A Guide to Visiting Madrid, Spain

We spent eight nights recently in Spain. Our first stop was Madrid. I hope my itinerary helps you in some way.

Day 1

Although tired from the flight and jet lagged we took the hop on hop off bus. I now recommend them for any city in which you'll be for more than one day. They can be used as a tour bus or as a way to see the sights. One tip is to look for a bus that has an enclosed top in case it is raining. You won't want to sit on the top in the rain but if you are on the bottom you'll miss a lot of the tour.

This particular tour in Madrid was made up of two separate tours that were each 75-minutes long. For some reason the bus was cold so dress warmly if you are going in March!

You will be treated to amazing architecture, sculptures everywhere, and the Royal Palace just to name a few sights.

I am not including restaurants because I will be doing a separate review of all of them in which we ate in Spain.

Note, Madrid may be the second hilliest city in the world. Of course the city where we leave our hearts is the first. Make sure you have comfortable shoes. I would suggest doing some walking if you don't already just to get prepared.

Day 2

We started our day by going to Lavapides where there was supposed to be a flea market but there wasn't. This ethnic area was very close to our hotel but if it isn't close to yours check to see if there will be a flea market. It is in the guide books and nothing is said about it being open only seasonally but on this Sunday morning, other than the mix of people, there was no market.

From here get on the Metro to La Latina where you will see the largest flea market you may ever have seen. It is all out in the open and the prices are great. I wish I had picked up a dozen more shawls.

We then walked in Old Madrid where we went into the San Isidro Church and then onto Plaza Mayor, which we entered through an interesting bridge type opening into a court yard. From there we walked into the Santa María la Real de La Almudena where we stayed for the beginning of a mass.

The Palacia Royal is really something you want to see if only to see the Jardins de Sabatini. Here you will see statues, bushes made into mazes, and truly a garden like none I have ever seen.

Day 3

We decided to do a day trip to Toledo, which will be a separate review. If we had to do it again, we would have gone on Tuesday rather than Monday. Toledo is definitely worth a day away from Madrid.

Day 4

My husband is very good with languages. With his college Spanish and listening to Spanish tapes before we left, we made out fine in Madrid. But realize that unlike Paris, where we found pockets of French-only speakers, in Madrid 99% of the people spoke no English.

Fodor's had a great walk called Barrio de las Letres. This took us by (just to name a few sights) Casa de Cervantes, Casa de Lope de Vega, and the Trinitadas des Calzas.

From here you can walk over to the Musea de Prado where we spent two hours. We used their map of 50 masterpieces to see and got through most of them. If you are really into this type of painting (Dark, heavy and religious) you may want to take a private tour or rent a head set. The Musea de Prado is a must see by everyone's standards. We enjoyed it though I don't think it compares to the Louvre.

There are three museums that the books say to go to. The other one was the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza . We spent two hours there, which is said to have the "least known of the best painters and the best of the least known painters." It was very manageable and well done.

Then walk up to Plaza de la Cibeles near the Banco de Espano where the famous statue of a woman in a chariot was lit up. If it is a nice night sit on a bench and enjoy the area. This is part of the Prado area: beautiful, clean, and upscale. We took the metro to Plaza del Sol which was very busy, lots of young people, and lots of police. This is a great place to find a tapas bar.

You will read and everyone will tell you that pickpockets in Madrid are rampant. In fact while we were waiting outside for a bus a woman's pocket book was stolen off her chair. It should not have been there and she was sitting next to the door! Use common sense. Don't keep your wallet in a pocket and if you have a pocketbook makes sure it closes securely.