Our trip to Spain began with 5 days in Spain’s capital, Madrid. Since this was our first international trip since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were a bit apprehensive about entrance requirements, appropriate paperwork, and getting it all right. I must say, I was surprised by how easy the process was. After downloading a simple phone application, uploading QR codes with our vaccination documents, and attesting to being symptom-free, we had no issues boarding our flights or entering the country. We still had every document printed (some twice) and ready to display just in case, but, luckily, American Airlines and the Spainish guidelines made the process very simple.
After arriving in Spain and passing through passport control and health check, we proceeded through Madrid’s airport to the metro connection. There, we bought tourist metro passes for 5 days for about $30 each. We had to make a few connections and walk a short distance but within an hour found ourselves in the Plaza Mayor.
Where We Stayed
Emily and I often joke that I’m a “sucker for a view”, and this is usually most true when it comes to picking our hotel room. We’ve done plenty of trips staying at AirBNBs or other rentals, and these are great for traveling abroad. Still, there’s something nice and relaxing about coming back from a long day to a freshly-made bed and clean towels. Our preference is still to stay at a hotel, and we love choosing one in a great location with friendly service and, most importantly, a great view from a balcony.
The Pestana Plaza Mayor impressed us from the very beginning of our stay. Located directly on one of Madrid’s busiest and, arguably, its most picturesque plaza, this hotel gave me the view that I craved along with excellent service, a delicious breakfast, and TWO pools (more to come on this, so keep reading!). Of note, Spainards love to stay out late, so the plaza was busy with people until about 3:00 A.M. each night. The doors and windows in our room were surprisingly sound proof, though, and we were hardly disturbed. The Pestana Plaza Mayor truly delivered, and I’d recommend it to anyone traveling to Madrid.
Day 1 in Madrid
Our flight arrived into Madrid before 10:00 A.M. which meant we were not able to check in to our hotel right away. We dropped off our luggage, quickly changed and freshened up, and began exploring Madrid. After walking around the city for a while and getting our bearings, we ate a simple lunch of fried calamari rings, a popular dish in Madrid. We had pre-booked tickets to the Royal Palace of Madrid and were happy that we were able to enter earlier than our assigned time. The Palacio Real is an absolute “must-see” in Madrid. It is the largest royal palace by floor area in all of Europe but is only used for offical functions. The Spanish royalty live elsewhere just outside the city. We were both very surprised by how many rooms were open to visitors when compared to other royal palaces throughout Europe that we’ve toured. Each incredibly opulent room was different than the next, from color schemes to materials used, which kept us excited and impressed with each room that we entered. Sadly, photography was not allowed in most of the Palace.
As our first day adrenaline began to wane, we made our way back to the hotel to check in and enjoy a much-needed, short nap. We didn’t have the energy to go far, so we decided to have dinner at a simple place on the Plaza Mayor. We chose Restaurante DCorazon and enjoyed a nice meal. Certainly not the most authentic Spanish food and a bit of a touristy choice, the main draw to this restaurant was its location and outdoor seating in the plaza. After our meal, we went next door and got some spectacular gelato before retiring to our room for the night. We actually enjoyed listening to all of the Saturday night raucus in the plaza; it reminded us of when we used to live downtown in the middle of a city.
Day 2 in Madrid
After a full night’s sleep and successfully avoiding much jet lag, we started our second day with the buffet breakfast at our hotel, which was very nice. In our usual fashion, we got to know the city of Madrid with a walking tour offered by Sandeman’s New Europe. Sebastian was a young guide with a lot of energy and good recommendation for local places to eat. Conveniently, the tour started in Plaza Mayor then walked us through central Madrid and La Latina before ending near the Palacio Real and La Almundena Cathedral. Our guide explained to us that this cathedral was voted the ugliest cathedral in all of Spain, and, I must say, it was definitely the least alluring of the many places of worship that we visited on this trip. I didn’t even take any photos, which speaks volumes! More than going inside the cathedral, we enjoyed listening to the violin and harp duo playing on the steps outside.
The week’s forecasted weather led to a little shift in how we spent the remainder of the day. Our second day was filled with sun, and, wanting to take advantage of it, we hopped on the metro and rode it to Retiro Park. This large city park formerly belonged to the royal family and housed a palace but is now a public space frequented by Madrileños. There are wide walking paths, fountains, a sizable lake with paddle boats, and musicians and street performers scatted throughout. The Alfonso XII monument is neat to see from across the lake, and the paddle boats looked like they would have been fun in cooler weather. Also worth visiting are the Crystal Palace and Palacio de Velázquez which are both now used to house art exhibitions. El que del Buen Retiro is well worth the visit for some relaxing time outside.
We got lunch at a quick kebab place near the Royal Opera House before heading to Restaurante Botín for some drinks. This restaurant is known for being the world’s oldest restaurant according to the Guinness Book of World Records, as it has been in operation continuously since 1725. You’d think this place would be a complete tourist trap, but it really wasn’t. Instead, you can expect to be waited on by gentlemen in suits in a charming old world atmosphere.
In an effort to continue taking advantage of the sunny day, we returned to our hotel to spend a few hours at the rooftop pool. It was a small, somewhat cramped space, but the water felt so refreshing. We had so much fun drinking a few beers and taking in the views out over the rooftops of Madrid.
Later in the evening, we had a dinner reservation at a location recommended to us, Raimunda. Just off of Madrid’s Gran Via, Raimunda offers upscale tapas and drinks as well as larger dinner portions. We reserved a table in the garden which was stunning and romantic. In addition to beautifully crafted cocktails, we shared the sea bass and mangoceviche, grilled octopus, and Iberian pork shoulder with chimichurri sauce. All three plates were superb. Following our meal we walked around the corner to the rooftop terrace of Círculo de Bellas Artes which has one of the most spectacular views of Gran Via. For a small fee, you can enter the building and take the elevators to the rooftop to enjoy the terrace. The bar itself is nothing special – overpriced with few drink options. But the views absolutely make this place worth a stop because on a clear evening you’ll enjoy panoramic views of Madrid.
Day 3 in Madrid
The weather for our third day in Madrid was overcast with a chance of showers all day long. For this reason, you shifted a few things around during days 1 and 2 so that much of this day would be indoors. And this day we focused mainly on two things: food and relaxation! As we got ready for the day, I enjoyed watching from our balcony as a music video was being filmed down in the plaza. I never learned the name of the artist dancing and lip syncing down below, but I had a good time making up my own interpretation of the video plot as he danced with another man in a cuddly-looking teddy bear costume.
Just down the street from our hotel in Plaza Mayor was one of Madrid’s most famous stops for a quick breakfast. Truthfully, Chocolatería San Ginés is a good stop at any time of the day and is even open late into the evening. Who doesn’t love churros with chocolate sauce, anyway? You can expect a line at this popular stop, but since almost everyone is there for the same thing, you won’t wait long.
Next we returned to our hotel to check out the other pool. Yes, you read that right; this hotel had both a rooftop terrace pool and an indoor spa pool. Carved out of the historic brick infrastructure in the lower level of the building was a beautiful spa with a gym, pool, and sauna. We had the whole pool to ourselves since it was still pretty early in the morning, and we really enjoyed relaxing in the tranquil water.
After getting ready for the rest of the day, we went to check out a neat, hidden spot that we learned about on our walking tour. At the Monasterio del Corpus Christi live a group of cloistered nuns that have devoted themselves to their calling so much so that they remain indoors hidden from the public. They bake and sell cookies with centuries-old recipes in order to make a living. Once we gained entrance to the building by pressing a buzzer next to the back door of the convent, we continued down a dark hallway until we saw a cutout in the wall with a turntable inside. The friendly nuns on the other side of the wall waited patiently to hear our order (we went with lemon shortbread) and received our payment via the turntable. With another turn, our cookies arrived, neatly packaged and ready for consumption. And they were delicious!
We continued on to the Mercado San Miguel for lunch. Contrary to what its name suggests, this isn’t truly a market for shopping for fresh good and produce. Rather, it is a popular place to go and eat everytthing from upscale tapas to oysters and cava. Still, we really enjoyed walking from stall to stall and trying different food items that either intrigued us or made us salivate. And we couldn’t pass up the oysters and cava.
In the afternoon, Emily had an appointment for a facial at her favorite popular European spot, Caudalie Spa. After loving her spa treatment while we were in Paris in December 2019, she was excited to treat herself again. From there we walked to El Prado art museum. It was interesting to see a lot of the Spanish art that I had learned about back in high school Spanish classes. The museum was sizable but felt miniature compared to the Louvre in Paris; the Prado is much more attainable if you aren’t an art fanatic!
A busy day had us more exhausted than we had planned, so chose to do something that we rarely do for dinner: room service. We ordered a pizza to our room from the hotel restaurant, and it was actually quite delicious. While not our typical style, we weren’t unhappy with our decision.
Day 4 in Madrid
On our fourth day of the trip we took a long day trip to Segovia and Ávila. You can read all about it here.
When we got back to Madrid after the 11-hour excursion, it was pouring rain, and we were so hungry. We picked a nearby restaurant called Casa Gallega. Since we arrived so early for dinner that the restaurant had just opened, we had the entire place to ourselves, which we were not upset about. We shared a bottle of wine and a seafood paella.
Day 5 in Madrid
In contrast to the guided tour that we took to Segovia and Ávila, on the fifth day of the trip we decided to leave Madrid and check out Toledo on our own. Check it out here.
In the evening we tried a spot recommended to us by our walking tour guide called El Respiro. We wanted a traditional tapas dinner in Madrid, and I think we got exactly that. This was the kind of restaurant where we sat down and told the man behind the counter that we were there to eat, and he brought a few plates to our table. When we were still hungry, we let him know, and he brought a few more. While the food was not the best I’ve had, it was a memorable experience.
For our final evening in Madrid, I booked a reservation at La Terraza Bar at the Principal Hotel. It was a wonderful evening to sit outside and enjoy some champagne and oysers (shocker, I know!) The rooftop terrace provided outstanding views of Madrid as the sun sank below the clouds. We shared some great laughs and a quick photo session before returning to our great hotel for one last night on the Plaza Mayor. Tomorrow, we’ll be taking our first train ride to the next major stop in Spain, Seville.
