DAY 1
Retiro Park’s Palacio de Cristal and Rose Garden
We arrived in Madrid the day before and checked into our Airbnb in the Sol neighborhood, just a stone’s throw away from bustling Puerta del Sol.
We chose this apartment for its central location and its layout with a separate bedroom and living room. This made it comfortable for us and allowed our daughter Luna to have her own space to sleep in.
Where we stayed: Bright Apartment with Terrace Airbnb
Our first full day in day in Spain was off to a yummy start with breakfast at Chocolat, a popular spot for one of Spain’s delicacies, churros con chocolate.
The churros were perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and the rich, thick chocolate dipping sauce was heavenly. The café has a charming, vintage décor with old-fashioned wooden furniture and vintage posters on the walls.
There are a lot of places in Madrid where you can find churros, but Chocolat is one of the few that make their churros fresh.
After our morning indulgence, we made our way to Retiro Park for a stroll and to enjoy the beautiful weather.
We soon stumbled upon the Palacio de Cristal, or Glass Palace, a beautiful glass and cast iron structure that’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The inside was even more impressive than the exterior. The space was filled with soft, natural light, and the structure itself was so delicate you hardly noticed the columns and structure holding it all together.
After the Palacio de Cristal, we headed to the rose gardens toward the southern end of the park.
We strolled through rows upon rows of fragrant and colorful roses. I think we must have timed our visit perfectly to see the thousands of roses in full bloom. The flowers were incredible — all different colors and types, perfectly manicured and arranged neatly in their hedge-lined rows.
We continued our stroll north from the rose gardens until we reached the opposite end of the park.
The park itself is quite expansive and offers many more attractions — you could easily spend a whole day here! There’s even a lake where you can rent rowboats by the hour.
As the sun started to set, we headed over to Vinitus Gran for dinner. This restaurant is definitely built for tourists and is quite popular. It’s a great place to try a variety of traditional Spanish tapas.
We ordered a bunch of dishes, like patatas bravas, grilled octopus, and pan con tomate, and everything was tasty. We also tried our first Iberico ham, which was melt-in-your-mouth good.
It was the perfect end to our first day in Madrid!
DAY 2
Madrid’s Royal Palace
Our second day in Spain started off a bit slower. Dan did some remote working from our Airbnb in the morning while Luna and I hung out.
We finally headed out for lunch, and made our way to Casa Labra, an unpretentious tapas bar just off Puerta del Sol. We tried their famous fried cod, purportedly some of the best in Madrid, and samples a few other dishes from the menu.
This place felt much more authentic than the restaurant from the night before. There were equal parts locals and tourists eating here, which is always a good sign.
In the afternoon, we made our way to the Royal Palace of Madrid, which is the official residence of the Spanish royal family.
The palace is just as grand and opulent as you would expect, with ornate decorations, artwork, and furniture. We were especially impressed by the stunning Hall of Mirrors, which was reminiscent of the one at the Palace of Versailles. We also loved the beautiful gardens and the views of the city from the palace’s balconies. It was a fascinating glimpse into the rich history and culture of Spain.
DAY 3
Food tour and San Miguel Market
Our third day in Spain was all about food!
We started the day off with coffee at Feliz, a cute café with excellent lattes that quickly became our preferred coffee shop.
We took our lattes to-go and made our way to Plaza de Santa Ana to meet up with our guide from food tour company Devour Madrid.
We were excited to sample some of the city’s best bites and learn a bit more about the culinary culture in Madrid.
Our first stop was the Mercado de Anton Martin, a bustling food market with a variety of vendors selling everything from ham to anchovies. Our guide took us around to various stalls, introducing us to local vendors and explaining the history and culture behind each dish on offer.
We tried some of the best olives I’ve ever had and ended our stop at the market with a sampling of Spanish cheeses.
We next headed to Plaza Major where we stopped by Casa Revuelta, a tapas bar specializing in croquettes. We tried both the pork and cod varieties and learned how to tell fresh croquettes from frozen (the lumpier and less perfect, the better).
We then swung by La Campana, a place known for making some of the best calamari sandwiches in town.
We ended the tour at El Riojano, a historic pastry shop that’s been open since 1855. The interior of the store has an old-world charm with beautiful display cases lining the walls, filled to the brim with an assortment of sweets.
We sat in the back of the shop and sampled their famous almond cake called Pastel de Gloria — a delectable end to the tour!
After a few more stops on the tour, including a visit to El Riojano for some amazing pastries, we headed back to our Airbnb to rest for a bit before dinner.
We decided to check out San Miguel Market, a huge indoor market with tons of different stalls selling all sorts of tapas and drinks. We tried a bunch of different dishes, from empanadas to montaditos.
The market had a lively atmosphere and was a great way to taste many different things in one spot. If you don’t have the time or budget to join a food tour, San Miguel would be a good alternative.
It was definitely a day of indulgence, but we were happy to have gotten a taste many of the most traditional (and tastiest) dishes in Madrid.
DAY 4
El Rastro flea market and tapas crawl
Our fifth day in Spain was a nice mix of shopping, culture, and food.
We started the day at Casa de Diego, a historic store on Puerta del Sol that’s been selling traditional Spanish fans and parisoles since 1858. I picked out a tiny lace-trimmed and hand-painted fan as a souvenir for Luna’s first big international trip.
From there, we headed to El Rastro, a popular flea market that takes over the streets of La Latina on Sundays.
It was crowded but lively, with vendors selling everything from vintage flamenco dresses to antiques. The main avenues were a bit disappointing with a lot of booths selling new and cheap products, but we managed to find some more authentic merchandise on some of the quieter side streets.
After a morning of exploring the market, we headed to the Reina Sofia Museum.
Our main prerogative was to see Guernica, the famous anti-war painting by Pablo Picasso. The painting is massive with its own dedicated room, and seeing it in person was a powerful experience. It’s definitely worth taking the time to go by the Reina Sofia for this one painting alone.
For dinner that night, we decided to embark on a DIY tapas crawl.
We started things off with a delicious paella and pork cheek at Taberna El Sur.
From there, we made our way to Calle de Jesus, a short street that’s lined with tapas bars.
We stopped for a beer and mixed plate of tapas at the eclectically-decorated Cervecería Los Gatos. Like many tapas bars, the interior is tight and not the best place for a stroller. Luckily we were able to quickly collapse our stroller and found a spot at the bar where we could tuck Luna in her car seat out of the way.
Finally, we ended the night with a spread of tasty bites at Cervecería Cervantes, including one of my favorite tapas, Pimientos de Padrón.
As we savored our final bites and sips of the night, we couldn’t believe that our time in Madrid was coming to an end. But we were excited for the next leg of our journey — we were headed to the beautiful city of Córdoba in Andalusia in the morning.
Don’t miss it…
This post is a part of a larger two-week trip around Spain. Check out the full itinerary and an overview of the trip here!
