A capital that eats late, stays out later, and keeps three of the world's great art collections within a ten-minute walk of each other. Three days covers the art, the old centre, and enough neighbourhoods to see how the city actually runs.
Madrid · 3 days Spain
Best time: April to June and September to October.
The art triangleDay 1
📍10:00 AM
Museo del Prado
Velázquez's Las Meninas, Goya's Black Paintings, and Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights. Free for the last two hours; go then only if you are picking a few rooms.
🚶 ~11 min · 🚗 ~1 min · 0.4 mi
🌳2:30 PM
Retiro Park
The former royal garden: a rowing lake, a glass palace among the trees, and the whole city sitting outside on a Sunday.
🚶 ~20 min · 🚗 ~3 min · 0.7 mi
📍6:00 PM
Reina Sofía
Picasso's Guernica in a room of its own, plus Dalí and Miró. Free in the evenings and much calmer than the Prado.
Old MadridDay 2
🏰9:30 AM
Royal Palace
The largest functioning royal palace in Western Europe by floor area, still used for state occasions. Check it is not closed for one.
🚶 ~11 min · 🚗 ~1 min · 0.4 mi
📍1:00 PM
Plaza Mayor and Mercado de San Miguel
The arcaded square that has held markets, bullfights, and executions, with a glass-walled food market a minute away.
🚶 ~9 min · 🚗 ~1 min · 0.3 mi
🍽️8:00 PM
La Latina tapas crawl
The oldest quarter, and the standard local move: one drink and one plate per bar, then move on. Sunday after the flea market is the big one.
NeighbourhoodsDay 3
📍10:30 AM
Thyssen-Bornemisza
The private collection that fills the gaps the other two leave: Holbein to Hopper, in one manageable building.
🚶 ~24 min · 🚗 ~3 min · 0.9 mi
📍2:00 PM
Malasaña
The district that gave Madrid the post-Franco counterculture, now vintage shops, record stores, and small squares that fill at aperitivo hour.
🚶 ~20 min · 🚗 ~3 min · 0.7 mi
⛩️8:30 PM
Temple of Debod at sunset
An actual second-century BC Egyptian temple, given to Spain and rebuilt in a park, with the best free sunset in the city behind it.
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Best time to goApril to June and September to October. July and August are brutally hot and half the city leaves. Winter is cold, clear, and bright, and the museums are quiet.
Getting aroundThe Metro is cheap, fast, and covers everything. The centre is walkable and the good bits are in the gaps between stations, so walk more than you ride.
Local tip: Lunch is 2pm and dinner is 9.30pm at the earliest; eating at 7 marks you out instantly. Many bars still give a free tapa with a drink. The Prado and Reina Sofía both have free entry windows in the last hours of the day.
The full plan as text
The same day-by-day plan as text. Times are starting points, not homework.
Day 1: The art triangle
10:00 AM
Museo del Prado
Velázquez's Las Meninas, Goya's Black Paintings, and Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights. Free for the last two hours; go then only if you are picking a few rooms.
2:30 PM
Retiro Park
The former royal garden: a rowing lake, a glass palace among the trees, and the whole city sitting outside on a Sunday.
6:00 PM
Reina Sofía
Picasso's Guernica in a room of its own, plus Dalí and Miró. Free in the evenings and much calmer than the Prado.
Day 2: Old Madrid
9:30 AM
Royal Palace
The largest functioning royal palace in Western Europe by floor area, still used for state occasions. Check it is not closed for one.
1:00 PM
Plaza Mayor and Mercado de San Miguel
The arcaded square that has held markets, bullfights, and executions, with a glass-walled food market a minute away.
8:00 PM
La Latina tapas crawl
The oldest quarter, and the standard local move: one drink and one plate per bar, then move on. Sunday after the flea market is the big one.
Day 3: Neighbourhoods
10:30 AM
Thyssen-Bornemisza
The private collection that fills the gaps the other two leave: Holbein to Hopper, in one manageable building.
2:00 PM
Malasaña
The district that gave Madrid the post-Franco counterculture, now vintage shops, record stores, and small squares that fill at aperitivo hour.
8:30 PM
Temple of Debod at sunset
An actual second-century BC Egyptian temple, given to Spain and rebuilt in a park, with the best free sunset in the city behind it.
Make this Madrid plan yours
Forward your real booking confirmations to Petrel and it builds this exact day-by-day view for you: flights, hotels, reservations, live flight status, and the travel time between stops. Under a minute.