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:

• Plaza Mayor – Madrid’s main square.

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:

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!