entry + Exhibition.
    Address: Plaza de Murillo, 2, 28014 Madrid

Activities:

  • Microteatro Por Dinero – A tiny Theater, each show is about 15 minutes. If you don’t speak Spanish- choose a musical 🙂
    Price: 4.5 Euros
    Address: Calle de Loreto y Chicote, 9, 28004 Madrid
  • Clan Flamenco
    Free entrance on Friday and Saturday at 23:00
    Address: Ronda de Toledo, 20, 28005 Madrid

 

Enjoy Madrid!

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4 comments

Gili June 1, 2019 at 11:07 am

היי יפעת, אחלה פוסט על מדריד.
אנחנו בדיוק לפני נסיעה. מלון בשכונת צ׳ואקה.
יש רחוב ספציפי בשכונה בו מרוכזים הברים ומקומות מיוחדים? וגם לגבי שכונת סלמנקה? תוכלי לכוון לאן כדאי להגיע בשכונה?
תודה
גילי

Reply
Ifat Chen Cohen June 2, 2019 at 5:44 am

שלום גילי,
איזה כייף לכם!
לגבי שכונת Malasaña, יש הרבה רחובות קטנים סביב כיכר Plaza de San Ildefonso, ממליצה על האיזור הזה.
לגבי סלמנקה, ממליצה על שוק האוכל, MERCADO DE LA PAZ, קרוב אליו יש לא מעט חנויות- יהיה קשה לפספס 🙂
תהנו המון!

Reply
אבי June 16, 2019 at 6:25 pm

הי יפעת, תודה על הפוסט. גם אנחנו מתכוונים לנסיעה בתחילת אוגוסט. המלצותייך לבילוי עם ילדים. כמה נקודות עניין יעזור לנו לתכנן את הנסיעה.

Reply
Ifat Chen Cohen July 24, 2019 at 11:17 am

שלום אבי, תודה רבה על התגובה.
מדריד מתאימה לטיול גם עם ילדים, כי היא קלה להתניידות ויש בה פארקים יפים ומעניינים.
כתבתי על שניים מהם- אחד הוא הגן הבוטני, ואם הילדים אוהבים צמחים ופרחים – הם ימצאו בו עניין רב.
השני הוא El Retiro Park, מקום מקסים להסתובב בו, ממליצה בחום לשכור סירה ולשוט יחד כמשפחה, זו חוויה נעימה וכייפית.
אני יודעת שיש גם גן חיות, לא ביקרתי ולכן לא יכולה להמליץ מחוויה אישית, אך שווה לברר עליו.
מעבר לכך, גם שוטטות בעיר ובאתרים המעניינים בה (תצפיות, כיכרות ועוד) היא חוויה נהדרת לכל הגילים 🙂
תהנו!

Reply

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