The exact itinerary we'd give a friend flying into Barajas. Three days of grand boulevards, the world's best museum triangle, a Sunday La Latina tapeo, and the late-late dinners Madrid was built for.
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Madrid rewards a slow-but-late plan. The city eats lunch at 2pm, naps if it can, and doesn't sit down to dinner until 10. Don't fight the rhythm — align with it. This itinerary walks the central core on Day 1, hits the museum triangle and finishes with a La Latina Sunday tapeo on Day 2, and ends with the Thyssen and a Templo de Debod sunset on Day 3. Buy a Multi card at any Metro station — covers Metro, bus, and Cercanías for the airport transfer.
Day 1
Sol · Royal Palace · Plaza Mayor · Las Letras · ~9 km walking
Orientation walking day. Coffee, the historic core, the Royal Palace, lunch in a tile-walled taberna, sunset on a rooftop, and an early-tapas dinner in Las Letras.
9:00 AM
Toma Cafe
Malasana · Specialty coffee · €3.50
Madrid's most respected third-wave roaster. Tiny corner cafe, baristas who care, the morning espresso the locals you're about to outwalk all drink. Or branch 2 in Conde Duque for the larger sit-down.
↓ Metro: Tribunal to Opera, 6 min, €1.50
10:00 AM
Palacio Real (Royal Palace)
Centro · Royal residence · €14
Europe's largest functioning royal palace — 3,418 rooms (only 50 open). The Throne Room (Tiepolo ceiling), the Royal Pharmacy, the Stradivarius Quintet. Allow 90 min.
Tip: Free entry for EU citizens Mon-Thu 4-6pm (winter) / 6-8pm (summer). The Royal Armoury next door is included.
↓ 5 min walk east
11:30 AM
Plaza Mayor + Mercado de San Miguel
Centro · Historic square + market · free + tapas
17th-century arcaded square, framed by red-brick balconies. Pose with the Tio Charly mime at your peril. Walk 2 min south to Mercado de San Miguel — the glass-and-iron tapas market. Touristy but the croquetas and Iberico ham stalls deliver. €15 for a graze.
Tip: The market gets crushed 1-3pm. Hit it 11-noon or after 4pm for breathing room.
Lunch · €25
Casa Lucio (Calle Cava Baja) for the legendary huevos rotos (broken eggs over jamon and potato) — the Royal Family eats here. Cash-friendly. Or Sobrino de Botin in the next street — the world's oldest continuously-operating restaurant (1725, in Guinness), order the cochinillo asado (suckling pig).
↓ 15 min walk south down Calle Cava Baja
2:30 PM
Templo de Debod
Princpe Pio · Egyptian temple · free
An actual 2nd-century BC Egyptian temple gifted to Spain by Egypt in 1968 (saved from the Aswan Dam flooding). Now reassembled in a park west of the Royal Palace. Free; can enter the temple itself. Save for sunset return Day 3.
Tip: Skip the daytime interior; the line is long and the temple is small. The free outdoor setting is the visit.
↓ Walk back east through the Royal Palace grounds, 15 min
4:00 PM
Gran Via + Callao
Centro · Boulevard · free
Madrid's main boulevard, the spine of the city's belle-epoque buildings. Walk from Plaza de Espana east to Plaza Cibeles. Stop at Schweppes building (the iconic neon-lit corner), Edificio Metropolis (the angel on top), Cibeles Palace (climb the lookout for €3).
Pre-dinner · €8
Caña + boquerones at El Tigre (Calle Hortaleza) — the cheap-tapas-chain locals know. Order one beer (€2.50), get a plate of tapas free. Order three, get three plates. Standing room only; ATM cash.
Dinner · €30
Casa González (Calle del Leon, Las Letras) — century-old grocery-store-taberna, jamón ibérico de bellota and Spanish wines by the glass at the marble counter. €25-30 for jamon + cheese + vermouth. Or El Capricho Extremeno for honest neighborhood Spanish bistro at €35.
Nightcap
1862 Dry Bar (Malasaña) — classic cocktails in a wood-paneled back room. World's-50-best alumnus. Or Salmon Guru (Las Letras) for the experimental cocktail show (currently ranked #11 world's-50-best).
Day 2
Prado · Retiro · Reina Sofia · La Latina tapeo · ~10 km walking
Museum triangle day plus the legendary Sunday La Latina tapeo (the Madrid food crawl that defines the city). Time the Prado for opening; the Sunday cava baja for 1pm.
9:30 AM
Museo del Prado
Las Letras · Top-5 world museum · €15
Open 10am. Book the timed entry online. Allow 3 hours minimum. The must-sees: Velazquez's Las Meninas (1656, room 12), Goya's Black Paintings (rooms 64-66), Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights (room 56A), Titian's Venus and Adonis. The audio guide (€5) genuinely helps.
Tip: Free entry Mon-Sat 6-8pm and Sun 5-7pm. Avoid these windows if you don't want a queue.
Lunch · €18
Cerveceria Cervantes (Plaza de Jesus, 5 min from Prado) for the classic Madrid taberna lunch — raciones of croquetas, gambas, jamon, plus a glass of Mahou. €18 standing. Or Estado Puro for upmarket creative tapas at €30 with a Reina Sofia view.
↓ 15 min walk north to Retiro
2:30 PM
Parque del Retiro + Palacio de Cristal
Retiro · Royal park · free
Madrid's 'lungs' — 350-acre park, paddle boats on the central lake (€6, 45 min), the wrought-iron-and-glass Palacio de Cristal (free, rotating contemporary art), the rose garden. Allow 90 min. Sundays the park is the city's biggest social scene — buskers, families, picnics.
Tip: The Atocha train station next to the Reina Sofia has an indoor tropical garden in its old hall — worth a 5-min detour.
↓ 10 min walk south
4:30 PM
Museo Reina Sofia
Atocha · Modern art · €12
Picasso's Guernica (1937, room 206, second floor) is the must-see. The painting is shockingly larger and more immediate than any photo. Plus Dalí, Miró, the Spanish 20th-century canon. 90 min covers it. Closed Tuesdays.
Tip: Free entry weekdays 7-9pm and Sunday 12:30-2:30pm. Crowded but moves fast.
↓ Metro: Atocha to La Latina, 10 min, €1.50
Cava Baja tapeo · €45
The Madrid food crawl that defines the city. Walk Calle Cava Baja and Calle Cava Alta with 5 stops, one tapa + caña at each. The classics: Taberna Tempranillo (wine + serrano), El Schotis (huevos rotos, the original), Casa Lucas (creative tapas, no reservations), La Concha (vermouth, fried egg with chorizo), Casa Lucio (if you missed it Day 1). Sundays from 1pm is the local tradition. Pro tip: stand at the bar, don't sit — tapas are free with each drink at some places; check the chalkboard.
Nightcap
Anfora (Cava Baja) — tiny atmospheric wine bar that locals end up at after the tapeo. Or back to Salmon Guru in Las Letras for the late-night cocktail finish.
Day 3
Thyssen · Malasana · Templo de Debod sunset · ~8 km walking
Third museum + neighborhood-wander day. Thyssen for the breadth-of-Europe collection, lunch in Malasaña, Templo de Debod at sunset, and a Chueca or Salamanca dinner for the cosmopolitan finish.
9:30 AM
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
Centro · 8-centuries-of-European-art museum · €13
The third panel of the Golden Triangle. Spans the 13th to the 20th century — Caravaggio, Holbein, El Greco, Van Gogh, Hopper. Smaller and quieter than the Prado, often the favorite of the three for travelers. 2 hours covers it.
Tip: Combo ticket (Paseo del Arte) covers Prado + Reina Sofia + Thyssen for €32 — saves €8 if you're doing all three. Buy at any of the three museums.
Coffee + breakfast · €8
HanSo Cafe (Malasaña, 15 min walk north) for sourdough toast and one of Madrid's best coffees. Or Cafe Comercial (Bilbao, the 1887 grand cafe Hemingway and Garcia Lorca drank at) for the historic-Madrid morning experience — €5 for a chocolate con churros.
12:00 PM
Malasana neighborhood wander
Malasana · Bohemian district · free
Madrid's indie-bohemian quarter. Walk Calle Fuencarral, Calle Espiritu Santo, the small Plaza del Dos de Mayo (the 1808 uprising against Napoleon happened here, now a kids' playground). Vintage shops, indie bookstores, design boutiques. La Buena Vida for the lifestyle store, Mercado de San Ildefonso for a smaller calmer market alternative to San Miguel.
Lunch · €22
Bodegas Rosell (Lavapiés, 15 min Metro) for the no-frills 100-year-old taberna lunch — croquetas, oxtail stew, Spanish omelet, €15 with vermouth. Or Casa Mono in Chueca for the upscale-modern Spanish lunch at €30.
↓ Metro: Tribunal to Príncipe Pío, 8 min, €1.50
3:00 PM
Mercado de San Miguel-alternative + browse
Princpe Pio · Riverside area · free
Walk along the river through the Madrid Río park — Madrid's relatively new (2011) green riverbank, families on bicycles, the restored 18th-century Toledo Bridge. 45 min stroll.
5:30 PM
Templo de Debod at sunset
Princpe Pio · Egyptian temple · free
Climb back up to the temple 30 min before sunset. The reflecting pools, the temple silhouette against the orange sky, the Royal Palace in the distance. Madrid's best free moment. Bring a beer from the kiosk.
Tip: On weekend evenings the area gets buskers and street performers; on weeknights it's quieter and contemplative.
Dinner · €40
Casa Salesas (Chueca) for refined Spanish in a converted apothecary, €45 mains. Or StreetXO (David Munoz's casual offshoot of 3-star DiverXO) in Salamanca's Galeria Canalejas — loud, theatrical, €60 set, the trip's most fun dinner. Or budget: Bar El Brillante next to Reina Sofia for the city's best calamari sandwich (bocadillo de calamares) at €5.
Nightcap
Sala Equis (La Latina) — former adult cinema turned cinema-bar with an indoor garden, perfect last-night drink. Or Joy Eslava on Plaza del Sol if you want to commit to the 4am Madrid clubbing finale.
Where to stay
For this itinerary: Sol or Las Letras wins for Day 1 walkability and museum-triangle proximity. Malasaña for indie cafe energy (Day 3 doorstep). La Latina for the tapas-at-doorstep base. Salamanca upmarket and quieter but a 15-min Metro to action. Avoid airport-area hotels — Metro into town is fast and frequent.
Mid-range: The Pavilions Madrid (Sol-edge boutique, €180/night), Hotel Urso (Chamberí design hotel, €220), Only YOU Atocha (next to Reina Sofía, €240). Budget: Generator Madrid hostel doubles from €100. Splurge: Four Seasons Madrid (Centro, €800+) or Rosewood Villa Magna (Salamanca, €700+).
Prado + Reina Sofía + Thyssen (Paseo del Arte combo) + Royal Palace€46
Metro Multi card + airport transfer€25
Misc (rooftop bar, La Latina tapeo extras, one cocktail at Salmon Guru)€65
Total≈ €646
Budget travelers can do it on €340-420 (hostel dorm, El Tigre tapas-included rounds, free museum windows in evenings, skip the splurge dinner). High-end with Four Seasons + StreetXO + DiverXO runs €1,800+.
What to pack
The non-obvious essentials for Madrid specifically:
Real walking shoes. 25,000 steps/day is normal; the granite slabs of Plaza Mayor punish thin soles.
Multi card. €2.50 plastic card + load it; covers Metro, bus, Cercanías (the airport line included). Don't buy single tickets repeatedly.
Layers, always. Madrid is interior continental — summer days 32°C, summer nights 18°C. Spring and fall vary 15°C in a day.
Cash, €100. Cheap tapas counters and a few historic tabernas (Casa Lucio, sometimes Botin) are card-unfriendly. ATMs at every corner; use bank-affiliated (BBVA, Santander).
Sunscreen + sunhat. The summer Madrid sun is genuinely fierce; the city sits at 667m altitude.
Reusable water bottle. Madrid tap is excellent. Fuentes (public fountains) all over the city.
Power adapter (Type F). Continental European two-pin round.
Toledo (35 min by AVE high-speed train, €14 each way) — medieval walled city on a hilltop, El Greco's home, the cathedral, Jewish quarter. Day-trip standard since Hemingway. Full day. Segovia (28 min by AVE, €15) — 1st-century Roman aqueduct (still standing without mortar), Alcázar castle (Walt Disney inspiration), and roast suckling pig at Cándido (since 1786). Easier to do as a 3/4-day if you skip the cathedral interior. Pick Toledo for the medieval atmosphere; Segovia for the aqueduct + the meal. Both unmissable for return visitors.
Want a different version of this?
This itinerary is the "first-timer mid-range" build. If you want couples-romantic, family-with-kids, foodie-only, or a 5-day stretched version — our AI itinerary builder takes those preferences in plain English and rebuilds the plan in 30 seconds.
Three days covers the Golden Triangle of museums (Prado, Reina Sofía, Thyssen), the historic core (Plaza Mayor, Royal Palace, Mercado de San Miguel), one proper La Latina tapeo, and a Templo de Debod sunset. It does not cover Toledo, Segovia, or El Escorial. Add a 4th day for one big AVE-train day trip. Five days lets you do both Toledo and Segovia.
What's the best order to do this itinerary in?
Centro walking Day 1 to orient, museums + Retiro + La Latina tapeo Day 2 (book Prado online for 10am), Thyssen + Malasaña + Templo de Debod sunset Day 3. The Cava Baja tapeo is best on a Sunday from 1pm if your dates line up — the local crowd is the whole point.
How much does a 3-day Madrid trip cost?
Mid-range: €580-820 per person — €110/night hotel (split), €55-65/day food and drinks, €15 transit, €46 museum combo. Budget hostel travelers do €340-420 (hostel dorm, El Tigre cheap-tapas rounds, free museum evening windows). High-end with Four Seasons + DiverXO runs €1,800+.
Where should I stay for this itinerary?
Sol or Las Letras for the central walkable base. Malasaña for indie cafe energy. La Latina for the tapas-at-doorstep version. Avoid Bairro Alto-equivalent (Bairro Alto is in Lisbon — in Madrid the rowdy nightlife is in Malasaña and Chueca; pick a Metro-stop's distance if noise matters). Salamanca is upmarket and residential but requires Metro for most of this plan.
How do I get from MAD airport to the center?
Cercanías commuter train (C-1 line from T4) to Atocha or Nuevos Ministerios: 25-35 min, €3.20. Metro line 8 to Nuevos Ministerios then transfer: 30 min, €5 with airport supplement. Uber/Bolt/Cabify flat €30 to Centro. The Metro is fastest; Uber the easiest with luggage.
Is the Paseo del Arte ticket worth it?
Yes if you're doing all three museums (Prado + Reina Sofía + Thyssen). €32 combined vs €40 individually = €8 savings, plus skip the queues at each. Valid 12 months. Buy at any of the three museums.
Is Madrid safe at night?
Yes broadly. Sol, Las Letras, La Latina, Malasaña, Chueca all calm. Lavapiés gets sketchier after midnight but rarely dangerous. Standard urban awareness; pickpockets work the busy Plaza Mayor area and Metro Sol. Late-night Cava Baja is fine well past midnight.