5 Best Sights in Madrid, Spain

Choose from made-to-order pinsas (ancient Roman pizzas with a cloudlike crust) at Di Buono, local craft beers at Drakkar, refined market cuisine at El 2, updated Spanish street food at Miga Cana, and high-octane Thai curries at Kitchen 154, among other flavor-packed options at this city-block-size market in the heart of Chamberí.

See the world through the once-in-a-generation eye of Spain's most famous impressionist painter, Joaquín Sorolla (1863–1923), who lived and worked most of his life at this home and garden that he designed and decorated. Every corner is filled with exquisite artwork—including plenty of original Sorollas—and impeccably selected furnishings, which pop against brightly colored walls that evoke the Mediterranean coast, where the painter was born. The museum can be seen as part of the Abono Cinco Palacios, a €12 pass that grants access to five mansion-museums.

The so-called ghost station of Chamberí is now a locomotive museum managed by Metro Madrid. It occupies the grand old Chamberí Station, built in 1919 and defunct since 1966. There are vintage advertisements, old maps, and other memorabilia. Tours (free) and placards are in Spanish only.  Don't wait for staff to come fetch you after watching the introductory film—just head down to the platform.

Locals will tell you that this street boasts more bars per square foot (nearly 100 in total) than anywhere else on earth. Alternative facts aside, there's a bar for every taste here, from tile-walled tabernas to louche cocktail lounges to newfangled fusion spots. Start with a caña (half-pint) or glass of vermú at a timeworn standby like El Doble (No. 58) or Fide (No. 8) before sampling traditional tapas at Taberna Alipio Ramos (No. 30) or La Máquina (No. 39). More eclectic, refined bites can be found at the tuna-centric DeAtún (No. 59), cheffy Sala de Despiece (No. 11), and modern Basque Arima (No. 51).

Fossils, gems, minerals, and more glitter beneath the lights at this under-the-radar museum housed in a hundred-year-old neoclassical building.