76 Best Sights in Madrid, Spain

Spring and fall are the best times to jog, stroll, or picnic in this tranquil park with none of the tourist hustle and bustle of El Retiro. Come mid-May, Parque de San Isidro becomes party central with the arrival of the eponymous fiestas; bring family and friends and enjoy the fireworks, concerts, street food (rosquillas! chorizo hoagies!), and rides. Steer clear of this area after sunset.

The historical 19th-century residence Corrala de Sombrerete, which overlooks this lively square from the southeast corner, is one of Madrid's few remaining corralas, tenement houses distinguished by timber frames and a central patio. It is closed to the public but still worth a walk-by. Beyond it is a brick building with a hollow cupola dominating the square: the Escolapios de San Fernando, one of several churches and parochial schools razed due to anti-Catholic sentiments during the Spanish Civil War. It is one of Madrid's only unrepaired Civil War ruins. Though partially refurbished by the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), which turned one section into a library, the building is closed to the public.

Named for Christopher Columbus, this plaza surrounds a statue of the explorer (identical to the one in Barcelona's port) looking west from a high tower. Beyond Plaza de Colón is Calle de Serrano, the city's premier shopping street (think Gucci, Prada, and Loewe). Stroll in either direction on Serrano for some window-shopping.

Madrid's town council met in this medieval-looking complex from the Middle Ages until 2009, when it moved to the Palacio de Cibeles. It now houses municipal offices. The oldest building on the plaza is the Casa de los Lujanes, the one with the Mudejar tower. Built as a private home in the late 15th century, the house carries the Lujanes crest over the main doorway. Also on the plaza's east end is the brick-and-stone Casa de la Villa, built in 1629, a classic example of Dutch-influenced Madrid design with clean lines and spire-topped corner towers. Connected by an overhead walkway, the Casa de Cisneros was commissioned in 1537 by the nephew of Cardinal Cisneros. It's one of Madrid's rare examples of the flamboyant plateresque style, which has been likened to splashed water. Sadly, none of these landmarks are open to the public on a regular basis.

This oblong plaza is Lavapiés's nerve center. To the east is Calle de la Fe (Street of Faith), named for the church of San Lorenzo.

This stately semicircular plaza, sandwiched between the Palacio Real and the Teatro Real (Royal Theater), is flanked by massive statues of Spanish monarchs that were meant to be mounted atop the palace. Queen Isabel Farnesio, one of the first royals to live in the palace, had them removed because she was afraid their enormous weight would bring the roof down. (That's the official reason; according to local lore, the queen wanted the statues removed because her own likeness wouldn't have been placed front and center.) A Velázquez drawing of King Felipe IV is the inspiration for the statue in the plaza's center. It's the first equestrian bronze ever cast with a rearing horse. The sculptor, Italian artist Pietro Tacca, enlisted Galileo Galilei's help in configuring the statue's weight so it wouldn't tip over. The 2021 overhaul of Plaza de España eliminated all car traffic between Plaza de Oriente and Plaza de España and added pleasant footpaths and fountains.

This plaza was the heart of the theater district in the 17th century—the Golden Age of Spanish literature—and is now one of Madrid's most happening nightlife centers. A statue of 17th-century playwright Pedro Calderón de la Barca faces the Teatro Español, where other literary legends such as Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, and Ramón María del Valle-Inclán released some of their world-renowned plays. Opposite the theater, beside the ME by Meliá hotel, is the diminutive Plaza del Ángel, with one of Madrid's best jazz clubs, Café Central. Cervecería Alemana, a favorite haunt of Hemingway, is on the southeast corner and makes phenomenally tender fried calamari.

On this unassuming square stood the Monteleón Artillery barracks, where some brave Spanish soldiers and citizens fought Napoléon's invading troops on May 2, 1808. The arch that now stands in the middle of the plaza was once at the entrance of the old barracks, and the sculpture under the arch represents Captains Daoiz and Velarde. All the surrounding streets carry the names of that day's heroes. The plaza, now filled with restaurant patios, is a good place to stop for a drink and some people-watching. One of the most popular (if overrated) cafés, Pepe Botella, carries the demeaning nickname the people of Madrid gave to Joseph Bonaparte, Napoléon's brother, who ruled Spain from 1808 to 1813: the botella (bottle) is a reference to his falsely alleged fondness for drink.

A masterwork in Churrigueresque (Spanish baroque) architecture, this impressive granite bridge over the Manzanares connects Arganzuela and Carabanchel. Felipe IV commissioned its construction in order to shorten the route from Madrid to Toledo in the mid-17th century (hence the bridge's name), but floods destroyed the initial structure. The bridge you can walk across today (it is pedestrian-access-only) was completed in 1732 by architect Pedro de Ribera and contains nine arches buttressed by rounded columns. At night, these are uplit and look particularly magical from below on the Madrid Río esplanade. Midway across the bridge, don't miss the niches adorned with richly carved limestone statues of Madrid's patron saints, San Isidro Labrador and Santa María de la Cabeza.

This triumphal arch, today a popular backdrop for photos, was built by Carlos III in 1778 to mark the site of one of the ancient city gates. You can still see numerous bullet and cannonball holes on its exterior, left intentionally as a reminder of Madrid's tumultuous past.

Designed by José Benito de Churriguera in the waning baroque years of the early 18th century, this museum showcases 500 years of Spanish painting, from José Ribera and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo to Joaquín Sorolla and Ignacio Zuloaga. The tapestries along the stairways are stunning. The gallery displays paintings up to the 18th century, including some by Goya. Guided tours are usually available (check the website for times). The same building houses the Calcografía Nacional (National Prints Institute), which sells limited-edition prints from original plates engraved by Spanish artists. There are often classical concerts and literary events in the small upstairs hall: tickets can be purchased on the website.

Tired of previous monarchs' dependency on Belgian and Flemish thread mills and craftsmen, King Felipe V decided to establish the Royal Tapestry Factory in Madrid in 1721. It was originally housed near Alonso Martínez and moved to its current location in 1889. Some of Europe's best artists collaborated on the factory's tapestry designs, the most famous of whom was Goya, who produced a number of works on display at the Prado. The factory, the most renowned of its kind in Europe, is still in operation—you can tour the workshop floor and watch weavers at work. They apply traditional weaving techniques from the 18th and 19th centuries to modern and classic designs—including Goya's. Prebooking online is required, and all visitors get a tour (English tours usually begin at 12:30 pm weekdays).

You don’t have to be a horticulturalist to appreciate the breadth of the exotic plant collection here. Opened in 1781 and emblematic of the Age of Enlightenment, this lush Eden of bonsais, orchids, cacti, and more houses more than 5,000 species of living plants and trees in just 20 acres. Its dried specimens number over a million, and many were brought back from exploratory voyages to the Americas.

Felipe II was one of history's most deeply religious and forbidding monarchs—not to mention one of its most powerful—and the great granite monastery that he had constructed in a remarkable 21 years (1563–84) is an enduring testament to his character.

Felipe built the monastery in the village of San Lorenzo de El Escorial to commemorate Spain's crushing victory over the French at Saint-Quentin on August 10, 1557, and as a final resting place for his all-powerful father, the Holy Roman Emperor Carlos V. He filled the place with treasures as he ruled the largest empire the world had ever seen, knowing all the while that a marble coffin awaited him in the pantheon below. The building's vast rectangle, encompassing 16 courts, is modeled on the red-hot grille upon which St. Lawrence was martyred—appropriately, as August 10 is that saint's day. (It's also said that Felipe's troops accidentally destroyed a church dedicated to St. Lawrence during the battle and sought to make amends.)

The building and its adjuncts—a palace, museum, church, and more—can take hours or even days to tour. Easter Sunday's candlelight midnight mass draws crowds, as does the summer tourist season.

The monastery was begun by the architect Juan Bautista de Toledo but finished in 1584 by Juan de Herrera, who would eventually give his name to a major Spanish architectural school. It was completed just in time for Felipe to die here, gangrenous and tortured by the gout that had plagued him for years, in the tiny, sparsely furnished bedroom that resembled a monk's cell more than the resting place of a great monarch. It's in this bedroom—which looks out, through a private entrance, into the royal chapel—that you most appreciate the man's spartan nature. Spain's later Bourbon kings, such as Carlos III and Carlos IV, had clearly different tastes, and their apartments, connected to Felipe's by the Hall of Battles, and which can be visited only by appointment, are far more luxurious.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the entire Escorial is the Panteón de los Reyes (Royal Pantheon), a Baroque construction from the 17th century that contains the body of every king since Carlos I except three—Felipe V (buried at La Granja), Ferdinand VI (in Madrid), and Amadeus of Savoy (in Italy). The body of Alfonso XIII, who died in Rome in 1941, was brought to El Escorial in January 1980. The rulers' bodies lie in 26 sumptuous marble-and-bronze sarcophagi that line the walls (three of which are empty, awaiting future rulers). Only those queens who bore sons later crowned lie in the same crypt; the others, along with royal sons and daughters who never ruled, lie nearby, in the Panteón de los Infantes, built in the latter part of the 19th century. Many of the royal children are in a single circular tomb made of Carrara marble.

Another highlight is the monastery's surprisingly lavish and colorful library, with ceiling paintings by Michelangelo's disciple Pellegrino Tibaldi (1527–96). The imposing austerity of El Escorial's facades makes this chromatic explosion especially powerful; try to save it for last. The library houses 50,000 rare manuscripts, codices, and ancient books, including the diary of St. Teresa of Ávila and the gold-lettered, illuminated Codex Aureus. Tapestries woven from cartoons by Goya, Rubens, and El Greco cover almost every inch of wall space in huge sections of the building, and extraordinary canvases by Velázquez, El Greco, Jacques-Louis David, Ribera, Tintoretto, Rubens, and other masters, collected from around the monastery, are displayed in the Museos Nuevos (New Museums). In the basilica, don't miss the fresco above the choir, depicting heaven, or Titian's fresco The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence, which shows the saint being roasted alive.

Ferdinand and Isabella used this church and cloister behind the Prado as a retiro, or place of respite—hence the name of the adjacent park. The building, one of the oldest in the city (built in the early 16th century), was devastated in the Napoleonic Wars and rebuilt in the late 19th century.

Kids and adults alike appreciate the sweeping views from this retro cable car, which swoops you 2.5 km (1.6 miles) from the Rosaleda gardens (in Parque del Oeste) to the center of Casa de Campo in about 10 minutes. If you're feeling active, take a (very) long hike to the top and ride back into the city, or pause in Casa de Campo for primo picnicking.

This is not the best way to get to the zoo and theme park, located approximately 2 km (1 mile) from the drop-off point in Casa de Campo. You're better off riding the Teléferico out and back, then taking the bus to the zoo.