Three days in the center: the Prado and the Retiro, the Palace and the Habsburg squares with a La Latina tavern night, then Guernica, Malasaña and a Chueca tapas crawl. Lunch at 2 p.m., dinner at 9 p.m., and the metro on your bank card.
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Checked October 10, 2026. That’s the day we last confirmed the hours, prices and closed days.
April, May, late September and October are warm and clear. July and August pass 95°F (35°C) most afternoons and many kitchens close for August. Winter is cold, dry and bright; December has the lights and the crowds in Sol.
Barrio de las Letras or Huertas for the museums and the old center on foot; La Latina for the taverns; Malasaña or Chueca for the bars and a younger crowd; Salamanca for quiet and shops. Rooms over Plaza Mayor or Cava Baja are loud until 2 a.m.
Walk; the three days fit inside a 3-kilometer circle. For the metro, tap a contactless card or phone at the turnstile: single rides in Zone A are a flat €1.50 from October 1, 2026. A Tarjeta Multi (€2.50) with a 10-trip Metrobús loaded is the alternative and works on the EMT buses as well.
Paseo del Prado · 150 min
Open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday and to 7 p.m. Sunday; €15, so book a timed ticket for opening and enter by the Jerónimos door. Go to Velázquez and Goya's black paintings first, then Bosch's Garden before the groups reach it.
€15
Retiro · 75 min
In through the Puerta de Felipe IV behind the museum to the lake with its rowing boats and the rose garden. The Palacio de Cristal is closed for restoration until around 2027, but the walk round is still worth it, and the park shuts without notice in high wind.
Barrio de las Letras · 75 min
Back across the Paseo del Prado to the tiled bar on Plaza de Jesús for a caña and canapés at the counter, or a sit-down menú del día in one of the restaurants along Calle Jesús. Madrid eats at 2 p.m., and before 1:30 p.m. you will be alone.
Paseo del Prado · 120 min
The third museum of the triangle, open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday for €13. On Monday the permanent collection is free from noon to 4 p.m. at the door; two hours covers the Impressionists and the Hoppers.
€13
Barrio de las Letras · 75 min
Cervantes's quarter: the quotations set in brass along Calle de las Huertas, the Trinitarias convent where he is buried and the bookshops on Calle del Prado. Have a vermouth at the counter of Casa Alberto, open since 1827.
Barrio de las Letras · 105 min
Huertas 18: rabo de toro, callos if you are brave, croquetas for everyone. It seats from 8 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday and is closed Monday, when La Casa del Abuelo on Calle Victoria is the garlic prawn alternative.
Palacio · 120 min
Open from 10 a.m. (to 7 p.m. April to September, 6 p.m. October to March, 4 p.m. Sundays) for €18, with the Royal Armory included. Book the 10 a.m. slot.
€18
Palacio · 60 min
The cathedral next door (free, a donation asked), the statue square in front of the palace, then the clipped hedges of the Sabatini gardens for the facade view.
Madrid de los Austrias · 30 min
Along Calle Mayor to the Plaza de la Villa, through the Arco de Cuchilleros into the Plaza Mayor, and out past the iron and glass of the Mercado de San Miguel.
Madrid de los Austrias · 75 min
The 1916 iron market as a tapas hall: oysters, croquetas, a plate of jamón, vermouth on tap. It is open daily 10 a.m. to midnight (1 a.m. Friday and Saturday); eat standing, pay at each counter, and €15 to €25 fills you.
La Latina · 90 min
Down Cava Baja and Cava Alta to the Plaza de la Paja and the Jardín del Príncipe de Anglona. The Rastro flea market fills the streets below on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; otherwise it is siesta hour until the taverns reopen around 8 p.m.
La Latina · 60 min
The gardens on the hill behind San Francisco el Grande face west over the Casa de Campo, with a terrace beer while the sky goes orange. In June the sun sets after 9:30 p.m., so take this after dinner.
La Latina · 120 min
Casa Lucio at number 35 for huevos estrellados (book; dinner 8 to 11:30 p.m., closed all of August). Without a booking, have Juana la Loca's tortilla on Plaza Puerta de Moros, then the counters at Txirimiri and Casa Lucas down the street, one plate per bar.
Atocha · 120 min
Open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., closed Tuesday; €12, so book online and enter by the Nouvel building on Ronda de Atocha. Go straight up to Guernica on the second floor of the Sabatini building before the groups.
€12
Lavapiés · 75 min
Up the hill through the steepest, most mixed quarter in the center: the terraces on Calle Argumosa, the murals around La Tabacalera and the shops of every country on Calle Lavapiés. Finish at Tirso de Molina.
Malasaña · 75 min
Three stops on line 1 from Tirso de Molina to Tribunal. Casa Julio on Calle Madera does croquetas and the Bodega de la Ardosa on Calle Colón does salmorejo and tortilla, and both are counters that fill by 2:30 p.m.
Malasaña · 120 min
Plaza del Dos de Mayo, the vintage shops on Calle Velarde and Espíritu Santo, and the Conde Duque barracks turned cultural center. Coffee at Toma on Calle de la Palma or HanSo on Calle del Pez.
Argüelles · 75 min
Fifteen minutes west past Plaza de España: an Egyptian temple on a hill facing the sunset. The interior is free but closed Monday, though the terrace is always open; in summer the sun sets after 9 p.m., so swap this with dinner.
Chueca · 150 min
Back east along Calle del Pez into Chueca: Celso y Manolo on Calle Libertad for the tasca classics, Taberna La Carmencita a few doors up (open since 1854), then the counters and rooftop of the Mercado de San Antón, open to midnight. A plate and a glass at each; the bars run past 2 a.m. at the weekend.
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Pins are approximate. Tap one for the stop; the directions links open Google Maps.
From Barajas, the Cercanías C-1 runs from Terminal 4 to Chamartín, Nuevos Ministerios, Sol and Atocha in about 30 minutes for around €2.60. Metro line 8 serves every terminal to Nuevos Ministerios in 12 to 15 minutes, with a €3 airport supplement on top of the fare. The Exprés Aeropuerto bus 203 to Cibeles and Atocha runs 24 hours for €5. The official taxi fare to anywhere inside the M-30 is a fixed €33.
About €70 to €110 a day per person. A menú del día is €13 to €18, a tapas crawl €25 to €40 with drinks, the three big museums €40 together, and the metro €1.50 a ride.
Plans change. Ask Chat and it proposes a reshuffled day you can apply, or just answers the question.
Day 1: the Prado and the Thyssen take most of it and the walk between them is short, and CaixaForum next door is an indoor swap for the Retiro. Ask Waystop for a rain plan and its Chat proposes a wet-weather version of day 1 as a card; accept it and switch to it from the day's menu.
Yes for the Prado and the Palace; timed tickets skip a half-hour line. The Reina Sofía and the Thyssen sell at the door most weekdays. The Palace's last entry is an hour before closing, and EU passport holders enter free in the last two hours Monday to Thursday, desk only.
Yes for the three big museums, the old center and two neighborhoods, with time to sit over lunch. A fourth day would fit Toledo or Segovia.
Contactless. Tap the same card or phone in and out and you pay the flat €1.50. Buy a Multi card (€2.50) only if you want the 10-trip Metrobús for the buses.
Same country first, then the cities people tend to pair with Madrid. Want two or three in one go? String them together in the trip builder.
Add your dates, your hotel and who’s coming, then ask Chat to change anything: it proposes the edit and you tap Apply. Want a long lunch instead of a museum? Just ask. Every place is checked against Google Maps before it lands on your day, and Chat can tell you when to leave for the next stop. Going on to another city? Build a multi-city trip.