EIGHT THINGS YOU CAN ONLY DO IN MADRID

If you ask yourself things to do in Madrid that are different from what you can do in other places, in this post we are going to tell you some that can only be done in the city of Madrid.

Surely many still remember the chorus of the famous 1989 song “Aquí no hay playa.” It was sung by the musical training The Refrescos in allusion to that Madrid that full of great places dedicated to leisure and culture, however, lacked a beach to cope with the suffocating heat in the summer months.

Obviously, the situation has not changed, Madrid is still without a beach, although it is now easier to withstand the heat thanks to the urban source of Madrid Río, where it is allowed to swim when the sun is tightening.

In any case, today we show goodnesses like those that the Madrid group sang in its day making a list with eight plans that you can only do here, in the wonderful Madrid.

Things to do in Madrid as a couple

Let’s start with things to do in Madrid as a couple, although honestly, these are plans that you can do perfectly with your friends and family when you visit the city.

1) Recharge batteries with a dish only made in Madrid

After a good walk in Madrid you have to recharge batteries with a dish made only in Madrid. Eating a squid sandwich, with or without mayonnaise, or a Madrid stew, with its Iberian bacon, its blood sausage, sausage, cane bones …, all served in a clay pot and accompanied by good wine is something that You can only enjoy in Madrid.

If you are left hollow, a little beer well thrown in the Plaza Santa Ana or in the Cava Baja with some Madrid tripe is another of the great pleasures that only this city allows

2) Admire the largest bullring in Spain

Las Ventas, with a capacity for 23,798 spectators, is the largest bullring in Spain and the third in the world, behind Mexico and Valencia (Venezuela), and is also a cultural asset with a category of historical-artistic monument, so it is worth admiring the largest bullring in Spain both outside and inside. The latter can be done through a guided tour every day from 10 am to 5.30 pm.

3) Eat in the oldest restaurant in the world

Only in Madrid can you eat in the oldest restaurant in the world. We do not say it, says the Guinness Book of Records, which recognizes Casa Botín, on the 17th of Cuchilleros Street, that distinction. Founded in 1725, this restaurant can boast of having served such popular characters as Hemingway, Benito Pérez Galdós, Ramón Gómez de la Serna, Indalecio Prieto or María Dueñas, and even that the painter Francisco de Goya worked there as a dishwasher.

4) Take a selfie at Km 0

Going through the Puerta del Sol and not finding a tourist taking a picture at his feet on the board announcing Km 0 is almost impossible. Taking a selfie at Km 0 is almost mandatory. The place from which six of the main road arteries of the country leave is as famous as the sculpture of the bear and the madroño that everyone wants to immortalize their passage through that place.

Things to do in Madrid with children

There are countless things to do in Madrid with children, but some of them can only be done in this city. Now we tell you these cultural plans and some fun things to do in Madrid.

5) Enjoy the house of Ratoncito Pérez, even if you are over 30 

If you have children or you may not have them and you are ashamed to go alone to this special museum, you can trick a nephew or a friend’s son to accompany you to enjoy the house of Ratoncito Pérez. The house-museum shows you the workplace of the famous mouse, will introduce you to his family and show you the large pile of teeth he treasures in his office, among other things.

6) Tour the largest palace west of the continent

Indeed, we refer to the Royal Palace of Madrid or Palacio de Oriente, which has an area of 199,000 m² (larger than Buckingham Palace or Versailles Palace) and 3,478 rooms. It is worth visiting those rooms that remain open to the public, as it has a valuable historical-artistic heritage. Touring the largest palace to the west of the continent is an authentic experience that overwhelms the little ones and those not so little. 

7) Visit the most important art gallery in Europe

The Museo Nacional del Prado is the most important art gallery in Europe and one of the most valuable in the world. Not surprisingly, last year, when the museum celebrated its bicentennial, three million people visited it, a record number that all Madrid and Madrid can be very proud of. If you still don’t know it, you should make a big hole in your agenda to visit its exhibitions. You can do it for free from Monday to Saturday from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Sundays and holidays from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

8) Enter the house where Lope de Vega lived until his death

Located at number 11 of Cervantes Street, in the heart of Madrid’s Barrio de las Letras, lived Lope de Vega, one of the most important writers of our literature, until his death in 1635. Today, the property remains open to the public as a house-museum and as an example of what Lope’s work meant.

Foto de Vitaliy Zamedyanskiy en Unsplash