Routes around Madrid

Take in Fernando Higueras's brutalist exterior (1967–73) — a round concrete building with a "thorn" cornice. Get inside by booking (tours Thu at 12:00). BIC-protected since 2001.

Walk the exhibition from the Middle Ages to Balenciaga. Take note of the building (1960s rationalism) and the garden with Chillida sculptures. Lunch at the museum's Bokado restaurant.

Ride the glass elevator up to 92m — a 360° panorama over the city and the Sierra de Guadarrama. The turning point of the Moncloa cluster. A no-line alternative to the Gran Vía "rooftops".

Cascading concrete balconies with vegetation (Fernando Higueras, 1967–74) — the same architect as "Corona de Espinas". A brutalist ecosystem that's still livable.

Look at one of Madrid's first rationalist buildings — Casto Fernández-Shaw's gas station (1927) with its parabolic concrete canopy. Still a working filling station; the current structure is an exact 1996 replica of the original. Proto-modernism, an early sign of the route's concrete aesthetic.

Sáenz de Oiza's organic brutalism (1969) — cylindrical balconies build the image of a concrete tree. One of the major brutalist works in Europe. The final stop — worth the trip on its own.

Step into the neo-Byzantine mausoleum (1892–99) with its sculpted Benlliure gravestones. One of the emptiest cultural sites in the center — you can be alone among the marble.

Watch weavers working the same looms as 300 years ago. Tapestries woven from Goya's cartoons. A working manufactory since 1721.

Explore the avant-garde art center in a neo-Mudéjar building: video art, performance, street art. The contrast of 19th-century brick against digital art.

Go down into the underground 1923 metro power station (arch. Antonio Palacios) — three giant diesel engines in situ. A "machine cathedral".

Walk among steam locomotives and carriages under the original glass roof of Delicias station (1880). If it lands on the 2nd Sunday of the month, catch Mercado de Motores (150+ vintage stalls plus food trucks).

Step into the free city greenhouse — 7,100 m² under glass, three microclimates (tropical/subtropical/desert), waterfalls and turtles. A quiet green finale to the industrial route.

Wander among 150+ houses in romantic colonial style (1925–28) around a fountain. A quiet oasis with trees, one-way streets, and the feel of a southern town.

Stroll through the "anti-Retiro" — a small park (7 ha) with a waterfall, a pond, and centuries-old trees. A historic spring that once supplied Madrid with water.

Study the zigzag floor plan of Coderch's residential building (1966) — maximum light through ceramic cladding and wooden louvers. Best view is from the corner.

Wander the rationalist garden city of 1933–36 (arch. Bergamín) — Spain's answer to Bauhaus. BIC-protected + Docomomo-listed. 600+ houses with white facades and flat roofs — the feel of a village inside Madrid.

The Parque Florido palace with 12,500+ pieces: Goya, Bosch, El Greco, medieval enamels, swords. The garden is free.

Sit down by 11:00 for dim sum: ha gao, siu mai, pato asado, arroz con marisco. 90% of the clientele is the diaspora.

If there's still room, try the dim sum variado (handmade, daily), congee, chow fun de ternera. A Chinese-language menu is a good sign. Takeout is an option.

Walk along C/ Nicolás Sánchez and C/ del Olvido — signs in Chinese, Asian grocery shops, bakeries selling baozi.

A post-meal walk through one of the largest parks in southern Madrid. A lake, hills, city views. The exact opposite of Retiro — local families, zero tourists.

Start at a sherry bar unchanged since the Civil War: only barrel sherry, the tab chalked on the counter, no photos allowed. Republican Madrid, exactly as it was.

Stand at the bar and order croquetas de bacalao and tajadas de bacalao. The place where the PSOE was founded (1879). The format is standing, fast, no ceremony. Open since 1860.

Order vermut de grifo (barrel-tap vermouth), tortilla de patatas, and salmorejo. A bodega since 1892. A small space — come early.

Try the "Yayo" cocktail (vermouth + gin + soda) — invented here in 1928. Get the banderillas and berenjenas de Almagro. 4 tables, old-school Madrid.

Finish the crawl at a new-generation vermutería: vermut de grifo, premium conservas (berberechos, navajas). Vermut personalizado — pick your own blend. A chain of 5 locations across the city.

60+ stalls across 3 floors — a mix of traditional counters and the new wave. Oysters and vino blanco for breakfast, tortilla at La Caracola, quesos artesanos. The bohemian vibe of Barrio de las Letras.

A multicultural market: indie food stalls, craft beer, natural wine at Bendito Vinos y Vinilos (vinyl records playing in the background). Try the comida africana and queso artesano.

A market from 1930 — a balance of tradition and gastro. Tripea (Michelin-recommended, fusion), Batch (natural wine), Galería de los Productores. Quesos artesanos and croquetas.

Finish at a small barrio market: oysters and albariño, queso manchego, empanadas. 30 stalls — the opposite of the megamarkets.

The finale — Spain's largest traditional market (200+ stalls): fish, jamón, bar stools right at the counters. A working market, not a gourmet showcase.

Get your bearings, buy water and a snack. Have breakfast at the bar by the station (café con tostada).

A 7km route across the Siete Picos ridge (1926, laid out by engineer Schmidt). Mirador de los Poetas — a panorama of both sides of the Guadarrama.

Sit down at a mountain restaurant — cocido serrano, patatas revolconas, carne a la brasa.

Start with lunch at an Asturian cider house (since 1888) on the bank of the Manzanares — pollo asado and sidra de barril. Arrive by 13:00, before the crowds.

Cross Dominique Perrault's bridge (2011) — a 250m pedestrian spiral. The south sector past Matadero is less known: the Aniceto Marinas gardens, a "beach" (in summer), a skatepark. Photogenic in the evening when it's lit up.

Step into the 7,100 m² glass palace (1908) with 4 microclimates: tropical, subtropical, desert. In winter — humid warmth, a refuge from the cold.

Climb one of the seven hills — a panorama of the Madrid skyline from the south. Built on the site of former landfills. Less crowded at sunset than Templo de Debod.

30 ha, ~1900 almond trees. In February–March, white and pink blossom. In other months, olive groves, pines, fountains, quiet. BIC-protected since 2025.

A historic estate, open to the public since 2016. Sequoias, cedars, magnolias, 18th-century irrigation. Madrid's most "secret" park. Free "Hábitat Madrid" tours — sign up at [email protected].

Madrid's only romantic garden (1784). Three styles: French, Italian, English. Find the Temple of Bacchus, walk the maze, reach the lake. Under the park — a Civil War bunker (via special programs).

Go down into the underground Civil War bunker — 2,000 m² of tunnels from the Army of the Centre's headquarters (1937). Advance booking only (madrid.es / Pasea Madrid), free.

Cover a cluster of 40+ studios and 10+ galleries (130+ artists). Start with Sabrina Amrani, then VETA, Galería Nueva (a gallery of galleries, rented out by the week), OB Contemporary, Belmonte (a sculptors' incubator). The Círculo Carabanchel initiative ties together 9+ galleries. The cluster spreads across ~1km — wear comfortable shoes.

A lunch break at a castizo bar: gallinejas (lamb offal) and entresijos — a vanishing Madrid tradition. Since 1958. Standing-room format, patatas fritas. Arrive around 13:00 (opens at 12:00).

A 1913 garden city built for journalists, with neoclassical art deco gates. A cinematic contrast of "fading luxury" in the middle of a working-class district. Exterior only — it's a residential area.

The finale — social housing (2007, FOA / Foreign Office Architects) with a movable bamboo shell that changes the building's look. Winner of the 2008 RIBA International Award. Photogenic at sunset. A far-flung stop — saved for the end for a reason.

Cover 4–6 galleries on a single street: Helga de Alvear, Nogueras Blanchard, Elba Benítez, Travesía Cuatro. The center of Madrid's art market. You can cover them all in 2 hours.

Two spaces in one building: Promoción del Arte (Ministerio de Cultura exhibitions) and the self-managed wing (murals, workshops — the largest mural hall in Spain). 18th-century industrial architecture — massive walls, high vaults.

Video art, performance, street art in a neo-Mudéjar building near Atocha. The contrast of 19th-century brick against digital art. The program changes often — check laneomudejar.com.

A former early-20th-century Belgian sawmill — brick, timber, high ceilings. Now a cultural center run by the Ayuntamiento (Madrid Destino): exhibitions, performances, film screenings.

Arrive by 9:00, before the crowds. 30 ha, ~1900 almond trees blooming white and pink. Shoot photos in the morning light. Olive groves, pines, fountains. BIC-protected since 2025.

Go down into a ghost station of the first metro line (1919), closed in 1966. Original tiling, 1920s–60s advertising, trains rushing past. A contrast: nature above, the underground below.

Enter the Belle Époque hall with its stained-glass ceiling and two-tier colonnade. A collection of minerals and fossils. Empty — you can be alone here.

A brick water tower 36m tall (1907–11) — photo exhibitions hang along the spiral ramp inside. The space itself is the exhibit. 2026 marks Canal de Isabel II's 175th anniversary: special visits.

One of Europe's oldest natural science museums — a diplodocus skeleton, mineralogy, 19th-century taxidermy. Right next to Geominero.

Start in the 4,000–7,000 m² tropical garden under the station's glass vault (1892/1992). 100+ species, palms, turtles. Free air conditioning in the heat.

Walk along the Manzanares, cool off at the "beach" (summer fountains, water play areas). Cross the Puente Monumental de Arganzuela — a 250m pedestrian spiral. Kids, skaters, cyclists — summer life.

Climb the hill for sunset (~21:30 in summer). A 360° panorama over the whole Madrid skyline — one of the best free viewpoints in Europe. Bring a bottle of wine and a bocadillo.

After sunset, head to Usera for a late dinner. Chinese restaurants stay open late. Hot pot's cold-dish cousin (liang pi, cold noodles) is perfect for a summer evening.

A house museum: El Greco, Tintoretto, Zurbarán. A ballroom lined with mirrors. 26 rooms without a single tourist.

A Neo-Mudéjar 'cathedral of pelota' from 1894, with cast-iron columns — it stood in ruins for 30 years, open year-round since 2024. Take in the arena, with its multi-tiered stands and brick arches.

The 'Sistine Chapel of Madrid' — the city's only elliptical church, frescoed floor to dome by Luca Giordano. A tour including the crypt (€10).

26 rooms of Madrid bourgeois life from the 1830s–60s. Look for the pistol of writer Larra. The café in the patio is warm and quiet.

A Belle Époque hall with a stained-glass ceiling. Minerals and fossils. Come 30 minutes before closing and you'll have it to yourself.

1,400+ paintings (Goya, Zurbarán, Ribera) in the quiet Goyeneche palace — the Prado's 'younger brother,' without the crowds. Goya was director here.

Close the route with a ritual: consommé from the silver samovar on the ground floor (€3–4). Isabelino interior dating to 1839. The bar downstairs needs no reservation and is easier to get into.

Start at Hemingway's table (a beer hall dating to 1904) — a caña and tortilla on Plaza de Santa Ana. Marble tables, waiters in aprons.

Lope de Vega's actual house (1610–1635): his original books, desk, bedroom. A garden planted with species from his works. Groups capped at 15 people.

A delicatessen and wine bar dating to 1931 — quesos, embutidos, a copa de vino. Good for going solo with a book. Desperate Literature, Madrid's best indie bookshop, is right nearby.

See a textbook Madrid corrala (1872): a timber frame, balconies ringing the courtyard. It inspired the zarzuela 'La Revoltosa.' Best view is from the square on Mesón de Paredes.

Buy a ticket for a screening at this Modernist 1923 cinema, home of the Filmoteca Española. Retrospectives, auteur cinema. Before the film, there's a café/bookshop you can visit without a ticket. In summer, an open-air stage.

Spain's only church with a convex façade in the Italian Baroque style (Giacomo Bonavia, 1739–45). Step inside for massive columns and light through stained glass. Five minutes from noisy La Latina, but total silence.

A quiet garden with a sunset view, less crowded than Templo de Debod. A clear view west, toward the Almudena and the mountains. Sit on a bench and watch the sunset.

Wine on tap, barrels, never renovated — pure castizo, no Instagram appeal. Here since 1867. Order the vino tinto de grifo, a vermut, and the tapa del día.

If it's still open — a mercado de abastos with a local crowd. Gildas (Variantes Marga), a caña with a tapa. The anti-San Miguel. Mariscadas on Saturdays.

A walk along the Manzanares in the evening. The Puente Monumental de Arganzuela (a 250m pedestrian spiral) is lit up and photogenic. A quiet park after dark.

Open the evening with a cocktail made from house-macerated spirits, no brand names — a Ginger Gin Gimlet or a Cherry Manhattan. Get there before the crowd.

Head down into a basement cocktail lab: drinks built from the Villalón family farm's own distillates, no ice or citrus. Upstairs is a wine bar. The Fig Tree, The Pear.

A classic-school cocktail bar named after Jerry Thomas's first bartender's guide (1862). Order a Mint Julep or a Cantaloupe Gibson. Rigorous technique, no show.

Close out at the movida's original venue (1979): a live indie/pop-rock show, then an electronic club after ~01:00. Buy the ticket in advance. Nacha Pop and Radio Futura played here.

Finish at a World's 50 Best Bars cocktail bar: avant-garde presentations, no reservation needed, with the adjoining Doppelgänger room.

Start at the third wave's flagship (since 2011): its own roastery, the Blend Santo house blend. A flat white or a V60 filter. The city's whole specialty scene grew up here.

Coffee and brunch on one of Malasaña's main squares. An espresso or filter with avocado toast. Calm by day; Fri–Sat evenings bring natural wine.

Asian pastries and specialty coffee in a minimalist Malasaña space. Excellent matcha and third-wave-level presentation.

Coffee from hand-picked roasters, paired with its own Misión Bakehouse. A Kalita filter with a croissant or sourdough French toast.

Finish at an Australian-style brunch café on a quiet square: a flat white with eggs Benedict. Rare for Madrid, it stays open late (until 23:00 on weekdays) — good for lingering with a book.