This is the heart of Toledo. This square has seen it all, Moorish animal markets, hence the name…read morebeast corner, royal proclamations, torch-lit Inquisition trials, and now, tourist groups with matching hats. It's the place to sit, sip something overpriced, and people-watch while pretending you know how to pronounce Zocodover. Don't miss the churro stands and tacky souvenir shops.

Main square was built in the early 17th century. Home to the largest & oldest marzipan store Santo…read moreTome. Tourist office & bus hub is here. Calle de Comrcio is the town's narrow & busy thoroughfare lined with wine bars, shops & shade. Hundreds of tourists got off our train & flooded the square. This was the Plato buy the worlds best marzipan.

It's free It's beautiful…read more It's not crowded. The Crystal Palace is close currently but you can check it out. People are just hanging around and just take pictures. There's places you can sit down eat or just grab a drink.

Retiro Park is like the Central Park of Madrid. This gigantic park has it all. Large grassy areas…read morefor a picnic or long pathways to run or walk. A big lake in the center to rent a row boat and ride around or a crystal palace to swoon over. Retiro is big and it can be hard to see everything on foot. There are lots of available rental bikes to make your trip throughout the park even easier.

Meanwhile, the companion in some ways of the other review I just wrote, of the Palace of the Stock…read moreExchange in Portugal, this tour is definitely of a gaudy palace built by royalty with a whole *lot* of stolen gold and jewels, so I was glad to learn that it isn't *still* owned by the royal family, it's owned by the state and mostly used for state functions, other than its purpose as far as tourists are concerned, being a museum of a fraction of the riches Spain owns (and not a coincidence, presumably, that they also built a museum of *more* of the riches owned by Spain, on display right next door, for a combined, reduced price.) The self-guided tour is worth it if you like seeing a bunch of super ornate architecture, furniture, artwork, etc. We got snippets of the actual tour as we passed each other at various points - I was happier being able to walk through the route at our own pace, which took about an hour. I felt sorry for the people whose tickets were for any time the following day, though, as it was randomly closed all day the next day we were in Madrid a few months ago, which I gather isn't an altogether rare thing to happen, that they take reservations and then close last minute. We got in in the nick of time, it seemed. By the way, if you have bags, you do have to leave your bags downstairs in a locker at a small additional fee. It was small enough I do remember exactly how much it even was, though, so it clearly wasn't a big deal.

Palacio Real de Madrid is probably my favorite palaces we've seen on our travels…read more I loved that they had these massive air purifiers so it didn't smell stale or dusty (it was incredibly comfortable), but I also adored the absolutely gorgeous purple wallpaper and how much care had been taken in the decor inside the building. Absolutely do a tour if you have a chance as ours gave such a clear impression of the space and added such a nice depth to our visit. It was one of my favorite things we did while in Madrid, and I can't recommend visiting Palacio Real de Madrid enough.

A great city needs a great park, and Madrid is no exception. Just to give you a sense of scale, at…read more300 acres, it's a shade smaller than London's Hyde Park and a little over 1/3 of the size of Central Park. However, El Retiro (as locals call it) is over 200 years older than Central Park, starting as the private royal grounds. Its centerpiece is Estanque Grande (Grand Lake), a huge 17th-century artificial lake covered in rowboats on the weekend (Photo 3). Dominating the lake is the majestic Monument to Alfonso XII built in bronze and marble with an expansive colonnade (Photo 6). Because Madrid's most famous museums stand close to the park's western edge, we walked along the Statue Walk where Spanish monarchs are memorialized (Photo 7). Jamie W and I also visited another smaller lake that features the Art Nouveau-style Palacio de Cristal (Crystal Palace), but unfortunately it was closed. However, we took advantage of the Kiosco Nacional Palacio de Cristal, an open-air terrace cafe that served light lunch fare and coffee drinks (Photo). We couldn't help but indulge in a couple of desserts (Photo 2). Moreover, even though the park was plenty crowded, there was still a sense of bucolic serenity here. It wasn't a challenge to find a peaceful respite amid the overall greenery, especially with the sometimes overwhelming urbania outside the park. RELATED - Exploring Madrid? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/AwA0OI30NX

Retiro Park is an oasis in the center of Madrid. Is a gorgeous, immaculately maintained green space…read morein the heart of the city. There are numerous entrances into the park and walking paths throughout. On a pretty day, it's hard to find a better place to spend the afternoon. The people watching is fantastic, and there are multiple things to see and do inside the park, including the crystal Palace. I love to go sit by the lake and watch the people on the boats. They are often musicians playing, kids riding their bikes, and families enjoying all that Madrid has to offer.

Going to a bullfight has been a bucket list item for me. Finally made it this one. Have to admit,…read moremy girlfriend didn't know what a bullfight was. She thought the bulls fought each other. Surprise! Matador's stab them to death. Ultimately it was an incredible experience.

If you are looking to do something unusual (at least for us living in US) or want to experience a…read moretraditional sport that is still displayed in several countries, I would definitely recommend watching bullfighting at least once. In this venue, the whole setup was superb and classy. It is obvious that everyone involved is passionate about what they do and proud of their heritage, as they should be. But before you book your ticket, make sure you are not faint at heart or an animal lover. This whole sport is about executing a bull, and they killed 6 of them while I was there. That part I understood from the beginning. What rather surprised me was when riders on horses came on the field and basically allowed the bull to maim the horse is it so desired. I initially thought that horses were wearing some kind of protection, but when I saw the cloth over the horses drenched in blood, I realized that they were not. The process is simple, tire out the bull, let him tire himself by attacking the horse, cut the bull so that it looses blood, and when it can hardly move, let the matador come in with the sword to deliver the final blow. Now, I am not here to discourage you from watching this event, but I think you should know the facts before you go. Everyone in my party left after they killed the 4th bull.

Another visit that was high on the list of things to do in Madrid…read more I bought passes that came with an English guide. I enjoyed having that, but you could easily come through on your own without a guide and be fine. Our guided tour was about 90 minutes, but you could also stay as long after as you desired. We ended up staying about another hour to catch some of the things the tour didn't stop at. Note that you cannot take photos inside. It also seems to get pretty busy early, so it might be a good idea to go fairly early or closer to closing. Would highly recommend the Prado.

I know the Prado is acclaimed as one of the world's best museums, and its global reputation rests…read moreon the depth of classic European paintings from the 12th to the 19th century. No argument about that, but unlike the Louvre, it doesn't offer the breadth of art one would expect from such a vaunted museum. The curators apparently have no interest in expanding their collection because it engenders unmanageable foot traffic. That also explains why photography is prohibited in the galleries. I ended up buying postcards to have a visual remembrance of my favorite masterpieces collected by centuries of Spanish royalty. Consequently, the Spanish masters are represented by familiar masterworks like Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor) by Diego Velázquez (Photo 4), as well as The Naked Maja and The Family of Carlos IV (Photo 7), both by Francisco de Goya. Other European masterworks are represented like the impressive Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch (Photo 6) and The Judgment of Paris by Peter Paul Rubens. Beyond this scope, there are intriguing artifacts to peruse like the Leoni Renaissance Sculptures (Photo 3). Truth be told, you need to add the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and the Museo Reina Sofía to get a more complete picture of Madrid's artful treasures. RELATED - Exploring Madrid? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/ElhwJIbGWS

Beautiful park with the view of Royal palace. Conveniently located by bus stop for multiple bus…read morelines. When I visited in May it closed at 8.

Lovely palace gardens .... if it's a nice day- it is worth it to take a walk around to the only…read moreentrance on Paseo de la virgin del puerto - closer to the Pio principal train station . It's downhill from the palace . So if you plan to see the palace then remember after the gardens - it's a walk uphill . This place is free and so beautiful and quiet . Two peacocks walking around not very afraid of people near them . I saw horse and carriage with guards constantly circling around the top and the bottom of the palace.

This is a landmark in central Madrid. It is an actual Egyptian temple that was moved to Spain when…read moreflooding from building the Aswan Dam was going to destroy many archaeological sites. It is surrounded by a beautiful park, easily accessible by public transportation.

Sunset at Temple De Bod is a daily celebration of life. As the sun's last rays cast down on the…read morecity, throngs of people do a pilgrimage to view the splendor.

My mom and I did their 4:00 PM E-bike tour this past week. It was a great experience and our guide…read morewas excellent! I would recommend doing this tour on your first day/afternoon in Madrid so you can get acclimated to the city and see some of the main sites. Our guide, Fran, was knowledgeable, personable, and animated. The background he provided at each of the sites was interesting and helped us learn more about Madrid and Spanish history. He also had great tips and recommendations for where to go in Madrid. The tour was about 10-15 people I'd say. It was a good size to command enough attention to safely drive on the road in a lane but have everyone stay together. They provided a water bottle, helmet, bike. Fran even took us to a special "surprise stop" at the end (churros!). With the E-bike, you could adjust the assistance and you still pedaled to make the assist go, but it was a good choice to have some assist as there are hills and you don't want to worry about having to keep up on going when you're driving in a lane on the road. The shop also has bikes, roller blades, and skate/penny boards for rent.

Best way to spend 2 hours at Parque De El Retiro. The park is rather large but flat so exploring…read moreby bike is not only fun but makes for a fun way to see the park. Rental was quick and easy, you have to leave your ID and 2 hours was about $7.50 euros per person. We easily explored the parque in 1 hour with time for photos and admiring the beauty it offers. Definitely recommend!

I have visited Madrid several times and did not realize that you can a) go into the Palacio de…read moreCibeles and b) that it is free. My bf made this discovery when he was exploring while I was at work. Great discovery! After entering through a security/bag check, you walk upstairs onto the 2nd floor. There is a tourist office as well as a large relaxing/working space. An exhibit offers an overview of the commitment to green spaces in English and Spanish. The floors above house the history of the building, including the architecture and design. There are also special exhibits featuring different artists. If you are visiting before early May 2026, I highly recommend Ana Juan's "Wunderkammer" exhibition. Beautiful and thought provoking! There is an observation deck that can be accessed for €4. It was closed in mid-Feb for technical repairs without a confirmed reopening date. Hopefully it will be available to the public again soon! A bit farther away but you can always venture to the top of the Riu hotel for incredible views.

So I was sad because I bought a ticket to go on the rooftop, but it was raining, so I couldn't. But…read morethey refunded me automatically, so that was good. So instead I meandered between floors looking at all the art waiting for the rain to dissipate a bit. Some was cool, some I didn't get, to each their own. It's a gorgeous building and worth a visit if you have the time. I'll have to come back for the rooftop next time!