MADRID

Madrid

GRAND, is the best word to describe Madrid! Madrid, Spain's capital, is a city of elegance, and grandiose boulevards. The parks are amazing, and extremely manicured such as the Buen Retiro. Madrid is renowned for its rich repositories of European art, including the Prado Museum’s works by Goya, Velázquez and other Spanish masters. The heart of old Hapsburg Madrid is the portico-lined Plaza Mayor, and nearby is the baroque Royal Palace and Armory, displaying historic weaponry. Gran Via is Madrid's most famous street, and can't be missed!! Gran Via has great theaters, cinemas, restaurants, and shops to discover. Make sure to bring comfortable footwear, since there is a lot of walking to do.

Anthony and I picked Madrid to ring in 2019 and to celebrate my birthday (turning 29 again of course)! We took the high speed train from Barcelona to Madrid (which took us 3 hours).

Our days were spent walking around the city, discovering all the great museums, admiring the ornate buildings, walking the Buen Retiro park and the Royal Botanic Gardens.

We loved the vibe of the city, the architecture, shopping and of course the food. For great places to eat, drink, and hang out, you want to check out the recoletos barrio, Cheuca barrio, Malasana barrio conte duque, all these areas are north of Gran via. If you head up to Prado to Leon then towards Atocha, you will find quite a few little places in that area as well.

Just be aware that the spaniards in general eat a much later lunch (2-4pm), and dinner usually doesn't start till 8pm.