Destinations

Madrid, Spain Travel Guide

Boulevards, art and all-night tapas

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Why visit Madrid

Spain’s capital trades beaches for boulevards: the Prado’s Velázquez and Goya, the Royal Palace and Retiro Park’s boating lake. Madrid lives on its schedule - lunch at two, vermouth at six, dinner at ten - and the tapas crawl from La Latina to Malasaña never really ends. Day trips to Toledo and Segovia are 30 minutes away by high-speed train.

Last updated Aug 17, 2026 · Reviewed by the WhatWhereVacay editorial team

Plan Madrid with AI

Tell us your dates, budget and what you like - get a day-by-day Madrid plan.

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Worth booking before you go

Independent picks. We earn a small commission if you buy through these - at no extra cost to you. How this works.

Lock in the hotel first Live prices for Madrid, Spain - best-rate guarantee, free cancellation on most rooms. Search hotels on Booking Trains, buses & ferries in one place 12Go sells the seats local operators won't show you online, in English. Search routes on 12Go Skip the ticket queue Tiqets gets instant mobile tickets for the museums and landmarks worth pre-booking. Browse Tiqets attractions

Stay online in Spain

Travel eSIM plans from Airalo - install before you fly, land connected, no roaming fees.

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Getting to Madrid

Fares are the cheapest recently cached offers, not live quotes.

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Airport transfer in Madrid

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Car rental in Madrid

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Things to do in Madrid

Skip-the-line tickets, tours and day trips.

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eSIM for Spain

Data from $4.00 (1 GB · 3 days). Install before you fly.

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Hotels in Madrid

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Plan your Madrid trip

Every link below uses the dates and travelers set in the bar above.

Budget estimate

€812–€1,512 for 2 travelers · 7 nights

Typical daily budget: €58–€108 per person

Per person per day: food + local transport + activities (stays & flights excluded).

Open the full budget calculator Madrid cost breakdown

Tipping in Spain

Restaurants: Not expected, round up. Locals rarely tip more than small change.

See the full tipping guide

Know before you go to Spain

Hotels & hostels

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Vacation rentals

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Car rental

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Flights to Madrid

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Bus routes

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Packing list

Tailored to Madrid's month and trip length

Live weather

Current conditions and forecast for Madrid

Tours, eSIM & insurance

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Open the Trip Workspace

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Best time to visit Madrid

Most pleasant months: May–Sep (averaging 16–25°C). Coldest month January (4°C), warmest July (25°C).

Monthly mean air temperature for Madrid, Spain, NASA POWER climatology (T2M), fetched 2026-09-22. Daytime highs run several degrees higher; rainfall is not in this table, so check the live forecast before you book.

Weather decides when a city shines - and when it empties out. We pull 30-year climate averages for Madrid to show which months are warm, dry and worth booking.

Check live weather for Madrid

Getting there and around Madrid

Flight searches for Madrid use the airport code MAD. Each link below opens a search already filled in for Madrid; add your dates and origin in the trip bar at the top and they carry through.

Flights to Madrid Buses to Madrid Car rental in Madrid Apartments in Madrid

Bus corridors we track to and from Madrid

Editorial starting fares and journey times, not live quotes. See the bus fare index.

3 days in Madrid: what to eat & see

D1 Day 1

Morning

Royal Palace & Plaza Mayor

Churros con Chocolate

Afternoon

Prado Museum

Evening

La Latina tapas crawl

Patatas Bravas

D2 Day 2

Morning

Retiro Park

Afternoon

Reina Sofía (Guernica)

Cocido Madrileño

Evening

Malasaña bars

Tortilla Española

D3 Day 3

Morning

Day trip: Toledo or Segovia

Turrón

Afternoon

Gran Vía & rooftop views

Evening

San Miguel market dinner

Croquetas

Eat your way through Madrid

Browse all Spain food

These are the dishes to hunt down in Madrid - not just the country's greatest hits. Tap a dish to see where it's made best, then compare a stay in the same neighbourhood with your dates.