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Attractions

Madrid is officially divided into 21 barrios and the city center is remarkably compact and walkable. The key neighborhoods you'll want to explore lie on either side of Gran Vía, a boulevard on the scale of Broadway or Oxford Street, which forms the city's north-south divide. To the north spreads the trendy gay quarter of Chueca and the bohemian enclave of Malasaña, while the south finds Puerta del Sol, the city's primary transport hub and rendezvous point; charming Plaza Santa Ana, a tourist favorite; the stylish barrio of Huertas, with its cozy bars and cafés; old Madrid, with the Habsburg-era inspired Plaza Mayor as its centerpiece; the buzzing neighborhood of La Latina; and Lavapiés, a working-class immigrant enclave that's also home to Madrid's best flamenco spots. Paseo del Arte, where Madrid's three heavy-hitting museums are clustered and the expansive Parque del Retiro lie on the city center's eastern fringes. To the northeast of the center stretches chic Salamanca, Madrid's toniest neighborhood, choc-full of high-end restaurants, designer boutiques, and luxury apartment buildings.

You can get around easily on foot – or opt for the cheap and easily navigable metro and bus network. Affordable travel passes (available at all MetroMadrid stations; 3.80€) are a good investment if you plan on making heavy use of the subway system. Other options for seeing the city include guided tours – a good one is Madrid VISION (Calle Felipe IV; hours vary by season; 091/779-1888; 13.50€; www.madridvision.es) runs popular hop-on-hop-off bus tours.

If you plan on seeing a lot of sights, pick up a Madrid Card from the Municipal Tourist Office (Centro de Turismo de Madrid) at the main branch (Plaza Mayor 3; daily 9.30am-8.30pm; www.munimadrid.es/turismo). Available for periods of 24 hours (36€), 48 hours (46€) or 72 hours (56€), the Card includes unlimited journeys on Madrid VISION buses, free access to over 40 museums, guided tours, a booklet, and a map.

Madrid’s Golden Triangle and Parque del Retiro
No matter your level of interest in art, Paseo del Arte simply must be the first stop on your itinerary. Occupying the city's eastern corner, this leafy area is home to what some refer to as Madrid's "Golden Triangle," after the three world-class art museums that are found here: the Prado, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, and Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. Conveniently located within steps of one another, this superb trio holds such stellar artworks that skipping it would be akin to visiting Paris without seeing the Louvre. What's more, the collections are so diverse that you must take in all three – the Paseo del Arte Card, available at any of the three museums for 14.40€, covers admission to all of them – for less than you'd pay to visit each one independently.

The first must-see, the Prado (Paseo del Prado; Tues-Sun 9am-8pm; 6€, free Sun; www.museoprado.es), is easily one of the world's most venerable art museums. Occupying a neoclassical structure originally intended to house a natural history museum, the grandiose building was inaugurated in 1819 as an art institution instead and today ranks as Madrid's top tourist attraction. The museum has a dedicated space to display rotating art, sculpture, and print exhibits, but it's the Prado’s 8600-strong collection of paintings from the Spanish royal family that's the real showstopper, boasting an incredible number of Spanish masterpieces, including Las Meninas by Velázquez, over 30 El Grecos, and Goya's celebrated Majas (two portraits of a woman, one clothed and one nude) and ominously captivating Black Paintings series. In addition to Spain's homegrown stars, you can also get a close-up look at over 80 Rubens, an impressive number of Titians, and noteworthy paintings by Breughel. This is one museum where you'll definitely benefit from taking the audio tour (3€). Southwest of the Prado, on the edge of the working-class neighborhood of Lavapiés, is Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Santa Isabel 52; Mon, Wed-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 10am-2.30pm; 6€, free Sat after 2.30pm and all day Sun; www.museoreinasofia.es), a contemporary art center housed in an airy former hospital. While the star attraction here is Picasso's haunting black-and-white Guernica – one of the world's best-known modern paintings – it's complemented by a remarkable permanent collection of 20th- to 21st-century Spanish art from the likes of Dalí and Miró hung alongside international heavyweights like Francis Bacon, Alexander Calder, and Max Ernst. Temporary shows are displayed in the new glass wing designed by the contemporary French architect Jean Nouvel. Don't leave without visiting the top floor, where stellar view of Madrid's rooftops await.

The final must-see on the art circuit is the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza (Paseo del Prado 8; Tues-Sun 10am-7pm; 6€; www.museothyssen.org), home to one of Europe's foremost international art collections. Acquired in the 1920s by the Swiss baron Thyssen-Bornemisza, the collection was subsequently purchased by the Spanish government in 1993 for $350 million – a bid that exceeded even that of the Getty Foundation. The 1000 paintings shown inside the 19th-century Palacio de Villahermosa focus on masterpieces from the 13th to late-20th century, with Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Hopper, Mondrian, and Pollock figuring strongly. Start at the top floor and make your way down for a chronological lesson in art history, from Gothic painting to Russian Constructivism and Impressionism to Pop Art.

With the big three under your belt, head to the elegant Parque del Retiro, a 350-acre expanse of greenery to the east that once served as royal hunting grounds. Designed in the 1630s as a complex of royal buildings and formal gardens inspired by Versailles, it was opened to the public in the 1700s and became property of the municipality a century later. Today, it's a much-loved oasis for Madrileños, especially on Sunday afternoons, when locals from all walks of life converge here to stroll, cycle, boat on the lake (you can rent your own rowboat by the Alfonso XII monument), or watch the antics of pavement artists. The grounds sport several palaces, including Palacio de Velázquez, home to frequent art exhibits, and Palacio de Cristal, built in the late 1800s to showcase a garden of tropical plants; today it houses frequent, rotating modern art exhibits.

Old Madrid
The heart of old Madrid is the cobblestone Plaza Mayor, first designed in 1619 and subsequently reconstructed in 1790 by Villanueva (the architect behind the Prado) after a series of fires. Theatrically enclosed by granite arches and anchored by a bronze equestrian statue of Felipe III, the square has been witness to bull fights, executions, markets, open-air theater, and even Carnival festivities over the years. These days, it is Madrid's most emblematic and photographed sight, as well as the perfect spot for a coffee break – while you will pay a premium to sit at one of the cafés that line the square, it's absolutely worth it for the experience of watching the world go by. If you're in the area come evening, head south to the labyrinthine streets of La Latina to find a number of authentic tapas bars, flamenco joints, and trendy hangout spots.

If you didn't know Spain was still a living monarchy, or just want to know more about the country's royal family, here's your chance. For a close look at the country's royal past, pay a visit to the commanding Palacio Real (Calle Bailén; Apr-Sept Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 9am-3pm, Oct-March Mon-Sat 9.30am-5pm, Sun 9am-2pm; 8€; www.patrimonionacional.es), just a short walk northwest of Plaza Mayor. This onetime royal residence on the grounds of an old Muslim fortress (that was destroyed by a fire in 1734), is still occasionally used today for official ceremonies. Its opulent interiors contain no fewer than 3000 extravagantly decorated rooms complete with stucco ceilings, silk wall hangings, and countless artworks. About 50 of them are now open to the public, including the royal armory, where dozens of guns, swords, and shields are stored, and the 16th-century royal pharmacy, packed with ancient jars and mortars. If you want to catch the changing of the guard, arrive at noon on the first Wednesday of the month (Sept–Jun).

A welcome respite from Madrid's frenetic urban buzz awaits a ten-minute walk northeast of Plaza Mayor, at Convento de Las Descalzas Reales (Plaza de las Descalzas; Tues-Thurs & Sat 10.30am-12.30pm & 4-5.30pm, Fri 10.30am-12.30pm, Sun 11am-1.30pm; 5€ guided tour in Spanish only; www.patrimonionacional.es), a working convent founded in 1557 by Juana de Austria, the daughter of Emperor Carlos V; her tomb is found inside the church. Built for Franciscan nuns of aristocratic background (hence the name which, in English, means Monastery of Barefoot Royals), the convent's mystical ambiance is as alluring as the remarkable tapestries, woodcarvings, frescoes, silverware, sculptures, and paintings on display inside – many of them donated by the nuns' wealthy families. As you enter, note the beautifully executed portrait of the royal family by the grand staircase.