48 Hours In Madrid

Refuel with delicious cuisine

Among the restaurants of Plaza Mayor, one is of special interest. It is called Museo del Jamon (Ham’s Museum), which gives visitors an opportunity to get acquainted with tastes of different types of Spanish ham, as there is certainly not just one ham in Spain! “Jamón serrano”, “ibérico” or “de bellota” are made in different ways and are examples of the long tradition of Spanish ham production. 

The next square you should visit is Puerta del Sol, where you’ll find the kilometer zero, a graphic representation on the pavement right in the front of Casa de Correos. Kilometer zero is the point where the main 6 national Spanish highways have their symbolic beginning. Step on it, make a wish, and don´t blame anyone if it comes true! On the south of Puerta del Sol you’ll find the Literary quarter: Barrio de las Letras, where you can visit many places related to famous Spanish writers: Cervantes, Quevedo, Lope de Vega and many others. There is also a popular square here: Plaza de Santa Ana where you can take a break after your busy day and sip some wine that’s known as tinto de verano, a light version of red wine with soda, ice and fruits, served in the summer. You can finish your first day with a flamenco live show in one of famous flamenco venues like Casa Patas o Villa-Rosa. 

Day 2- Parks and recreation

Why not begin the second day in Retiro Park? This spacious green area was once a royal property, and in the XVIII century the Astronomical Observatory was built here as a part of the Enlightenment plan for Spanish science development. The park has plenty of fountains and monuments, kilometres of bicycle routes and even a pond to glide across in a boat. Madrid´s locals come here for a picnic on sunny days. If you go out through one of the western gates of the park you’ll be very close to the Prado Museum, one of the largest ancient galleries in the world. The contemporary Spanish painter, Antonio Saura, used to say that it houses the largest number of masterpieces per one square meter, and he was right. Titian, Velazquez, Bosch, Goya, El Greco, Rubens and countless painters are represented in the collections of Prado. Most of the paintings belonged to Spanish kings.

Art and culture

Apart of Prado, Madrid has also the Museum of Thyssen-Bornemisza with European art from the medieval times to the XX century, and Reina Sofia, the contemporary art museum, which displays paintings of the most notable Spanish artists, among them “Guernica” of Picasso. Another option may be Santiago Bernabéu, home stadium of Real Madrid. If there’s no game on, football fans can enjoy the modern interactive exhibition which allows the visitor to experience a day in the life of one their favourite footballers!

After the intense day of museum visiting, you can enjoy a meal in one of the restaurants in the multicultural district of Lavapies. Try pulpo a la gallego if you like octopus or gazpacho if you are rather thirsty than hungry. Then take a metro to reach more distant attractions like Las Ventas. Not to everyone’s tastes, this is one of Madrid´s bullrings, which is also one of the biggest in Spain!