Places to visit in Madrid

PLAZA MAYOR

One of the prettiest squares you’ll see with vibrant street life too.

REINA SOFÍA MUSEUM

Pablo Picasso’s great masterpiece Guernica is among 20,000 works.

BERNABÉU STADIUM

It’s safe to say Madrid’s natives like their fitba. And it’s well worth a tour of the stadium of Europe’s most successful team, Real Madrid.

TEMPLE OF DEBOD

The place to grab a beer and watch the sun go down. The 2000-year-old Egyptian temple has become a romantic hotspot.

PUERTA DEL SOL

OK, it’s another square. But this one is the best known and busiest in the city. On Hogmanay, locals gather to eat 12 grapes in 12 seconds – don’t ask.

THYSSEN-BORNEMISZA MUSEUM

If you are a culture junkie this is another top museum. More than 1000 works of art. Artists featured include Monet, Picasso and Vincent van Gogh.

MARKET OF SAN MIGUEL

Why sit in a restaurant when you can eat on the go? It’s traditional here to pick from the wide variety of ready-to-eat tapas in this famous and bustling market.

ROYAL PALACE OF MADRID

It’s not just Buck Palace that boasts a daily changing of the guard. Why not see it for yourself, Spanish-style? No royals live here any more so some parts are open to the public.

ALMUDENA CATHEDRAL

One of the prettiest cathedrals around. Regardless of building work getting under way in 1883, it was only finished in 1993.

LAS VENTAS BULLRING

Yes, it’s bloody, and yes, it’s not for everyone, but Madrid’s main bullring – whose official name is La Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas del Espíritu Santo – is worth a visit ... if you have the stomach.