3-Day Madrid Itinerary

This itinerary was prepared by Yvette Lopez-Dee. She's a former colleague, who took her masters and now resides in Madrid. When she emailed this to me, I instantly fell inlove with it.  Better than all those fancy travel books.

I asked her if I can share this with you and she said yes!

And before I forget..Yvette was part of the Knorr team, so she is a certified foodie. If ever find yourself in Madrid, you must go to the restaurants she recommended!

Enjoy and I hope this helps in your planning!

(click for the print-ready excel itinerary)

DATE	TIME	SITE/ ACTIVITY	NOTES
DAY 1	AM		NOTE FOR DAY 1: This is a day of walking!! So please make sure you wear comfortable shoes. I really made sure the places are beside each other so you can mix the walk with a lot of sighseeing :)
		Puerta del Sol	To go here, take the metro and go down at SOL. When you get there look for: 1. Oso el Madrono - this a bear statue that is the symbol of Madrid 2. Kilometer 0 - in front of La Puerta del Sol (buiilding with the clock) they say that if you step there, you will go back to Madrid again haha
		Plaza Mayor	Plaza Mayor is a 5minute walk from Puerta del Sol. There are signs going there but my landmark is the KFC on the corner ;p One of my favorite places in Madrid, just stroll around and take pictures :) My boyfriend said that during the inquisition times, they were killing the people there haha ;p
	EARLY LUNCH	EBOLI (in Plaza Mayor)	You can find this in one of the restaurants in Plaza Mayor, super good food. You should order paella, callos (best callos ever!!!!), chipirones/ chopitos (small squid) AND don't forget sangria!! It's really good! Most of the waiters are pinoys so it's easier to order
		DESSERT: Chocolateria de San Gines	Most famous Churros in Madrid!!! It is right across Plaza Mayor. Just ask someone and evenryone knows where it is ;p
	PM	Palacio Real	From Plaza Mayor, it is just walking distance. It takes 2 hours (or longer to tour it) so make sure you're there around 1:30 or earlier
		Catedral Almudena	This is the main Cathedral of Madrid, almost beside Palacio Real. After you go here, if you have time you can walk around and go to Jardines del Moro which is the garden beside the palace.
		Gran Via	After Palacio Real, walk up to Plaza de Espana and this is the start of Gran Via street. This is the SHOPPING STREET!! All the stores are here like Mango, Zara & H&M but you should also check out Bershka, Pull & Bear, Blanco, Stradivarius (it's cheap in the last 2) I think you will kill the day here ;p You can already have dinner here
		Plaza de Cibeles and Puerta de Alcala	Plaza de Cibeles is at the end of Gran Via. It's a beautiful building and it's better to see at night. Puerta de Alcala is walking distance from there and is also better seen at night, it looks like a big arc lang ;p it is one of the main 7 entrances of madrid during the old times
DAY 2	AM	Prado Museum	From Metro Puerta del Sol, take the red line to Metro Banco de Espana. When you get out of the Metro, it's there already. This is the most popular museum in Madrid and even if you are not into museums, it is worth going here. The best painters that I remember here are Goya, Velazques and Dali.
	PM	Retiro Park	You can either walk going here OR take the metro. Take the red line again from Banco de Espana to Retiro stop :) When you get out, there is a tunnel that leads you to it. What you should check out in Retiro Park: 1. Lake in the middle where you can go boating 2. Palacio de Cristal (my favorite!!) there is a sign going there 3. Parterre - this is a part of the garden with weird shaped trees (feeling edward scissorhands haha) 4. La fuente del Angel Caido - this is the fountain of the devil (that's why it's called fountain of the fallen angel)
		Calle Serrano	Make sure you exit Retiro park going to Puerta de Alcala because from there you can walk straight up to Calle Alcala then turn to Calle Serrano. This is another shopping destination in Madrid where all the expensive shops are :) Go and shop because it's cheaper compared to Manila.
		Plaza de Sta Ana: DINNER & DRINKS	Take the metro again. From Serrano stop, go back to Sol then you have to walk up to Plaza Sta Ana. There are a LOT of restaurants there to choose from. There's a flamenco place here but I am not so familiar where
DAY 3	AM	Santiago de Bernabeu	You need to take the metro. Stop is called BERNABEU, this is the dark blue line # 10. You can take a tour of the stadium
		Opera	Take the metro to OPERA stop, when you get out it's there already. Nothing much to see except take a pic outside the opera house haha
	LUNCH	Mercado de San Miguel	Walking distance from the Opera. You CANNOT miss this place!! It is super nice. It is like a big market with crystal walls and inside you will see stalls and stalls of food!! Its is simply amazing there. You can have tapas for 1Euro each, the patatas bravas, croquetas stall with a lot of diff types and sangria!!
	PM	Gran Via for last minute shopping	I realize that you guys had limited time to shop the first day so you can go back to Gran Via again to walk around and shop :)
Other Things to do:
1. Day Trips - There are 2 day trips that you can explore outside Madrid a. Toledo b. Segovia and Avila All you need to do is go to any hotel (better in Gran Via area - there is a Gran Via metro stop) or ask your concierge if they offer it for the day trips. If you want to explore on your own, you can go to Atocha Station and take the train.
2. Museums - She can spend a day or two just exploring the museums in Madrid a. Prado Museum - this is my favorite and she can spend a good half day or more here because of all the nice paintings. This is one of the most important museums in Europe TO GO HERE: take the Metro and go down at Banco de Espana stop, there is a pathway leading to the museum b. Museo Thyssen- Bornemisza - never been here but my friends told me it's nice TO GO HERE: Take the Metro and also go down at Banco de Espana stop c. Museo Nacional Cento de Arte Reina Sofia - can't remember what I liked except there's a Picasso there haha TO GO THERE: take the Metro and go down at Atocha stop
3. SUNDAY ITINERARY - For the Sunday that you are there, you can go to the Rastro Market, it's a flea market in Madrid that is super popular. Make sure you go in the morning because some stalls start closing at 2 or 3pm. It has sooo many interesting stalls that sell clothes, souvenirs, bags, etc. Just please be careful with pickpockets (super dami there so watch your bags) TO GO THERE: Take the metro (Line 5 I think) and go down at LA LATINA La Latina is also very popular for tapas bars so right after you can just explore the area to have some tapas.
4. Restaurants - My suggestions are: a. Restaurante Sobrino de Botin - oldest restaurant in the world, please try the cuchinillo and the lamb!! b. La Barraca/ St James/ Albufera - great paella c. Chocolateria de San Gines - most famous churros place here (there's also a place called Valor that is also good!) d. Mercado de San Miguel - amazing and yummy food stalls! It is right by Plaza Mayor. One of my favorites! e. Tapas hopping along La Latina - just take the metro and go down La LAtina. You can tapas hop at Cava Baja and there are a million places to eat, one of my favorites is called Txakoli and they have amazing pintxos there. Also checkout Juana la loca, they serve the best tortilla de patatas in Madrid!!! f. Cien Montaditos - just to try the local scene! every Wednesday, all the montaditos are 1EU only. Please try their Tinto de Verano. It is very good g. Casa Lucio - must try! this is also in Calle Cava Baja (Metro: La Latina) h. XO Madrid at El corte Ingles Serrano Gourmet Experience - new resto by chef David Munoz. Servings are a bit small but good food! i. Lizarran at Plaza Sta Ana - pintxos are good here and also the chopitos j. La Gaditana - it's a hole in the wall resto that serves really good food!!