Discover the most beautiful places to see in Madrid, a map so you don’t miss anything and photos so you can see the charm of the places that can wait for you.
What to see
- Debod Temple
- Plaza de España
- Senate
- Sabatini Gardens
- Royal Palace of Madrid
- Almudena Cathedral
- Plaza de Oriente
- Plaza de la Villa
- Opera House
- Plaza Mayor
- Sol
- Congress of Deputies
- Cibeles
- Gran Vía
- Callao
Description of Madrid must-sees
- Temple of Debod: temple given by Egypt which is located in the middle of a park. From this park you can see a beautiful sunset and a wonderful view of the Royal Palace and the Almudena Cathedral.
On the walk on the way to the next stop, Plaza España, you will see some beautiful buildings.
- Plaza de España: recently renovated square where the mythical Hotel Riu is located, which can be climbed and has a glass walkway that allows you to see wonderful views. In addition, from the square you can see the wonderful statue of Cervantes contemplating the statues of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.
- Senate: in Spain, political power lies in two chambers, the Congress of Deputies and the Senate. From Plaza España to the Sabatini Gardens, you can see the Senate.
- Sabatini Gardens: beautiful gardens of the Royal Palace of Madrid.
- Palacio Real de Madrid: precioso palacio que se puede visitar, con los siguientes horarios:
- Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm both the palace (last access at 5 pm) and the Sabatini gardens.
- Sundays from 10 am to 4 pm the palace (last access at 3 pm) and the gardens from 10 am to 6 pm.
- Free access from Monday to Thursday from 4 to 6 pm. For more info: Royal Palace of Madrid | National Heritage.
- Cathedral of La Almudena: open from Monday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 2:30 pm.
- Plaza de Oriente: in front of the Royal Palace, beautiful park with a very nice fountain in the middle and statues on the sides. As an anecdote, in this square and on the balcony of the building in the center, the Royal Theater, was where the dictator from 1939 to 1975, Franco, gave his speeches.
- Plaza de la Villa: square of what used to be the town of Madrid.
- Opera: from there we can see the Teatro Real.
- Plaza Mayor
A curious thing to see if you go to the next destination (Sol), is that if you go down Arenal street and look at the wall that is on the left side towards Sol, you can see the house of the Ratoncito Perez, which is sure to love the kids and not so kids.
- Sol: mythical Spanish square. In Spain it is well known because all the televisions connect with it when the new year begins and, when the 12 chimes are rung, we drink 1 grape for each chime.
In Sol we can also see the advertising of the brand Tio Pepe. This brand no longer exists and the sign was removed, but it was already so mythical and was part of the city that people demanded its reinstatement, although it was placed in a different building than it was originally.
- Congreso de los Diputados: here resides the legislative power of Spain and is where the parliamentary sessions are held. As a fact, inside you can see shots due to the coup attempt that took place on February 23, 1981 (shortly after the establishment of democracy).
- Cibeles: mythical square with the goddess Cibeles. The most soccer fans will know because it is where Real Madrid C.F. celebrates its titles.
- Gran Vía: street that connects Cibeles with Plaza de España, being in between the Plaza de Callao. In this street you can see beautiful buildings.
- Callao: shopping plaza, with screens, which is our little Times Square. The most typical postcard is the Schweppes sign in the center, which, like the Tío Pepe sign, is already part of the collective imagination.
Map of Madrid must-sees
Below you can see the map with the places I consider most important to see in Madrid:
In terms of distances, it is affordable to walk the whole distance in one day, for example, in the morning you can do this route:
And in the afternoon:
In case you want to see more things, you can see our post of what to see in Madrid in 2 days.
Thank you very much and best regards!