Why Visit Now: Madrid
Grand yet intimate, modern but traditional, Madrid has preserved the best of old-school Spain with its vibrant tapas bars, deep cultural reverence and dynamic social life, while embracing contemporary architecture and world-class services.
Madrid – or Madrizzz, as locals call it with their distinct lisping Castilian accent – might make you reconsider what a capital city should be. Grand yet intimate, modern but staunchly traditional and less trend-driven than its chic sister city Barcelona, Madrid has preserved the best of old-school Spain with its vibrant tapas bars, deep cultural reverence and dynamic social life, while embracing contemporary architecture and world-class services.
Most visitors flock to the city for its art, especially the renowned and expansive Museo Nacional del Prado. However, in recent years, Madrid has also been gaining attention for its dedication to innovative design, fashion and gastronomy. Madrid is having a moment. Here are a few good reasons to be part of it.
Small Museums With Big Ideas
So you have conquered the Grecos and Goyas at the Prado Museum, marveled at the modern masters in the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia and been swept away at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza. But Madrid has many other lesser-known art houses that are just as thrilling.
The Museo de Traje, situated in a brutalist-style building in the calm and leafy Ciudad Universitaria, has some stunning examples of alta costura (haute couture) through the ages.
Enrique Palacio S
In the centre of town, the elegant Circulo de Bellas Artes has been a cultural institution for over 140 years and is worth popping in even just for a coffee. Visit before August 18, 2024, to find an exhibition from the renowned photographer Cristina García Rodero, whose work uncovers the rituals, ceremonies and plain weirdness of “Deep Spain.”
The free exhibitions at La Casa Encendida are more concerned with the state of modern society, while the National Archaeological Museum is a superb collection of Greek ceramics, Visigoth artefacts and relics from Spain’s Islamic period. In a specially built underground room, there is an excellent reproduction of the Altamira cave paintings - or the “Sistine Chapel of the prehistoric world.”
Market-to-Market Munching
Markets in Madrid are much more than places to pick up fresh tomatoes. Some have evolved into one-stop tapas crawls where you can graze through small plates from top gastronomic creators.
At the Mercado de la Paz in the upscale Salamanca neighborhood, kick off with what is reputedly the best tortilla de patatas in the city at Casa Dani, before moving on to succulent lobster paella or braised bull’s tail at Bar Cebreros. At the Mercado de San Fernando in the bohemian Lavapiés district, tuck into some hearty Cuban fare washed down with a mojito at Apululu, or let Yoli at Bogalicom serve you a glass of vermouth from the barrel paired with olives and gildas.
Alvaro German Vilela
The Mercado de San Miguel, a historic iron-and-glass structure near Plaza Mayor, was the first of Madrid’s market cuisine temples and is still the most popular – treating patrons to a culinary tsunami that waves from freshly shucked oysters to Jordi Roca’s legendary ice cream. Get there before noon (or early afternoon) for the best bar seat in the house.
Old School Shopping
Madrid has plenty of showstopping boutiques and all the trendy flagships – Spain is the home of the fashion giant Zara after all. But it also has several historic shops that have survived the fast-fashion and digital eras… so far.
Picasso and Hemingway ordered their capes from this classic atelier in the center of Madrid
You may not have thought of wrapping yourself in a pure wool, tailor-made cape until you enter Capas Seseña. Capes are considered iconic madrileño clobber, known around the country for their sartorial panache and ability to block out those icy Sierra winds. Back in the day, Picasso and Hemingway ordered their capes from this classic atelier in the center of Madrid. Today the company has modernized by offering fashionable details and bold colors – though its bestseller remains a classic, Goya-esque style dating from 1901.
Suzanne Wales
Nothing says Spanish summer like a pair of espadrilles, so pursue the infinite range at Casa Hernanz, which is packed to its ancient rafters with all manner of rope-soled footwear. A word of advice; service can be a little snippy. So narrow your choice down from the vast window display, then ask for your size inside.
La Violeta is the city’s most beloved sweet shop, and it’s probably safe to say that every Madrid madre has been gifted these boiled candies at some point. La Violeta’s packaging is gorgeous, and these little polka-dot boxes of loveliness make perfect presents to take back home.
Home Decor Hunting
It’s a long-held belief that everything great and good from the rest of Spain ends up in Madrid. This is certainly true of regional arts and crafts, which are on display in many galleries and shops in the capital.
For lovers of ceramics, hand-blown glassware and intriguing little everyday items crafted in far-flung villages, Cocol is a fascinating destination shop with a lovingly curated selection of items sourced from all over Iberia. From Galicia, Sargadelos makes fine porcelain objects and dinnerware inspired by the folklore of this ancient land in geometric designs and dazzling color schemes.
Suzanne Wales
The company’s new gallery- showroom in the Salamanca district is superb, and the pieces on sale are resoundingly modern despite their century-old heritage. Nearby, Ábbatte sells sublime throws, scarves and home textiles spun from organic threads in a monastery in the mountains of Soria. Hailing from the far-flung region of Extremadura, Javier S. Medina puts a playful twist on traditional basket weaving methods by creating ‘ecological’ hunting trophy heads in esparto grass. His pieces are hugely popular with local interior designers and celebrity shoppers, including Sarah Jessica Parker.
Suzanne Wales
Mi Casa Es Tu Casa
Madrid's home-museums offer an intimate glimpse into the lives and legacies of its most famous residents. The most sumptuous is the Palacio de Liria, the stately home of the Alba dynasty – the grandest of all the Spanish grandee families. In terms of richness and sheer expanse, it comes a close second to Spain’s Royal Palace, with an art collection that includes works by Rubens and Velázquez, landscaped gardens and room after room of baroque furniture and decor.
Oscar Gonzalez Fuentes
The Museo Sorolla, situated in Joaquín Sorolla’s former residence, also has lovely gardens, but on a much more intimate scale – in keeping with the artist’s love of nature and bucolic pleasures. The Museo Cerralbo, a luxurious mansion once owned by the Marquis of Cerralbo, dazzles with its eclectic collection of art, antiques, and decorative objects, reflecting the opulent lifestyle of 19th-century Spanish nobility. Museo Lázaro Galdiano, housed in the financier’s stately home, also features a vast collection of fine art, from Goya and El Greco to treasures like illuminated manuscripts and exquisite jewelry.
A Lively Modern Art Scene
Madrid’s reputation as an art capital extends beyond its renowned museums. The ARCO art fair, held every March, stands as one of Europe’s premier contemporary art events, attracting top galleries and curators from around the globe. Concurrently, Distrito 11 transforms the streets with contemporary art and culture through events, workshops, and cultural happenings. Also in March, the Madrid Design Festival highlights local creators and designers with exhibitions, talks, and open-door studios.
Oscar Gonzalez Fuentes
The best place to get a feel for the city’s pulsing creative scene is to visit El Matadero – a massive, cultural complex repurposed from a disused slaughterhouse. It's a unique setting where industrial architecture meets contemporary art, theatre, and cinema, while still remaining very local and community-focused.
The Gaze of Almodóvar
Like Woody Allen is to New York and Jean-Luc Godard to Paris, the Spanish film director Pedro Almodόvar captured the spirit and humanity of Madrid. Almodόvar arrived in the city in the early 1980s, at the height of La Movida - counter-cultural revolution that celebrated the country’s infant democracy with unbridled libertarianism and partying.
Like Woody Allen is to New York and Jean-Luc Godard to Paris, the Spanish film director Pedro Almodόvar captured the spirit and humanity of Madrid.
His early films, such as Pepi, Luci, Bom and Labyrinth of Passion, showcased sexual freedom and queer culture with a disco-beat soundtrack. Many of the scenes, and indeed La Movida itself, were centered around the vibrant El Rastro, an iconic open-air street market and local institution. Plaza de Santa Ana, a lively, cafe-filled square in the center of Madrid, has always been one of the director’s favorite locations and is still today a popular hangout for Madrid’s fashion and art set.
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In Labyrinth of Passion, the first Spanish film to depict a gay relationship, the characters meet at La Bobia, a popular haunt in La Latina. Today an upmarket bistro, you can still sit on the terrace for a whiff of La Movida nostalgia.
Take a World Heritage Side Trip
While there’s plenty to do in Madrid over a weekend, there is also an abundance to see within an easy day trip, as no less than four UNESCO sites surround the city. The mammoth palace and monastery of San Lorenzo El Escorial, has rightly been called “the eighth wonder of the modern world.”
In the Alcalá de Henares, the birthplace of Cervantes, the town’s medieval quarter whisks you back to Spain’s chivalrous “Golden Age.” The parks and royal gardens of Aranjuez are so beautiful, they inspired Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo to write his most famous work. And within the city borders, the Paseo del Prado joined the UNESCO list in 2021 for its tree-lined elegance and urban splendor – characteristics the organization named “A Landscape of Light.”
