My 27 Top Travel Tips for Madrid, All You Need To KNow

You may have been here before and don’t need any travel tips for Madrid, and Madrid is very tourist friendly, the majority of people you meet will know some English and are helpful so the trip shouldn’t be too difficult at all. I have lived here for 10 years, and I just want to save you a little time and give you some Madrid tips & tricks to make your trip a little more enjoyable.

These travel tips for Madrid should help you plan your itinerary. I’ll let you know about some of the important things you need to do even before you set out on your way to Madrid. Ill also include some tips on how to save money when buying your tickets, the best way being the Madrid City Card that gives you skip the line entry depending on the options you choose, and 10% off tickets for all further attractions. 

Travel Tips for Madrid

1.Timing Matters:

Consider the different visiting periods – low season (November-February), and peak season (July-August). As with most cities, during the summer months the city is going to be a lot busier. 

As someone that lives here though, pretty much anything from around the end of may onwards and the days are sunny, and I would say better to visit. In the peak heat, walking around Madrid isn’t really fun, it’s very hot. 

2.Smart Airline Bookings:

Keep an eye on airline ticket prices and look for deals from low-cost carriers. Booking flights in advance can help you snag the best deals. Expedia and Omio have some really great deals for tickets to Madrid. 

3.Efficient Train Travel:

If you are travelling to Madrid via train, or plan on taking some longer trips on the AVE to other parts of Spain, you can find some of the best prices here. You are always going to get a much better deal when you book your train tickets in advance. The difference in price when you book last minute is quite a lot, so make sure you are organized when booking train tickets. 

4.Early Accommodation Booking:

Secure your accommodation in advance by booking online, especially during peak tourist times. If you book your holiday late and don’t have a choice, there’s not much you can do. But if you have the time and you need to book a hotel or a hostel make sure you do this in advance. 

Peak times will still be a little more expensive when you are checking, but nothing compared to trying to book a hotel room in Madrid a month out from your flight!

5.Travel Insurance for Spain

No matter how healthy you are or how cautious, unexpected things can always happen. You can have a bad slip, eat something bad, get into some legal dispute and have the need for travel insurance. The health service in Madrid is free at the point of care, and the prescriptions are pretty cheap so you do still have this option. It’s always a good idea to get yourself some good coverage before you travel though, and the prices nowadays are very reasonable. 

6.Using the ATM in Madrid

If you can, get yourself a travel credit card before you leave your country. Speak with your bank and ask if they offer this type of card. You will not have to pay the high fees each time you use the card on your trip. I have used western union before where I would send the money to myself from the UK and pick it up in Madrid, and got a really good rate. But then you have to carry the cash around with you. 

If you choose to use your own bank card, it will work (ask for American Express in each establishment), but you will have to pay the exchange rate and whatever fees your bank charges. Call up your credit card provider too, and ask them if they offer this service when you go on holiday and it can save you a lot of hassle later. 

7.Plan Your Sightseeing:

You will see a lot of Madrid on the fly when you are walking around, but for the more popular sights like the museums, any special exhibitions or day trips from Madrid, booking in advance is essential. You can probably get in on the day, but after waiting in a queue under the blazing sun for a few hours. 

Plan what you want to see before you get here, purchase your tickets for any museums you want to go to, and a lot of the time you get to skip the line for free just for buying in advance. 

8.Skip-the-Line Tickets:

Avoid long lines at major attractions like Museo del Prado, Thyssen, and Reina Sofía Museum by purchasing tickets online in advance. Skipping that long queue on a hot day, and if you chose the option, having your own private guide gives you such a different experience of the Museums in Madrid. 

9.Embrace Local Experiences:

A lot of the most publicized bars, exhibitions, restaurants and such are in the most well known parts of the city. There is so much more to the city of Madrid that you may not see if you don’t wander a little. The center of Madrid is very safe, especially during the day, so if you see a side street when you are walking around Malasaña, take a little diversion.  

I have found some of the coolest trainer shops, coffee bars, traditional tapas bars, bakeries, furniture stores, book stores down these lesser traveled streets. If you are traveling Madrid solo, don’t make a plan, just take a walk up to Gran Via, and in any direction with water bottle in hand, start walking.

You will walk by so many stores, coffee shops, bakeries, people sitting out on terraces, parks, kids playing, music playing, sun shining, public transport on every corner, options to eat and have fun at every turn. 

10.Spanish Cuisine Delights:

Eat, and do a lot of it! I am a foodie, I don’t ever stop eating. I can leave my house for a trip to the center, and I will stop at a bar and have a Spanish breakfast of toast and grated tomatoe with salt and olive oil, have a couple of coffees. From there, by the time I get to Ventas (the Madrid Bullring), I’ve walked passed a couple more bakeries and chowed down a chocolate croissant and a mini muffin. 

It’s close to lunchtime, but not quite yet, so I grab a couple Argentinian Empanada’s to tie me over. These pastries have become really popular of late, and you can find one on every corner. 

Now seeing as Sunday is a cheat day for me,  I usually choose between having a Burrito from Tierra’s, or theres a really nice kebab shop on the corner at Manuel Becerra Metro.

But then there’s that really good Arreperia just round the corner from Sol, or the Cuban restaurant in Chueca that make the best rice I have ever had. Maybe the sushi, wait the Indian……

Look, what I’m trying to tell you is there is so much choice for food in this city, if you are here for a short trip, you might as well let go and try it all out. Everything is delicious, the competition is high so the quality of most food is amazing. 

11.Budget-Friendly Meals:

Traveling Madrid alone or on a budget, look out for the ¨Menu del Dia¨. The menu of the day option at the restaurants in Madrid can be pretty impressive. For between 9-15 euros per person, you can get a starter, a main, desert and a drink of your choice. 

It’s not a little bit of food either. An example would be like a tuna salad, or some stuffed potatoes for a starter, a steak or cod for the main, and a choice of different desserts, fruits or a hot drink to end the meal. 

Don’t just assume bigger is better either. A lot of the little local bars you see with the green sign and gold writing, remnants of the old Madrid have some of the lowest prices but the best food. 

12.Airport Transportation:

There are many different ways to get from the Madrid airport to the center of Madrid, which is more than likely where you will be staying. Check out my guide for a full explanation of all the airport transfer options from Madrid airport.     

13.Be Prepared for Siesta:

Do people still sleep the siesta in Spain? yes they do. The chain stores stay open the whole day, but a lot of local bars and restaurants, and businesses will close between 2-5 in the afternoon. But remember they stay open late over here, so they need the rest. 

14.Late Dinners:

If you are from London like me, you know dinner time is like 7.30pm. Not in Spain. Get accustomed to having dinner at like 10pm at night over here. When people go out to restaurants here, they dont even turn up until 10pm, so this may be a little odd to get used to. 

15.Some Spanish:

It’s always nice to catch up on a few Spanish phrases before you come to Madrid. Not to show off, but it comes in handy. Like if you are in a busy bar, the music’s going, you can barely hear. Being able to shout ¨Una Cerveca¨ over the crown is invaluable. Here’s a few common Spanish phrases that will come in handy:

Many of the Museums in Madrid offer free entry on certain days and times of the week. Like the Prado is free for the last hour after 6.30 pm. You need to check this online though, and book a ticket online. It’s free, but the demand is still high.

Also, kids under 11 usually pay 50% off the ticket price, and kids 4 and under go free. 

17.Experience Flamenco:

You cannot come to Madrid without seeing a Flamenco show. You can check out my guide to the best Flamenco shows in Madrid here. The sows run all through the day, and you can catch an early show then have the rest of the day, or make it part of a night out. 

18.Sunblock and Cover-Ups:

You firstly want to have the right clothing for Madrid. Sun cream is also really important. Even if you are not coming in the summer, Spain has over 300 days of clear skies, so its always sunny. 

If you are here in the cooler months, it’s a good idea to have a low spf face cream to hand. 

19.Tipping in Madrid:

Tipping isn’t something that is common in Madrid from the locals, and if they do its a small amount to what you are used to in other countries. 

The staff in the hospitality sector get paid a full wage, and don’t strictly rely in tips to survive. But if you receive good service, you can tip as much as you like, there is no set amount an no one will look at you strange if you don’t leave a tip. 

20.Try Street Food:

Around the festive periods, there are artisan markets that pop up around Madrid with a lot of products from all over Spain. They have meats, cheeses, sweet treats, and my favorite, the caramelized peanuts. 

Around March – April theres usually one in Plaza de Colon, and in Plaza de España. The are also here around the Xmas period, and if you catch one of them definitely try the mulled wine. 

21.Walk and Explore:

You hear so much about Madrid, and all there is to see that you may feel it is bigger than it is. Madrid as a city is enormous yes, but most of the main sights in Madrid are all within walking distance to one another. 

The museums are all along the same street, you walk from Sol, to Plaza Mayor, up to the Palace and round to the Templo de Debod realistically in less than a couple of hours. 

22.Visit Parque Europa:

Parque Europa in Madrid is one of the best places to go to get some really cool pics. It’s a park with small versions of all the main landmarks from all over Europe. 

The have scale models of the Eiffel Tower, the Thames Bridge, the Trevi Fountain, they even have a piece of the Berlin wall and so much more. 

Stay to the end of the night, and see a spectacular laser show projected over the fountains spray across the lake. 

23.Universal Adapter:

Before traveling to Spain, make sure you don’t get caught out not being able to charge your gadgets. Phone, headphones, watch, Ipad, Laptop, you might need any one of these things and be stuck in a remote village somewhere without the option to get a converter anytime soon. 

I wrote a comprehensive post on the Plug adapters in Spain you will need for your devices. 

24.Day Trips from Madrid:

Madrid is pretty much in the Middle of Spain, so it’s a really good starting point of you want to take a day trip to a city close by like Toledo or Segovia. The coaches leave from the Major stations, so the transfers to get to and from are really easy. 

25. Staying safe in Madrid

One of the most important things when traveling anywhere is making sure you stay safe. Madrid is a very safe city, and in all the years I have been here, I have not been involved in any negative interactions. I mean I  know how to stay away from certain areas, avoid drunk people at night and the obvious, but overall you just need to be on the look out for the common tourist scams in Madrid, and you will have a great time.

26. Don’t forget your Tapa

When you go to a Bar in Madrid and order a drink, you get a free tapas with it, a small portion of food. When you order a drink, always wait for them to bring the Tapa out before you order any food. In some restaurants, once you order your food they don’t bring you the tapa. 

27. Don’t eat in Plaza Mayor

Plaza Mayor is great to sit down and have a drink so you can get a couple of pictures, sit there for a while and imagine all the history that has passed in this square. It’s a little expensive, and the food even more so, but I would not say the best quality. There are many other restaurants around the center that are much more reasonable in price and better in quality. 

Conclusion

I hope these Madrid tips and Tricks help you a little in making the planning of your trip to Madrid a little easier. If you have anything to add from your travels, please drop it in the comments and I will add it to the list.