Sights and Highlights
The Golden Triangle of Art
Madrid is one of my favourite museum cities. Right up there with London, Berlin and Paris. This is mainly due to the world-famous so-called Golden Triangle of Art consisting of the Prado Museum, the Reina Sofía Museum and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. All are located within walking distance of each other and the city centre. There might well be nowhere else in the world with as many masterpieces in such a small area.
Prado Museum
The Prado Museum is the main Spanish national art museum. It features one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection, and unquestionably the best single collection of Spanish art. A list of collection highlights are listed on Wikipedia. Opening hours are 10am – 8pm Mon-Sat and 10am - 7pm Sun. Admission is free during the last two hours of each day. Last admission is 30mins before closing.
El Prado Museum
Reina Sofía Museum
Museo Reina Sofía is Spain's national museum of 20th-century art. The museum is mainly dedicated to Spanish art and includes excellent collections of Spain's two greatest 20th century masters, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. More information on the collection can be found here. The museum is open 10am - 9pm most days but is closed on Tuesdays and shuts at 7pm on Sundays. Admission is free during the last two hours of each day.
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
The Thyssen fills the historical gaps in its two counterparts' collections: in the Prado's case this includes Italian primitives and works from the English, Dutch and German schools, while in the case of the Reina Sofia it concerns Impressionists, Expressionists, and European and American paintings from the 20th century. Opening hours are 10am – 7pm all days except Mondays when it is 12pm-4pm.
Free Walking Tour
There is so much to do in Madrid and so much to see. Joining a free walking tour on your first day in the city is strongly recommended. It is a great way to quickly understand the city layout and create a list of places you want to spend more time visiting later in your trip.
Ogo Free Madrid Tour
Discover the secrets of Madrid through Ogo's Old Town tour. It starts at 10:45am and departs from Puerta del Sol.
Sandemans New Europe
Sandemans run 3 free tours a day, at 10am 11am and 2pm. The tour departs from Plaza Mayor.
To Eat
Jamón ibérico
Jamón is Spanish for ham, cured pork. Jamón ibérico refers to a type of jamón from Spain and Portugal made from Black Iberian pigs. It is a Spanish specialty and in my opinion, the very best cured ham product in the world. Of course, it is priced accordingly and regarded as the most expensive ham in the world.
However, there is a way that you can enjoy a meal of Jamón ibérico on the cheap. There are several jamónerias (ham shops) located around the centre of Madrid. While they sell whole jamón legs, they actually function more as quick take away sandwich shop. They sell a range of different jamón based sandwiches and are idea spots to try the worlds most expensive ham. The jamón is sliced incredibly thin and has a strong flavour meaning very little is needed on each sandwich, so the sandwiches are surprisingly cheap. These shops also serve draught beer, making them a great spot to chill out for an hour or so with some other travellers.
One particular chain of jamónerias is called Museo del Jamón. They cater to the tourist, but seemed as good as any a place to get your jamón fix. Find them on google maps.
100 Montaditos
A Montadito is a staple of the Spain cuisine. It is a bread roll, similar to a french baquette, only tapas sized. 100 Montaditos are a chain of small restaurants that serve 100 different varieties of montaditos, priced at between 1€ and 2€. A full menu of the 100 varieties can be found at spain.100montaditos.com/carta/montaditos/ but will need translation. 100 Montaditos also serves cheap beer and wine, making it a great spot to spend a few hours relaxing in the afternoons. There are seven of these stores located around the centre of Madrid. This store is the most central, only a few hundred metres walk from Puerta del Sol.
Tapas at El Tigre
Trying to find decent tapas in Madrid can be a frustrating experience. What does tapas even mean these days? As a restaurant style, tapas has been exported around the world. However in the process it has become an excuse for restaurants to charge high prices for small quantities. It would seem that this trend has now come fall circle and made it back to Spain. Many restaurants in Madrid use the word 'tapas' to entice tourists into their expensive restaurants under the guise of providing an authentic experience.
As a budget traveller, only type of tapas that you should be trying is the variety offered by a place like 100 Montaditos (mentioned above) or even better, the type that comes for free when you order a drink as offered by a place like El Tigre.
For 5€ at El Tigre you can purchase a 500ml beer and a receive a large plate of tapas to go with it. It is located walking distance from the city centre. The tapas comes free with each drinks order, so be sure to order each drink separately to maximise the quantity of food served.
For a list of some other great budget friendly tapas bars I recommend the article City Life Madrid - 7 Budget Worthy Tapas Places in Madrid.
©PromoMadrid, author Max Alexander
Leave a reply