Madrid Travel Guide – Visit Madrid – Budget Travel In Spain

Visit Madrid, the Spanish capital, for a city full of energy with some of the best art, food and nightlife in Europe.

So far on our short Spanish break, we had visited Valencia and Cuenca. We only had one night in Madrid so there would be no time to relax. We had to see and do as much as possible in just one day!

How To Get To Madrid From Cuenca 

There are many trains daily from Cuenca to Madrid. The journey takes approximately one hour. As we had limited time in the capital, we took an early train. We were in Madrid by 8.30 am.

Madrid Street Art

We headed towards our hostel so we could at least drop off our bags. The city was just waking up so most of the shops were still closed. We passed some interesting street art. I always think it’s a good sign when you discover good street art in a city.

Madrid Coffee Shop

After a short while, we came across a coffee shop that was open. ‘Hola Coffee’ (map) serves great coffee in modern surroundings. They also play great music. It has a nice, chilled-out atmosphere and was the perfect place to get our morning coffee fix.

Where To Stay In Madrid

These are some of the best budget hostels in Madrid, according to user reviews. These are affiliate links to the Agoda web site. I receive a small amount for any bookings made through these links at no extra cost to you.

• Hostel One Madrid
• 2060 The Newton Hostel
• OK Hostel Madrid
• Sungate ONE
• Toc Hostel Madrid
• The Hat Hostel Madrid
• New Go Inn
• A & B Hostel Principe Pio
• Bluesock Hostels Madrid
• Bastardo Hostel

Abracadabra Suites

We booked a one night stay in ‘Abracadabra Suites’ (map). We had a decent stay here but I have heard some horror stories from other travellers of being locked out of their room, the key technology failing and other issues. However, we had no problems and the hotel was in a decent location and the room was fine so we were happy enough.

Click here to stay at Abracadabra Suites.

Things To Do In Madrid

As we had limited time, we had to rule out visiting any museums. We did, however, venture out to see some of Madrid’s famous buildings. Most of them were close to our hotel.

The first iconic building we passed was the ‘Almudena Cathedral’ (map). The Cathedral was built in the late 19th century on the grounds of a former mosque that was destroyed in the 11th century. ‘The Muslim Walls of Madrid’ (map), built in the 9th century are nearby and are the oldest construction in the city.

Royal Palace Of Madrid

Our next stop was the ‘Royal Palace of Madrid’ (map). A popular tourist attraction, it is the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family (though it is only used for ceremonies). It is the largest royal palace in Europe. We had no time to visit but I think we’d have missed this anyway. Royalty just isn’t my thing.

Sabatini Gardens

To the rear of the palace is ‘Sabatini Gardens’ (map). These neo-classical, landscaped gardens are free to explore and a nice place to enjoy a break from the city.

Plaza De Espana

Moving on from the royal palace, we turned right into ‘Plaza De Espana’ (map). The square has sculptures & a fountain dedicated to Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes, author of “Don Quixote.

El Retiro Park

We were enjoying exploring the streets of Madrid and seeing the incredible buildings. But we fancied a change of pace so we headed to ‘El Retiro Park’ (map).

We headed to the heart of the park where people were paddling in the lake, taking boat rides, eating ice creams and just generally enjoying the sun.

The park wasn’t without its surprises.

We continued to walk around the park’s winding paths, taking in the many sculptures, fountains and lakes. There is even a sculpture of the devil itself at the ‘Fountain of the Fallen Angel’ (map).

It had, by now, been a very long day so we decided to return to our hotel to relax beffore coming out again to experience Madrid by night.

Madrid Nightlife

The first bar we visited was ‘+KCOPAS MKC, Moncloa’. I had read that this place attracted a younger, hip crowd. It was early when we arrived and there was hardly any people. The bar was a bit strange; it had the atmosphere of a fast-food restaurant (I discovered later there is another bar downstairs).

We took our beers outside to enjoy the evening. Whilst we were sat there, the barman brought us some free tapas. Wonderful!

This bar is now permanently closed but they do have another venue here.

Cerveceria 100 Montaditos

Our next stop was ‘Cerveceria 100 Montaditos’ (map) which is a tapas chain restaurant with 100 items on the menu. We had some olives which were very good and we really should have eaten here, as we realised hours later when we were slightly tipsy but very hungry. The food is well priced and it is definitely worth a visit. Let me know if I missed out by not eating here!

El Chapandaz

We then had a half-hour walk to reach our next destination: ‘El Chapandaz’ (map). I had read about how this place was like a club in a cave and how they were famous for their cocktails, in particular the ‘panda milk’.

The bar was quiet as we might have been too early. I didn’t care for the music and it was crazy loud. Maybe it’s not the best environment to sit and have a beer with your girlfriend. The decor was cool but we never even tried the cocktail!

La Coquette

After a half-hour walk back into the centre, we both needed the toilet so we were forced to find another bar and drink more beer. Just to use the toilet, see. We headed towards ‘La Coquette’ (map), a blues bar that I had noticed earlier. It’s a cool dive bar with a small stage. Unfortunately, there was no live music on this particular evening. It was a cool venue, though. If you like your blues music, this is the place to be in Madrid.

Marrakech

We had been looking for food for a while before giving up and going to the blues bar. Once we came out of the blues bar, we were getting desperate. Luckily, we came across  ‘Marrakech’ (map), a middle-eastern restaurant which appealed to both of us. The food was average but we were very hungry so it did the trick!

Madrid Coffee Shop

The next morning, we had a slow start to the day before we had to head to the airport. We had managed to cram quite a lot into our one day in Madrid. We headed for coffee at ‘Bocono Specialty Coffee’ (map). The cafe seemed cool so we decided to have breakfast. It was actually very good!

Is Madrid Worth Visiting?

Though we only spent one night in Madrid, we saw and experienced enough to understand its appeal. There are parts of Madrid that feels like old Spain: small, quiet bars giving away free tapas, for example. Other parts are as modern as anywhere in the world and skyscrapers reach for the stars. It is such a lively, vibrant city and definitely a place I would like to return.