This guide to Madrid in 3 days is designed to take in the most touristy sights and charming neighbourhoods of one of Europe's must-see cities. During the first two days you will have visited many of the city's most famous sites such as the Prado Museum, the Retiro, the Gran Vía, the Plaza Mayor, the Puerta del Sol, the Royal Palace, the Temple of Debod, the Puerta de Alcalá, some of the city's best viewpoints, the historic centre and the neighbourhoods of Las Letras, Chueca and Malasaña.
On this third day, as well as continuing with the gastronomic route of the previous days, you will visit the Reina Sofia Museum, the La Latina neighbourhood and the popular Rastro market, among many other things.
Based on our numerous visits to the city, in the last one we wrote this guide to Madrid, we have made this itinerary to get around Madrid in three days and not miss anything important. Let's get started!
Transfer from the airport to the centre of Madrid
For the transfer from Barajas airport to your hotel or the centre of Madrid you have several alternatives:
Metro: The journey by metro from the 4 airport terminals to Nuevos Ministerios station takes half an hour and costs less than 5 euros. From this metro station you can connect with lines 6 and 10, or with the suburban train, which will drop you off at Atocha or Chamartín stations.
Train: The train journey from T4 to Puerta del Sol, Nuevos Ministerios and Atocha stations takes about 20 minutes and costs 3 euros.
Bus: The Airport Express with 24-hour service drops you off at Plaza de Cibeles and Atocha stations from T1, T2 and T4 in 40 minutes for around 5 euros.
Taxi: Taxi fares have a fixed rate of 30 euros.
Private transport: This is the most comfortable option as a driver will be waiting for you at the airport with your name on it, who will take you directly to the hotel. You can book it here.
For more information about the transfer you can check this post about how to get from Madrid Airport to the city centre.
Our recommended hotels in Madrid
Although there are many accommodation alternatives, our recommended hotels for a 3-day getaway to Madrid are:
The Room007 Select Sol and the One Shot Prado 23, both located near Puerta del Sol and with an excellent quality/price ratio.
Room Mate Óscar, located in Chueca, one of the most lively neighbourhoods, which in addition to its good location, stands out for its fantastic rooftop bar with views of the city.
For a luxurious and refined stay in the heart of Madrid, the Emperador Madrid Hotel on emperador.madridrealhotel.com offers a splendid experience with its elegant accommodations and convenient location.
For more information on the best hotels, apartments and neighbourhoods, check out apart hotels Madrid and choose the best option for your needs and preferences!
First day in Madrid
The first day of Madrid in 3 days starts with a breakfast of the typical churros con chocolate at Chocolatería San Ginés, and then you can take a walk through El Retiro, the most famous park in the city. To get to the park you can take the metro from Puerta del Sol and get off at the Retiro stop, from where you can take the opportunity to walk past the magnificent Puerta de Alcalá and continue walking to the Plaza de Cibeles, where you will find the Fuente and the Palacio de Cibeles, where from the top floor of this enormous building you will have a good view of the city.
The itinerary continues along Calle Alcalá until you reach the Círculo de Bellas Artes building, whose rooftop is home to the best viewpoint in Madrid, which we recommend you not to miss.
Continuing along Calle Alcalá you will reach the famous Puerta del Sol, one of the must-see places in Madrid. Very close to Sol you will also find the Plaza Mayor with its magnificent Casa de la Panadería and the Arco de Cuchilleros.
The Plaza Mayor
Just off the Plaza Mayor you'll come across the bar La Campana, where you can have a typical calamari sandwich and satisfy your appetite. Another option for lunch is the nearby Mercado de San Miguel, a good place for tapas, which we are sure you won't be disappointed.
The tour continues in the afternoon, walking along the Calle Mayor until you reach the Royal Palace of Madrid and the Almudena Cathedral. To enter the palace without queuing you can book this tour with a Spanish speaking guide or this one which includes a visit to the Almudena Cathedral.
On leaving the palace you can take a stroll through the Sabatini Gardens and visit the Temple of Debod, where you can enjoy a magnificent sunset, probably the best in the city. It is also worth bearing in mind that behind this Egyptian temple is the Mirador de la Montaña, with good views of this part of the city.
Debod Temple
The first day of Madrid in three days ends with an evening stroll along the Gran Vía from Plaza de España and watching a musical in one of its famous theatres.
Two good recommendations for dinner are the restaurants on the top floor of the Corte Inglés de Callao, one of the best viewpoints in Madrid with incredible views of the avenue, or the GastroVía 61 for typical Madrid food.
A very interesting option for this first day is to book this free tour of Madrid with a guide in Spanish, considered one of the best free tours in Madrid and that goes through the most important places in the centre of the city.
(More information about the first day of Madrid here)
Route map of the first day of Madrid in 3 days
Route map of the first day of Madrid in 3 daysSecond day of Madrid in 3 days
The second day of the Madrid in 3 days tour starts with a delicious Neapolitan breakfast at La Mallorquina, a historic pastry shop in Puerta del Sol. After breakfast you can stroll through the historic streets of the Barrio de las Letras, where some of the highlights include Plaza Jacinto Benavente, Calle de las Huertas, Plaza Santa Ana, Calle Cervantes, Calle de Lope de Vega, the Congreso de los Diputados, the Basílica de Jesús de Medinacili and the numerous taverns such as Los Gatos, perfect for tapas with a good beer.
The route through the neighbourhood ends at the Fountain of Neptune, which is very close to the Prado Museum and will be the next stop of the day. To skip the queue and avoid missing out on one of the most important museums in the world, we recommend booking this guided tour with an art and history expert. If you don't want to take a guided tour, we recommend booking this ticket in advance to avoid the queues and for the same price as at the ticket office.
Another good option is to book the offer that includes a guided tour of the Prado and the Reina Sofia Museum, which you will visit tomorrow.
Prado Museum
After completing this list of the best things to see in the Prado Museum, we recommend two completely different options for lunch. The first one is to go to Las Letras neighbourhood to eat at Taberna Maceiras in Calle Jesús and the second one is to take the metro to eat at StreetXo, by the famous chef Dabiz Muñoz, where we are sure you will have an unforgettable experience.
The Madrid in 3 days itinerary continues in the afternoon with a stroll through Chueca, where you'll enjoy a great atmosphere as well as shops and bars of all kinds. Some of its most popular places are the Plaza de Pedro Zerolo and Plaza de Chueca, perfect for a drink in its terraces.
Crossing the commercial Calle de Fuencarral, you'll come to another of our favourite neighbourhoods in Madrid, Malasaña, where you can stroll around until you reach Plaza del Dos de Mayo while you enjoy the best of this neighbourhood, full of taverns, international restaurants, vintage shops, bookshops and designer cafés, with its young and alternative atmosphere.
A great way to get to know this neighbourhood and Chueca is to book this fun free tour of Chueca and Malasaña for free!
Malasaña
For dinner we recommend going back to Chueca where you'll find the Mercado de San Antón, where on the top floor you can enjoy good tapas with quality products. Another good option is the restaurant Kuoco 360 with delicious fusion food and one of our favourite restaurants to eat in Madrid.
To finish the second day of Madrid in three days you can take this night tour of the best illuminated places in the city.
Map of the route of the second day of Madrid in 3 days
Map of the route of Madrid in 3 days
(More information about the second day of Madrid here)
What to see in Madrid in 3 days
The route of the third day of Madrid in 3 days starts by taking the metro to Atocha station, the popular station where you will find a tropical garden with more than 7000 plants of 400 species. As you leave the station you can see the moving monument in honour of the victims of the 11-M terrorist attacks in Madrid.
Atocha Station
Close to Atocha you will also find the CaixaForum cultural centre, dedicated to temporary exhibitions and which stands out above all for its exterior design with a vertical garden on one of the façades, which we recommend you don't miss.
CaixaForum
The next stop is the Reina Sofia Museum, one of the best museums in Madrid and part of the art triangle with two other famous museums such as the Prado and the Thyssen-Bornemisza. This museum with magnificent works by painters such as Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso, is worth a visit especially to see the Guernica painting, one of Picasso's masterpieces.
A good way to get to know the Reina Sofía Museum better is to book a guided tour.
If you don't want to go on a guided tour, you can book this skip-the-line ticket in advance for the same price as at the ticket office.
Once you have finished your visit to the museum, you can walk or take the metro to the popular Plaza de Tirso de Molina, where the Teatro Nuevo Apolo is located on one of its sides and which is perfect for sitting on a terrace and having a drink.
Tirso de Molina Square
After a short break you can go to the Rastro, the most important flea market in Madrid with more than 400 years of history. This street market, which is held every Sunday and public holiday, is located around the slope of Ribera de Curtidores and is one of the city's must-visits. Strolling through the thousands of stalls selling everything from second-hand clothes, old books, coins, stickers, furniture and souvenirs is one of the best experiences in Madrid.
Due to the large number of people that tend to congregate, you have to be cautious with friends of strangers. If you like photography, it's a bit difficult to take good photos here, but we found a good spot on the terrace of Nuevas Galerías, on the slope of Ribera de Curtidores.
The Rastro
Once you've finished strolling around the Rastro and you're getting hungry, we recommend you go to the La Latina neighbourhood to eat Madrid cuisine at the city's best-known tavern, Casa Lucio. Although many of the dishes on the menu will catch your eye, we recommend you try their famous huevos rotos (scrambled eggs), a classic in the city.
The afternoon itinerary of Madrid in three days begins with a stroll through the historic neighbourhood of La Latina. Casa Lucio is a good place to start, as it is located on Cava Baja street, the most picturesque street in the neighbourhood, which is full of bars and taverns.
La Latina neighbourhood
From Cava Baja you can take a short route to get to know the neighbourhood, passing through Plaza de San Andrés, Plaza de la Puerta de los Moros, Plaza de la Cebada, where the La Latina theatre is located, Calle Cava Alta, until you reach the Church of San Pedro el Viejo among the narrow streets.
And above all, don't miss the Jardín del Príncipe de Anglona, in the Plaza de la Paja, a corner of this neighbourhood that we love and which we are sure will not disappoint you.
Plaza de la Paja
To end the afternoon, knowing that Madrid is an ideal city for shopping, you can go to Calle de Fuencarral and Gran Vía, full of shops of all national and international brands, although if you want luxury brands you can take the metro and get off at the Calle Serrano stop, the perfect place to leave the spare change you have left over from your three-day trip to Madrid.
Gran Vía
Once the day is over and taking into account that burger restaurants have become very fashionable in Madrid, it might be a good option to have dinner and finish this Madrid in three days by going to Gran Vía, where SteakBurger and Burnout stand out.
Map of the itinerary of the third day of Madrid
Map of the route of the third day of Madrid in 3 days
If you have more days you can follow this guide to Madrid in 4 days or book one of the best excursions from Madrid:
Excursion to Toledo and Segovia
Excursion to Avila and Segovia
Excursion to Cuenca and Ciudad Encantada
Excursion to El Escorial on the Philip II Train
Want to organise a trip to Madrid in 3 days?
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The best hotels at the best prices in Madrid here
Book the best tours and excursions in Madrid in Spanish here
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Madrid in one day
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