Madrid- your favorite things
 

Hello. What are your favorite restaurants, outings, sights, tours, attractions in Madrid? As a family, we will be there for 3-4 days.I studied in Madrid a long time ago and would love current recommendations. Thank you. For June.

The Prado Museum is a must. Reina Sofia Art Museum is also interesting. I did a hop on hop off bus which showed me a lot I could not have seen otherwise.

I think the Prado Museum is a must. Also the Reina Sofia museum is great. I took a hop off hop on bus which took me to places I would not have seen otherwise.

The markets of the city, especially the Mercado de San Miguel

Madrid, what to do?
 

There's too much to even begin with such limited space, and 4 days will hardly be enough time to even scratch the surface. But, take a look at Visit Madrid, the official website (https://www.esmadrid.com). It will give you a good idea of what's happening while you will be there. Other than that, check out Maribel's Guides to Madrid (sights and dining).

Flamenco at Casa Patas. The restaurant there is also good, and if you have dinner there they give you the best seats for the show.

We loved the Prado Museum and the Reina Sofia. Also the Royal palace. Loved eating at Mercado San Miguel, but it is expensive.

Forgot to mention that we also enjoyed strolling around Retiro Park. Sat by the lake for an hour drinking sangria.

Salamanca district ,for its elegant buildings, leafy streets, restaurants , and shops
Madrid rio ,for its peaks, playgrounds as bridges over Manzanares
Casa Lucas on Cava Baja ,for the constantly good food and wine .

parks not peaks

Aside from the Prado and Royal Palace, we also really enjoyed Retiro Park, it is beautiful, and a lovely place to stroll on a warm day. The lookout and park at Temple of Debod is also a lovely spot, especially in the evening. When we visited there were lots of local families enjoying an evening in the park, and plenty of tourists taking in the great views.

Great suggestions thanks. If we are arriving at train station, should we just take a metro to the place where we are staying? How would 5 people get to the airport for departure? Is there Uber in Madrid or a taxi?

Is Flamenco at Casa Patas a good family place? Do you have to make reservations?

We will go to Bernabeu one day. Has anyone paid for the tours there?

Thank you.

Metro system is very good....take a look at the metro map to see how far you have to go from the train station( there are 2 in Madrid )

Taxi rate to the airport is fixed at 30 euros .....you might be able to order a larger car that would take 5 people. ...not sure.
never used Uber.

When I went to Casa Patas for flamenco, my friend was with her two kids, one of whom was in high school and the other in college. There was a little kid performing who was probably ten or twelve years old. And when I went with my husband, one of the performers had a very small child with her.

Convent cookies
Temple of Debod at sunset... So beautiful!!!

Completely agreed on this.

Does anyone know if Maribel's Guides for dining are updated? Trying to decide where to eat in Madrid and especially in Barcelona are overwhelming with so many choices and knowing I need to book before our arrival. I peek at TripAdvisor reviews but I don't find them reliable in restaurant recommendations. Chowhound recommendations are limited.

Casa Patas - booked.
How should we tour Madrid? Just wander around?
Of course we will hit a few of the sites.
Anyone have info on Bernabeu--tours- I went to the site but is the guided tour worth it? Any place around there to eat that is worth it?

Madrid is a big city....metro and taxis are easy to use
you may select an area and spend some time :

Prado and nearby
Retiro and Salamanca or
Palace and the Opera or
Sol and Plaza Mayor or
Plaza Santa Ana or...

If you are more comfortable taking a tour , go ahead.( I don’t know any)

The Prado was probobly the best art museum I've ever been to. And I didn't even see the Goya's! I did fall in love with the works by El Greco though.

We went to a fantastic Flamenco show in a small tablao venue behind the palace, down a hill an under an underpass called Las Tablas. We were the only non-Spanish table, I think, so it must have been fairly authentic and we all fell in love with Raoul the flamenco singer. Huzzah! Ole!

The palace was incredibly opulent and very interesting, especially the Royal Armoury, and the cathedral is a riot of colour on the ceiling, very beautiful and a lovely peaceful space.

Mercado san Miguel was 5 mins from out accommdation, a nice vibe. We found several good bars, friendly staff and cheap drinks on every corner and we even found an Irish bar! We didn't spend long there but La Latina looked fun and hip. We had great cocktails in Hotel Urban and my friend enjoyed an hour in Retiro Park. And churro's in San Gines! On our last morning, we found a lovely old convent but it was closed on that day.

Wandering the streets just taking in the give and the architecture was great fun, we saw a demonstration of some kind in Puerta de la Sol by the Tio Pepe building and a big music stage being set up in Plaza Mayor. People were very friendly. I bumped into a man and he said 'careno' to me (excuse the spelling) which I discovered meant 'sweetie' 😚

I adored it, it' such a clean and friendly city. With more time I'd have visited more art galleries and spent time in the park and La Latina.