If you’re planning a visit to Spain and look for the hashtag #Madrid, you’ll find… over 50 million posts! From famous places to hidden corners, everything can be shared. You just have to see the photos to realise there are a thousand things to do in Madrid, and that the city is exciting 24 hours a day. Here are a few tips on what you’ll find on this social network so when you come to Madrid, you’ll be the one uploading the best photo.
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A bear and a strawberry tree
A visit to Madrid is not complete without a photo next to the iconic “Oso y el Madroño” statue – many claim it is actually a female bear – at Puerta del Sol. Puerta del Sol is the most central square in the city, home to a famous clock where thousands of people gather every New Year’s Eve, and Kilometre Zero, the theoretical starting point for all the roads in Spain. It’s also the end point for some of Madrid’s liveliest streets, such as Calle Preciados.
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A square with over 400 years of history
It doesn’t matter which arch you pass under to get to Madrid's Plaza Mayor, the effect is always the same: wow! It’s one of the most fascinating areas of the city. Did you know that this square, where now you can have a quiet drink at a pavement café, centuries ago was home to markets, bullfights, theatrical shows and mass executions?
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Squid sandwich
Talking about Plaza Mayor… Did you know that eating a sandwich of fried squid rings in one of the nearby bars is regarded as extremely Madrid?
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A market over 100 years old
San Miguel Market, one of the city’s finest examples of cast-iron architecture, was opened in 1916, and in 2009 it became Madrid’s first gourmet market. It’s just behind Plaza Mayor, so this is your chance to take a photo with a tapa and a vermouth.
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Views over Madrid’s most famous avenue
It might be the liveliest place in Madrid: Gran Vía. Lined with shops, theatres, cinemas and restaurants, it never seems to sleep. The corner of the famous Metropolis building might be the most photographed. And there are several vantage points where you can get really good views, such as the rooftop bar of the Círculo de Bellas Artes.
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Guardians of the heavens
The rooftop of the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid happens to be “protected” by the goddess Minerva, just one of the many large mythological statues populating the city skyline. You just need to look up.
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A Crystal Palace
The Palacio de Cristal was built in 1887 at the heart of El Retiro Park (World Heritage Site adjacent to the Paseo del Prado and its surrounding area) as a place to exhibit exotic plants from the Philippines. The setting, the light, the atmosphere… As well as photogenic, this spot is absolutely magical.
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Roman Empire?
El Capricho Park is certainly a wonderful place to take photos. It’s one of the least known but most beautiful parts of Madrid. Would you like to see this little temple of Bacchus in real life?
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Egyptian sunset
Most would agree that Madrid's best spot to enjoy a sunset is at the Temple of Debod, Spain’s only authentic Egyptian temple.
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Over 3,000 rooms
We'll save you some counting: Madrid’s Royal Palace has over 3,000 rooms. The Royal Guard is changed every Wednesday and Saturday with a special ceremony on the first Wednesday of every month (except January, August and September).
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Four towers with their heads in the clouds
The area known as Cuatro Torres Business Area now consists of five skyscrapers, as the original quartet (all buildings over 200 metres high) was joined in 2021 by the 181-metre Torre Caleido. You can see them from many points in Madrid, and even from the hills around the city.
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A vertical garden
You'll find it at the CaixaForum Museum, the first one installed in Spain and among the world's largest in terms of continuous surface area. How can you resist taking a photo of over 15,000 plants growing on a vertical surface without soil?
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Street art
This is just one example of the many works of street art you’ll find on the city’s streets and squares. Pure creativity will stop you in your tracks when you least expect it, especially in neighbourhoods like Malasaña and Lavapiés.
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Unexpected companions
As well as street art on the walls of Madrid, there are also plenty of eccentric statues, like this Frog of Fortune on Paseo Recoletos, or the famous street sweeper by Jacinto Benavente Square, and many more, each with its own story.
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A futuristic bridge
In areas of the capital recently reclaimed for parks and green spaces, like Madrid Río, you can find bridges like this one by the architect Dominique Perrault. Do you fancy walking or cycling over it?
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Breakfast or teatime?
Our famous chocolate and churros would be great for either. It’s not unusual to find a bunch of Instagram posts on this indulgent snack in famous places like Chocolatería San Ginés. Not even pets can resist!
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One small step for man… a giant leap for art
Besides El Prado and the Reina Sofía, Madrid is full of museums, each with its own attraction, its exhibitions, its style… For example, the ABC Museum of Drawing and Illustration.
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Over 1,000 sellers
Sunday mornings in Madrid mean El Rastro, an enormous street market in La Latina district where you can find items from every era, including real vintage treasures. The morning usually finishes up with some good tapas and vermouth on tap.
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If these walls could speak…
Café Comerical, the oldest of Madrid’s cafés, has stayed the same for long enough to become one of the city’s most photogenic spots. Now restored, since 1887 its rooms have heard the secrets of politicians, artists, journalists…
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