Madrid
Sun-soaked capital that stays up late
You eat tapas standing at a bar, then join a midnight stroll through grand plazas. Madrid is Spain's high, sunny capital: world-class art at the Prado, royal palaces, leafy Retiro park, and a nightlife so relentless that dawn finds the bars still humming.
How long to stay?
One or two days links Plaza Mayor and the Royal Palace, the Prado's masterpieces and a wander through El Retiro park. Graze tapas at Mercado de San Miguel, then catch the buzz around Sol, Malasaña and La Latina.
Sociable, sunny and night-loving. Less postcard than Barcelona but warmer and more authentically Spanish, with packed terraces, late dinners and a famously unstoppable nightlife. A walkable capital where locals pour into plazas every evening.
Sol and Centro keep you walkable to everything. Malasaña and Chueca are hip, bar-filled and young; La Latina is the tapas and Sunday-vermouth heartland; the elegant Salamanca district suits shopping and quieter nights.
Tapas-crawl through La Latina, especially Sunday after the El Rastro flea market, ordering a drink and a small plate at each bar. Many museums, including the Prado, offer free entry in the last hours of the day.
Spring (April-June) and autumn (September-October) bring warm, clear days ideal for terrace life. July and August are scorching and emptier as locals flee; winter is cold but bright and lively.
Madrid-Barajas airport connects globally and sits 20 minutes from the center by metro or the Exprés Aero bus. As Spain's rail hub, high-speed AVE trains reach Barcelona, Seville and beyond from Atocha station.
The euro is used and Spanish is the language; English is patchier than in Barcelona. Life runs late: lunch at 2pm, dinner after 9pm, and shops often shut midafternoon. Madrid is generally safe; mind pickpockets near Sol.