One day in Madrid isn't enough for everything, but it is enough for what sets the city apart: the Prado, Habsburg Madrid and the best sunset in the centre. The key is to walk it east to west, from the Prado to the Temple of Debod, without doubling back and with barely any metro.
The day at a glance
| Time | Plan | Getting there |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00-12:30 | Prado Museum | — |
| 12:45-14:00 | Barrio de las Letras | 5 min walk |
| 14:00-15:30 | Lunch in the streets off Huertas | — |
| 15:30-16:15 | Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor | 10-15 min walk |
| 16:15-16:45 | San Miguel market and Plaza de la Villa | 3 min walk |
| 16:45-18:00 | Royal Palace and Almudena Cathedral | 10 min walk |
| 18:00-19:00 | Sunset at the Temple of Debod | 15 min walk |
| 19:15-20:30 | Plaza de España and Gran Vía to Callao | 20 min walk |
| 21:00 | Dinner in La Latina | 15 min walk or metro |
The afternoon timings are set for November, when the sun goes down around 18:00. April to September, flip the ending: Gran Vía first and Debod at sunset, after 21:00.
What to book, and how far ahead
| What | Official price | Book |
|---|---|---|
| Prado Museum | €15 (reduced €7.50; free under 18 and students up to 25) | 1-3 days; online skips the queue |
| Royal Palace | €18 (plus €0.77 online booking fee) | same day or the day before |
| Flamenco (optional) | from €45 with a drink | 1-2 days |
Morning: the Prado
10:00 — Prado Museum, at opening. Open Monday to Saturday 10:00-20:00 and Sundays and holidays 10:00-19:00. Two and a half well-spent hours: Las Meninas and the Velázquez room, Goya's Black Paintings, Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, El Greco and Titian. Don't try to see it all. Arriving by train? Atocha is 10-15 minutes away on foot.
If you'd like someone to take you straight to the key works and explain them, a guided visit with entry starts at €49; privately, with an official guide and hotel pick-up, there's a private Prado visit from €146.
12:45 — Barrio de las Letras, five minutes across the Paseo del Prado: lines by Cervantes and Lope de Vega set into the pavement of Calle Huertas, Plaza de Santa Ana and the outside of Lope de Vega's house.
Lunch
14:00. In the streets crossing Huertas (Echegaray, Ventura de la Vega, Prado), not on Huertas itself. A €14-18 set menu or tapas at the bar. Madrid lunches from 14:00 to 16:00.
Afternoon: Sol, Plaza Mayor and the Royal Palace
15:30 — Puerta del Sol (10 minutes' walk): kilometre zero and the bear statue, ten minutes and move on. Plaza Mayor, five minutes along Calle Mayor: enter through the Arco de Cuchilleros and don't sit on its terraces.
16:15 — San Miguel market (half an hour to browse; eating here is expensive) and Plaza de la Villa, the oldest square in the centre.
16:45 — Royal Palace. October to March it opens Monday to Saturday 10:00-18:00 and Sundays until 16:00, and the ticket office shuts an hour before closing: get there before 17:00. Tickets €18; EU and Ibero-American citizens go in free Monday to Thursday 16:00-18:00 (17:00-19:00 April to September), queuing at the ticket office. Allow 45-60 minutes inside, then Almudena Cathedral opposite and the Sabatini Gardens next door. For the whole afternoon with a local guide who shows you the corners guidebooks miss:
18:00 — Temple of Debod, 15 minutes' walk along Calle Ferraz. A 2nd-century BC Egyptian temple with the Royal Palace and the mountains behind; arrive 30-45 minutes before sunset. Free.
Evening: Gran Vía and La Latina
19:15 — Gran Vía. From Debod, walk down to Plaza de España and along the Gran Vía to Callao (20 minutes) with the buildings lit up. If your legs give out, a private tuk-tuk does the old centre and Gran Vía in 1 h 15 (from €79 per tuk-tuk):
21:00 — Dinner in La Latina: Cava Baja and Cava Alta, classic tapas and huevos rotos. Madrid doesn't dine before 9 pm. If you'd rather go with a guide, there's a tapas walk through three taverns starting at Plaza de Santa Ana; and to end the day with flamenco, Tablao Las Carboneras is a few steps from Plaza Mayor (from €45):
Indicative budget per person
| Item | Independent | With a guided visit |
|---|---|---|
| Prado | €15 | from €49 with guided visit |
| Royal Palace | €0-18 | €18 |
| Lunch and dinner | €40-60 | €40-60 |
| Metro (if used) | €0-3 | €0-3 |
| Total excluding accommodation | about €55-95 | about €105-130 |
Variations
- No museums: swap the Prado for the Retiro (free; the Crystal Palace and the boating lake, 1 h 30) and the Puerta de Alcalá; the rest of the day stays the same.
- With children: the Retiro with rowing boats (€4-6 per half hour) instead of the Prado, the Royal Palace with its armoury, and Debod. More in Madrid with kids.
- If it rains: the Prado in the morning, the Thyssen (€14) after lunch, the Royal Palace at the end of the day and an early dinner in La Latina.
- Mondays: everything on this route is open; the Reina Sofía closes on Tuesdays, which doesn't affect this plan.
Common mistakes
- Visiting the Prado in the free hours on a one-day trip: queues and packed rooms.
- Reaching the Royal Palace at 17:30 in winter: the ticket office has closed.
- Eating on Plaza Mayor or in the San Miguel market.
- Taking the metro for 10-minute hops: walking is quicker in the centre.
- Dinner at 8 pm in an empty restaurant.
In a nutshell
From the Prado to Debod on foot, with the Royal Palace late in the day and dinner in La Latina: a day that explains Madrid without silly rushing. With one more day, Madrid in 2 days adds the Retiro, Malasaña and the Reina Sofía; with three, Madrid in 3 days.
