I ended up doing Madrid three times: once early on in the semester with my friends from my Barcelona program, once spontaneously just for one night, & then another time for a weekend with my family when they came to visit Spain.
From Barcelona, Madrid was so easy to get to which is why I was able to make it there multiple times. There is a direct, high-speed train that's only 2.5 hours, and it isn't too bad price-wise.
My first trip to Madrid was early enough that COVID restrictions were still strict in Barcelona and included a curfew that closed bars & clubs at 2am. Since Madrid is in a different region of Spain, it had different COVID policies which did not include a curfew & therefore, we went to Madrid primarily to experience the nightlife - in other words, we didn't go with the intention of eating at fun restaurants or sightseeing. Since the second trip was only one night, the same goes for that trip as well.
With my family, we went to lots of cool restaurants & did more of the touristy-sightseeing things. For a quick weekend trip to Madrid, I'd recommend trying to make time for some of both.
STAY
Airbnb in the Pacifico District
A short walk from the Atocha train station so it was in a great location for the train & Teatro Kapital, but not really anything else
The BC students in the Madrid Study Abroad Program & a lot of the cute shops/restaurants are near the Salamanca district, so we wish we had stayed closer to there or the Sol area
The Westin Palace
Really nice hotel; where I stayed with my parents
Great location, right across the street from the Prado Museum
EATS
Mucca Prado - Right near where my parents were staying at the Westin; fantastic steak & pizza
Ten con Ten - Cannot rave about this place more, it was absolutely phenomenal! On the pricier side but super cool ambiance inside and the food was incredible; definitely try something with truffle
StreetXO - Doesn’t take reservations so you have to get there early and wait in line (opens at 8, if you want to sit right away, plan to go wait around 7); really unique set up since the kitchen is in the center and all of the seating wraps around it; the food is really unique, but everything I tried was amazing; the only drawback was there weren't many GF options
Takos Al Pastor - Super cheap, hole-in-the-wall taco place in the Sol district; like €1 per taco, and they were absolutely amazing; there was a long line when we went but it moved super fast - worth the wait!
Zenith Brunch - Absolutely amazing brunch with lots of healthy & GF options
NIGHTLIFE
ICON - On the smaller side, but so overwhelmed with seeing BC friends again so we had such a great time still; the BC Madrid students were on the disappointed side though, they said there were better options
Teatro Kapital - 7 stories, absolutely unreal; we got a table with bottle service & split that between all of us - such a good call & I’m really glad we did, since then the table could be like a home base for everyone throughout the night
Salmon Guru - Really famous cocktail bar with super interesting drinks; each drink comes served in really fun, unique cups
Dubliners - Irish pub we used as a pregame spot; it's right off the Sol Metro stop and in a good location for walking to a club after
THINGS TO DO
Hotel Riu Rooftop - 10€ to get to the top, & there's a clear bridge where you can see straight down to the ground which was sick; really nice vibe & got drinks and tapas up here for the afternoon; went back with my parents since it's a really cool spot with a great view
Tour of the Royal Palace - Definitely worth it since it’s still kind of in use, so it was cool to see the inside of it; you can also easily walk around the outside without an official tour; I'd recommend going at least to see it, it's right by the Cathedral too
Prado Museum - Free for a couple of hours each day, so go early to get the free tickets before they are gone & then go back later to use them; no art pieces that I recognized but still a lot of cool art once you research it
Salamanca District - Really nice part of the city with tons of cute restaurants & bars and a lot of luxury shops and cute boutiques; fun area to walk around in and kill a couple of hours
Retiro Park - Pretty to walk through on a nice day, with lots of street performers & cool statues to find
SNAPS
Left: My sister & I with our tacos @ Takos Al Pastor | Center: El Retiro Park at sunset | Right: View of the Cathedral from the plaza between the Cathedral & The Palace
Views from Hotel Riu Rooftop
Left: Tapas spread at the Hotel Riu Rooftop | Center: The GF dish I had at StreetXO - lights out | Right: GF fruit pancakes from Zenith Brunch
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