Hi

I will arrive at Madrid airport tomorrow at 14:30 and have a connecting flight at 21:45. I have a lot of time and I don't want to just sit in the Airport. Any suggestions what I can do in the 5 hours and a bit? Would you recommend a visit to Puerto del sol, Plaza mayor? any other suggestions? How about a visit to the Santiago Bernabeu/ is it manageable? Anything else that I would be able to squeeze in? I welcome your suggestions/ recommendations.

It's easy to reach the city center from the airport using the metro. If you want to get an overview of the city, perhaps you should take a hop-on, hop-off bus. The journey takes 75 minutes. It's a good way to get to know Madrid sights in a short period time. A tour of Santiago Bernabeu is also feasible from the airport.

What are your interests? My favorite thing to do in Madrid was the Retiro Park and the Prado museum.

Thanks for your answer KodakMoment..

I am interested in a walk in the Retro park, fountains,a cafe (First time in Spain as well , so any recommendations on food and drink would be great/ I am a vegetarian) , the egyptian temple and if I still can a visit to the Prado?! Doesn Prado have long queues?

Is the Atocha station a staright route from Madrid Airport?

Santiago Bernabeu stadium is far away from all of this. So I would probably have to skip it wouldn I?

Santiago Bernabeu is very doable, from Atocha you can take the metro line 1 to Tribunal and change to line 10 for Santiago Bernabeu, takes a little more than 20 mins.

You are visiting in between opening times for most restaurants (lunch until about 4.30 and dinner from 9pm), but emblematic Cerveceria Alemana, right on bustling Plaza Santa Ana, is open all day and so is the kitchen. This was one of Hemingway's favourites in Madrid. Many tourists come here because of the location and the Hemingway connection, but it's a part of Madrid history, and it's still popular with locals:
http://www.cerveceriaalemana.com/main/
http://www.gomadrid.com/sights/plaza-santa-ana.html

Cerveceria Alamena/Plaza Santa Ana is just a couple of hundred meters away from majestic Plaza Mayor: http://www.gomadrid.com/sights/plaza-mayor.html

Here you can have a bocadillo de calamares - the quintessential Madrid snack - and other tasty sandwiches for a couple of euros:
http://www.calamareslacampana.com/
http://www.plazamayor2.com/ (here you also get Vermut on tap, a Madrid speciality)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-ideal-madrid

Plaza Mayor/Plaza Santa Ana are also a ten-fifteen minutes walk from the Retiro park and the three great museums, Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen-Bornemisza.

Atocha can be reached directly by bus or from T4 by fast train.
You have no reason to go to Atocha.
If you wish see old Madrid take a taxi ( 30euros flat rate) to Plaza Mayor
If you wish to stroll around Retiro take a taxi to Plaza de la Independecia.
...many restaurants and shops just north of the park.

Great advice from Kimhe.

With 5 hours in Madrid (technically 4, because you have to get to the airport an hour before departure), I would just grab a sandwich at the airport to save on sightseeing time.

Take the Metro at Terminal 2 or 4, and get off at Nuevos Ministerios station. Then take the urban train line C3 to Sol.

Walk from Puerta del Sol to Plaza Mayor, perhaps stopping at Chocolateria de San Gines to try the famous Churros,then take a taxi or walk to Prado museum. (It's a 17 minute walk from Plaza Mayor to the Prado)

Check out the Prado highlights then head to Retiro Park and enjoy your time there before catching a metro back to the airport.

I don't think the Prado will be crowded in March, but someone can correct me. You can buy your ticket online to be on the safe side. The queuing is worse during free hours from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. But you don't have to stand in the queue if you buy a ticket.

You actually don't have five hours, more like three and a half, since you have to be back at the airport at least 90 minutes before departure in order to clear security. Depending on your flight, you might be required to go through a second security screening.

If flying out of T4, it can take 30 minutes or more to reach your gate.

30 minutes or more to reach a gate in T4. Yikes. Thirty minutes from where? From after passing through security?

Yes! It's a large airport.