Museo del Prado
Search results
Madrid ( / məˈdrɪd / mə-DRID, Spanish: [maˈðɾið] ⓘ) [n. 1] is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million [8] inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and its monocentric metropolitan area is the second-largest ...
- 650 m (2,130 ft)
- Spain
- 9th century
Plan your trip to Madrid, Spain's vibrant capital city, with this official guide. Find out what to see, do, eat, drink, shop and enjoy in Madrid.
- The Prado
- Retiro Park
- Royal Palace
- Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
- National Archaeological Museum
- Puerta Del Sol
- Gran Vía
- Plaza Mayor
- Mercado San Miguel
- El Rastro
Absolutely essential, the Prado is one of the best and most popular art museums in the world. There’s an overwhelming collection of masterpieces by renaissance and baroque masters. Spain is represented by Velázquez and El Greco, the low countries by Rembrandt, Brueghel, van Dyck and Rubens, while Titian, Caravaggio, Botticelli and Tintoretto form t...
Madrid’s green heart and full of elegant gardens, the Retiro is just a few steps east from the Prado and was a royal property up to the end of the 19th century when it was opened to the public. If you’re visiting with little ones, paddling on the Grand Pond next to the monument of Alfonso XII is a fun option on a sunny afternoon. The iron and glass...
Built in the mid-1700s for King Philip V the Royal Palace is on the site of Madrid’s Moorish Alcázar fortress-palace, which burned down in 1734. It’s the largest royal palace in western Europe, and has a blend of baroque and neoclassical styles. You have to go inside for the full experience because the royal collections and frescoes are sublime. Th...
Whether you’re a supporter of the club or not, the truth remains that Real Madrid are Europe’s most successful football team with a record-breaking 11 European Cups to their name. So any fan of the game should consider a pilgrimage to their gargantuan 85,000-seater stadium, where history has been made many times down the seasons. A tour will grant ...
With invaluable pieces gathered from across Spain, this museum is a trip through Spain’s rich history. What may surprise you is the wealth of magnificent items that predate the Roman period. The best of these Iberian treasures and sculptures look almost new, despite being at least 2,500 years-old. The Lady of Elche is a bust of a woman with an incr...
This grand square next to the Casa de Correos (Post Office Building) is a popular meeting place, suffused with meaning for both city and country. Nearly every Spanish person will recognise the clock at the top of the Casa de Correos, as this marks the televised countdown on New Year’s Eve. There’s a tricky ritual involved too: With every chime you’...
If you’d like to get a sense of the city, a walk along the Gran Vía is a superb place to start. It’s Madrid’s entertainment, shopping and cultural nerve centre, a buzzing avenue often full of life until dawn. By day it throngs with shoppers stopping by the many malls, high-street stores like H&M and Zara and luxury boutiques. In the evenings there ...
Another of Madrid’s “musts”, Plaza Mayor is a handsome renaissance square, laid out in the early-1600s and completely sequestered by historic three-storey-high residential buildings. There are nine entrances to the square and within the porticoes at the bottom of the buildings are several cafes. Order a coffee (overpriced but necessary because of t...
An easy walk from Plaza Mayor is this gorgeous art nouveau marketplace that dates to 1916. It’s less of a fresh produce market (although there are grocery stalls) and more of a gastronomic destination to purchase the best that Spain has to offer, like cava, pimenton (parprika) and saffron. There’s a host of tapas bars here serving all the favourite...
On Sundays it will seem like the entire city has descended on Ribera de Coritodores and Plaza de Cascorro. This is when some 3,500 stalls are open, hawking pretty much anything you can think of, whether used or new. It’s the largest flea market in Madrid and gets pretty hectic, so it’s always a good idea to show up early. Even though it’s a Sunday ...
Discover Madrid, the capital of Spain, with its famous museums, historic spots, vibrant nightlife and diverse culture. Find out about the best places to visit, shop, eat and enjoy in this open and welcoming city.
- Visit the Golden Triangle of Art. Madrid’s "Golden Triangle of Art" consists of three renowned museums, the Museo del Prado, Reina Sofía and the Thyssen-Bornemisza, which are home to some of the world’s most valuable art collections.
- Get a taste of Spain on a traditional tapas crawl. Tapas hopping, or ir de tapas, is a national pastime and a satisfying prelude to dinner, which in Spain is typically eaten between 9pm and midnight.
- Shop at El Rastro flea market. Every Sunday and on public holidays, you can take part in a 400-year-old shopping tradition at El Rastro flea market. Open from 9am to 3pm, El Rastro stretches along the La Latina neighborhood’s Plaza de Cascorro, La Ribera de Curtidores and Ronda de Toledo and features a labyrinth of open-air stalls peddling clothes, souvenirs, handicrafts, antiques and all the bric-a-brac you can imagine.
- Follow Hemingway’s footsteps. "Hemingway did not drink here" is a popular joke written on signs hanging in some Madrid establishments. It’s no secret that the American literary giant, fondly called "Don Ernesto," was Madrid’s adopted sybarite who loved to drink, eat, write and watch bullfights while he was covering the Spanish Civil War as a foreign journalist.
People also ask
Where is Madrid located?
What to do in Madrid?
Is Madrid a city or a province?
What is Madrid famous for?
1 day ago · Madrid, city, capital of Spain and of Madrid province, lying almost exactly at the geographical heart of the Iberian Peninsula. Spain’s arts and financial center, the city proper and province form an autonomous community in central Spain. Learn more about Madrid, including its history and economy.
Discover Madrid's culture, food, shopping, nightlife and more on the official tourism website. Find out how to enjoy the city in any season, with tips, guides and discounts.
