3 Days in Madrid: The Perfect Itinerary
Madrid does not have a single postcard landmark the way Paris has the Eiffel Tower or Rome has the Colosseum, and that is exactly what makes it a great city for a first visit. Nobody is sprinting between checkboxes here - the plan is to walk, eat late, and let the city's rhythm take over. Three days is enough to get a real feel for it.
Day 1: Centro and the Royal Palace
Start at Puerta del Sol, the literal center of Spain (a small plaque marks Kilometer Zero), then walk to Plaza Mayor, the 17th-century square that has hosted everything from royal coronations to bullfights over the centuries. From there it is a short walk to the Royal Palace - Europe's largest by floor area, though the Spanish royal family no longer lives there full-time - and the neighboring Almudena Cathedral.
Spend the evening in La Latina, doing what Madrid does best after dark: a tapas crawl. The neighborhood's narrow streets around Cava Baja are lined with bars built for standing, ordering one plate and one drink, and moving to the next place. If you want the history behind the streets you are eating your way through, Trevurs has a free audio tour of La Latina recorded by people who live there - it is a good way to understand why this particular patch of Madrid became the city's tapas heartland.
Day 2: The Art Triangle and Retiro Park
Madrid's three major museums - the Prado, the Reina Sofía, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza - sit within a fifteen-minute walk of each other, an unusually dense concentration of world-class art known locally as the Paseo del Arte. You will not manage all three properly in one day, so pick two: the Prado for Velázquez and Goya, the Reina Sofía if Picasso's Guernica is a priority.
Spend the afternoon in Retiro Park, Madrid's answer to Central Park, built originally as royal grounds. Rent a rowboat on the pond, walk to the Crystal Palace (a 19th-century glass pavilion that regularly hosts free exhibitions), and end the day with dinner in Malasaña or Chueca - both neighborhoods built around good, unpretentious food and some of the city's best nightlife.
Day 3: Gran Vía, Markets, and a Sunset View
Walk Gran Vía, Madrid's answer to Broadway, for its early-20th-century architecture as much as its shops. Stop at Mercado San Miguel for a late breakfast or early lunch among its glass-walled stalls of jamón, seafood, and pintxos, though be aware it is priced for tourists rather than locals.
Save the evening for the Templo de Debod, an actual 2,000-year-old Egyptian temple gifted to Spain in the 1960s and reassembled on a hill in western Madrid. The sunset view over the city from here, with the temple silhouetted against the sky, is one of the best free experiences Madrid has to offer.
Where to Eat Without Overthinking It
Madrid does not require restaurant research the way some cities do - the food culture is built around small plates spread across multiple stops, so a bad choice costs you one tapa, not a whole meal. Day one's tapas crawl in La Latina covers itself. For day two, eat lunch near the museums (a menu del día keeps it cheap and fast) and save the real meal for dinner in Malasaña or Chueca. For day three, Mercado San Miguel is worth a visit for the atmosphere, but eat your actual meal a few streets away, where the same jamón and pintxos cost half as much and taste just as good.
Practical Tips
- Eat on Spanish time. Lunch runs from 2-4pm and dinner rarely starts before 9pm - restaurants outside the tourist center often will not seat you earlier.
- Use the Metro, not taxis, for most trips. A single ticket starts around €1.50 for short hops, and Madrid's metro is one of the most efficient in Europe.
- Consider the Abono Turístico if you are moving around a lot. The tourist transport pass covers unlimited Metro, bus, and Cercanías travel for a set number of days, including the airport supplement.
- Book the Prado and Reina Sofía online in advance. Both sell out of same-day slots regularly, especially in peak season.
- Pack light layers, not a heavy coat. Madrid's climate swings hard between sun and shade, and between day and night, more than its latitude suggests.
Explore Madrid with Trevurs
The itinerary above hits Madrid's essentials, but the city rewards slowing down in its neighborhoods just as much as it rewards museum-hopping. Trevurs has free audio tours of La Latina and other Madrid neighborhoods, recorded by the people who actually live and eat there. Download the app before your trip and use it to fill in the walks between the stops on this list.