Is Madrid guide in 3 days It is designed to tour the most tourist places and the most charming neighborhoods of one of the most essential cities in Europe. During the first two days you will have visited many of its most famous places in the city such as the Prado Museum, the Retiro, the Gran Vía, the Plaza Mayor, the Puerta del Sol, the Royal Palace, the Debod Temple, the Puerta de Alcalá, some of the best viewpoints in the city, the historic center and the neighborhoods of Las Letras, Chueca and Malasaña.
On this third day, in addition to continuing with the gastronomic route of the previous days, you will visit the Reina Sofia Museum, the La Latina neighborhood and the popular Rastro market, among many other things.
Based on our numerous visits to the city, we have made this guide to tour Madrid in three days and not miss anything important. We start!
Transfer from the airport to the center of Madrid
For the transfer from Barajas airport to your hotel or the center of Madrid you have several alternatives:
- Meter: The subway ride from the 4 terminals of the airport to the station New Ministries, is half an hour and has a price of less than 5 euros. From this subway station you can connect with lines 6 and 10, or with the suburban train, which will leave you at the Atocha or Chamartín stations.
- Train: The journey by train from T4 to the Puerta del Sol, Nuevos Ministerios and Atocha stations is about 20 minutes and its price is 3 euros.
- Bus: The Express Airport With 24-hour service, it leaves you at the Plaza de Cibeles and Atocha stations from T1, T2 and T4 in 40 minutes for about 5 euros.
- Cab: Taxi prices have a flat rate of 30 euros.
- Private transport: It is the most comfortable option when waiting for a driver at the airport with your name, which will take you directly to the hotel. You can book it here.
For more information about the transfer you can consult this post on how to go from Madrid Airport to the center.
Our recommended hotels in Madrid
Although there are many accommodation alternatives, our two recommended hotels for a getaway to Madrid in 3 days They are:
- The Room007 Select Sol, which stands out for its location in the city center, with nearby metro stops and a good quality / price ratio.
- The Room Mate Óscar, located in Chueca, one of the neighborhoods with more atmosphere, which in addition to its good location, stands out for its fantastic rooftop bar overlooking the city.
For more information on the best hotels and neighborhoods you can consult this post of where to stay in Madrid.
First day in Madrid
The first day of Madrid in 3 days Start breakfast with the typical churros with chocolate at the Chocolatería San Ginés, then lower the breakfast by taking a walk through El Retiro, the most famous park in the city. To get to the park you can take the subway at Puerta del Sol and get off at the Retiro stop, from where you can take advantage when you finish the walk to pass in front of the magnificent Puerta de Alcalá and continue walking to the Plaza de Cibeles, where they are located the Fountain and the Cibeles Palace, where from the top floor of this huge building you will have good views of the city.
The itinerary continues along Calle Alcalá until you reach the building of the Círculo de Bellas Artes, whose rooftop is the best viewpoint in Madrid, which we recommend not to miss.
Continuing along Calle Alcalá you will arrive at the famous Puerta del Sol, one of the essential places to visit in Madrid. Very close to Sol is also the Plaza Mayor with its magnificent Bakery House and the Cuchilleros Arch.
The main square
When you leave the Plaza Mayor you will find the bar The bell, where you can eat the typical squid sandwich and quench your appetite. Another option to eat is the nearby Mercado de San Miguel, a good place to eat tapas, which we are sure will not disappoint.
The tour continues in the afternoon, walking along Calle Mayor until you reach the Royal Palace of Madrid and the Almudena Cathedral. To enter the palace without queuing you can book this visit with a guide in Spanish or this one that includes the visit to the Almudena Cathedral.
When you leave the palace you can take a walk through the Sabatini gardens and approach the Temple of Debod, where you will enjoy a magnificent sunset, probably the best in the city. It should also be noted that behind this Egyptian temple is the Mirador de la Montaña, with good views of this part of the city.
Debod Temple
The first day of Madrid in three days It ends with a night walk on the Gran Vía from Plaza de España and watching a musical in one of its famous theaters.
Two good recommendations for dinner are the restaurants on the top floor of the English Court of Callao with incredible views of the avenue or the GastroVía 61 To try the typical Madrid food.
A very interesting option for this first day is to book this free tour of Madrid with a guide in Spanish Free! that passes through the most important places in the city center.
(Extended information on the first day of Madrid here)
Map of the route of the first day of Madrid in 3 days
Second day of Madrid in 3 days
The second day of the route by Madrid in 3 days start having a delicious Neapolitan breakfast at La Mallorquina, a historic bakery in Puerta del Sol. After breakfast you can take a walk through the streets full of history of the Barrio de las Letras, in which some of its most prominent places are the Jacinto Benavente Square, the Calle de las Huertas, the Santa Ana Square, Cervantes Street, Lope de Vega Street, the Congress of Deputies, the Basilica of Jesus of Medinacili in addition to the numerous taverns such as The cats, perfect for tapas with a good beer.
The route through the neighborhood ends at the Fuente de Neptuno, which is very close to the Prado Museum and will be the next stop of the day. To save your tail and not miss anything from one of the most important museums in the world, we recommend booking this guided tour with an expert in art and history. If you do not want to take a guided tour we recommend you book this ticket in advance to avoid queues and for the same price as at the ticket office.
Another good option is to book the offer that includes the guided tour of El Prado and the Reina Sofía Museum, which you will visit tomorrow.
Prado Museum
After completing this list of the best works to see in the Prado Museum we recommend two completely different options for eating. The first is to approach the neighborhood of Las Letras to eat in the Maceiras Tavern Jesus Street and the second is to take the subway to eat in the Streetxo, from the famous chef Dabiz Muñoz, where we are sure you will have an unforgettable experience.
The Madrid itinerary in 3 days Continue in the afternoon with a walk through Chueca, where you will enjoy its good atmosphere as well as shops and stores of all kinds. Some of its most popular places are the Plaza de Pedro Zerolo and the Plaza de Chueca, perfect for having a drink on its terraces.
Crossing the commercial Calle de Fuencarral, you will arrive at another of our favorite neighborhoods in Madrid, Malasaña where you can stroll until you reach the Plaza de Dos de Mayo while enjoying the best of this neighborhood, full of taverns, international restaurants, vintage shops, bookstores and designer coffees, which highlights its young and alternative atmosphere.
Malasaña
For dinner we recommend returning to Chueca where the San Antón Market is located, where on the top floor you will enjoy a good tapas with quality products. Another good option is the restaurant Kuoco 360 of delicious fusion food and one of our favorite restaurants to eat in Madrid.
To end the second day of Madrid in three days You can do this night tour through the best illuminated places in the city.
Map of the Madrid route in three days
(Extended information on the second day of Madrid here)
What to see in Madrid in 3 days
The route of the third day of Madrid in 3 days It starts by taking the subway to the Atocha station, the popular station where there is a tropical garden with more than 7000 plants of 400 species. Upon leaving the station you can see the moving monument in honor of the victims of the 11-M terrorist attacks in Madrid.
Atocha station
Near to Atocha is also the CaixaForum cultural center, dedicated to temporary exhibitions and which stands out above all for its exterior design with a vertical garden on one of the facades, which we recommend not to miss.
CaixaForum
The next stop will be the Reina Sofía Museum, one of the best museums in Madrid and part of the art triangle along with two other well-known museums such as the Prado and the Thyssen-Bornemisza. This museum with magnificent works by painters such as Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso, is worth a visit especially to see the painting of the Guernica, one of Picasso's top works.
A good option to learn more about the works of the Reina Sofía Museum is to book this guided tour.
If you do not want to take a guided tour you can book this ticket without queues in advance for the same price as at the ticket office.
After the visit to the Museum, you can walk or go by subway to the popular Plaza de Tirso de Molina, where the Nuevo Apolo Theater is located on one of its sides and is perfect for sitting on a terrace and having a drink.
Tirso de Molina Square
After a short break you can approach the Trail, the most important street market in Madrid with more than 400 years of history. This street market that is mounted every Sunday and holiday, is located around the slope of Ribera de Curtidores and is one of the essentials of the city. Strolling through the thousands of stalls of all kinds of items, from used clothing, old books, coins, stickers, furniture, souvenirs, is one of the best things to see and do in Madrid.
Due to the large number of people who usually congregate, we must go with some caution with friends of the alien. If you like photography, in this place it is a bit complicated to take good photos, but we find a good place on the terrace of New Galleries, in the middle of Ribera de Curtidores.
The trail
After the walk along the trail and seeing that hunger is pressed, we recommend that you go to the neighborhood of La Latina to eat Madrid cuisine in the best known tavern in the city, Lucio House. Although many dishes on the menu call your attention, we recommend you try their famous broken eggs, a classic in the city.
The afternoon itinerary of Madrid in three days Start with a walk through the historic neighborhood of La Latina. Casa Lucio is a good starting point, being located on Cava Baja street, the most picturesque in the neighborhood, completely full of bars and taverns.
La Latina Neighborhood
From the Cava Baja you can make a small route to know the neighborhood in which you will pass through the Plaza de San Andrés, the Plaza de la Puerta de los Moros, the Plaza de la Cebada in which the theater of La Latina is located, the Cava Alta Street, until you reach the Church of San Pedro el Viejo between the streets.
And above all do not forget to approach the Garden of the Prince of Anglona, in the Plaza de la Paja, a corner that we love in this neighborhood and that we are sure, will not disappoint you.
Straw Square
To end the afternoon, knowing that Madrid is an ideal city for shopping, you can go to Fuencarral Street and Gran Vía, full of shops of all national and international brands, although if you want luxury brands you can take the metro and get off at the Serrano Street stop, the perfect place to leave the calderilla that you have left over in this getaway to Madrid in three days.
Gran Via
After the day and considering that hamburger restaurants have become very fashionable in Madrid, it can be a good option to have dinner and finish this Madrid in three days approaching you to Gran Vía, where those of Steak burger Y Burnout.
Map of the route of the third day of Madrid in 3 days
If you have more days you can follow this guide in Madrid in 4 days or book one of the considered best excursions in Madrid:
- Excursion to the Escorial on the train of Felipe II
- Full day excursion in Toledo
- Half day excursion in Toledo
- Excursion to Cuenca and the Enchanted City
- Excursion to Salamanca and Ávila
- Excursion to Toledo and Segovia
- Don Quijote tour of La Mancha
- Excursion to Ávila and Segovia
Do you want to organize a trip to Madrid in 3 days?
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The best offers of Flights to Madrid here
The best hotels at the best prices in Madrid here
Book the best tours and excursions in Madrid in Spanish here
Book your Airport⇆Madrid transfer here
Madrid guide in one day
Rent your car in Madrid at the best price here
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here
The best offers of Flights to Madrid here
The best hotels at the best prices in Madrid here
Book the best tours and excursions in Madrid in Spanish here
Book your Airport⇆Madrid transfer here
Madrid guide in one day
Rent your car in Madrid at the best price here
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here
