Madrid Guide
A capital that eats at 10:00pm, closes its kitchens in August, and packs three of the world's great museums into one walkable mile.
Madrid runs later than almost anywhere else in Europe — lunch after 2:00pm, dinner after 9:00pm — so plan meals around local time or eat alone. The Golden Triangle of museums (Prado, Reina Sofía, Thyssen) sits within a ten-minute walk, but each keeps different late-opening evenings worth checking before you go. August is genuinely quiet: many family-run kitchens close for two to three weeks and the heat makes midday sightseeing unwise.
Sol to Salamanca, end to end
Illustrated
Drawn by hand for the KEY2 Madrid guide
Where to stay
Hotels
The KEY2 list
Happy Hour
Daylight
Hotel Pools & Pool Clubs
Eat
Best Food
Mornings
Breakfast & Brunch
Recover
Health & Wellness
After dark
Nightlife
Arenas
Sports
Tonight
Concerts & Comedy
Say it here
Weddings
Book the room
Event Spaces
Experiences
100 Other Things To Do
Madrid explained
Hour-by-hour plans drawn by hand — pick one and follow it from first coffee to last call.
24 Hours in Madrid
A single day covering the Golden Triangle of art, Habsburg-era streets and a late tapas crawl.
48 Hours in Madrid
Two days balancing the museum mile, Salamanca shopping, a hammam reset and Bernabéu football culture.
Madrid travel guide
The practical layer: when to come, how to arrive, how to move, where to base yourself and what it costs.
Best time to visit
April, May, late September and October bring mild temperatures ideal for walking, avoiding both the intense July–August heat, when many locals leave and some restaurants close, and the sharper winter cold.
Getting in
Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD) is linked to the centre by Metro Line 8 (around 40 minutes to Nuevos Ministerios, €4.50–5 including the airport supplement) or a fixed-rate taxi of €30 to anywhere inside the M-30 ring, taking 20–30 minutes.
Getting around
Madrid's Metro is one of Europe's most extensive and cheap (single ticket €1.50–2, a 10-trip Metrobús card around €12.20), and the centre from Sol to Retiro to Malasaña is very walkable. A car is unnecessary and street parking in the centre is restricted; taxis and Uber/Cabify are affordable for late-night trips.
What it costs
A mid-range hotel runs €110–180 a night; dinner for two at a good restaurant costs €60–100; a single Metro fare is around €1.50–2 and a short taxi ride across the centre averages €10.
Where to stay
- Sol / Centro
- Central and walkable to major sights, though busier and noisier at night.
- Malasaña
- Bohemian, independent-shop-lined streets popular with a younger crowd for bars and vintage stores.
- Chueca
- Madrid's LGBTQ+ nightlife hub, central and close to Gran Vía shopping.
- Salamanca
- Upscale, quieter residential district good for shopping and fine dining, a short taxi from the centre.
Traveller tips
- Dinner is late — most Madrileños eat from 9pm, and restaurants that seat foreigners at 7pm are usually aimed at tourists.
- Many restaurants and shops close in August as locals head to the coast; check opening hours ahead.
- Rounding up or leaving small change is the norm for tipping rather than a fixed percentage.
- The Museo del Prado and Reina Sofía offer free entry during specified evening hours — worth timing a visit around.
- Card payments are widely accepted, but small bars and tapas counters sometimes prefer cash.
- Plugs are the standard European two-pin type.
The Madrid calendar
The dates that actually move prices, crowds and opening hours.
May
San Isidro
Madrid's patron-saint festival fills the city with verbenas, chotis dancing and a month-long bullfighting season at Las Ventas.
May
Feria del Libro, Retiro Park
A two-week open-air book fair lines the park's central promenade with publisher stalls and signings.
June
Orgullo Madrid (Pride)
One of Europe's largest Pride celebrations takes over Chueca and Gran Vía for a week in late June.
July
Mad Cool Festival
A major international rock and pop festival draws three days of crowds to the Valdebebas grounds.
August
Ferragosto-style summer lull
Many neighbourhood restaurants close for two to three weeks; hotels and larger kitchens stay open.
December
Christmas markets at Plaza Mayor
Stalls selling ornaments and roasted chestnuts run through the whole of December into early January.
Seasonal highlights
- Spring (Mar–May)
- The best walking weather of the year, coinciding with San Isidro celebrations and the busiest museum queues.
- Summer (Jun–Aug)
- 40°C afternoons are common; locals eat and socialise after 9:00pm and midday streets empty out.
- Autumn (Sep–Nov)
- Warm days, cool nights and the calmest month for restaurant bookings — a local favourite.
- Winter (Dec–Feb)
- Cold but usually dry and sunny; hotel rates drop outside the Christmas market weeks.
Off-peak intel
- The Prado opens free every evening, Monday to Saturday from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, and Sunday from 5:00pm to 7:00pm — far quieter than any daytime slot.
- Late July and August bring the softest hotel rates of the year, though check individual restaurants for summer closures first.
- Dinner reservations before 9:00pm are easy to get; the same kitchen is booked solid by 10:30pm.
- January and February, right after the Christmas markets close, are the quietest weeks for both hotels and sit-down restaurants.