Weekend in Madrid

During the end of 2022, I had the opportunity to spend several week-end in Madrid, through my boyfriend's Erasmus. In this blog, you will find some ideas of places to absolutely visit that I myself had the opportunity to do several times for some.

Côté culture 

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. It is located in the central part of the country and is the most populated city in Madrid. It has approximately 3.3 million intramural inhabitants with a total area of 604.3 km. Being the capital, Madrid is a city home to most of the country's political institutions, including the royal residence, seat of government and parliament.

Within Madrid you can find more recent buildings and neoclassical buildings such as Alcala Gate, Cybele Square and Almudena Cathedral. This city of art is one of the most visited cities in the world, with three major museums: the Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums. Additionally, Madrid is home to two of the biggest football clubs in the world: Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

Mes destinations 

Retiro Park

Retiro Park is a huge park of 125 hectares located not far from downtown Madrid. This is a must-see park if you are visiting Madrid.

In this park, you can find many species of trees (more than 15,000 trees) as well as very beautiful gardens such as: the Garden of Perennials, the gardens of Cecilio Rodríguez, the gardens of the architect Herrero Palacios, the Roselada and finally, the French parterre and its ahuehuete. You can also find the oldest tree in Madrid, which is around 400 years old. Since July 25, 2021, this park has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.If you wish, it is possible to do cultural and sporting activities within this park, such as renting rowing boats, visit to the Palace of Velázquez as well as the Crystal Palace which I highly recommend. Originally, the Crystal Palace was dedicated to a selection of rare plants for the 1887 Philippine Exposition and is one of the best examples of steel architecture in Spain.

In addition, Retiro Park has manysculptures and fountains famous, like Alfonso XII.

Palacio Real

The Royal Palace isone of the largest palaces in Europe with its 135,000 square meters. You can simply admire its beauty from the square or visit it. If you visit it (which I recommend), you can admire 50 of the 2,800 rooms as well as incredible decorations on both sides.

Plaza Mayor

Madrid has a lot to offer, but Plaza Mayor is arguably the most iconic square don't miss it! Located in the heart of the capital, traffic is totally pedestrian. It is accessed by one of the nine entrances forming a large rectangle. From this square, you can admire and watch the hundreds of balconies in the high-rise apartments. Walk through the arcades and find traditional shops. For having made it in summer and at Christmas time, it remains magnificent whatever the season.

Mercado de San Miguel

San Miguel Market is one of the oldest markets in Madrid and was opened in 1916 . Since then, it has been modernized, but still remains authentic. Within this market, you will be able to find mainly local gastronomy like charcuterie , cheeses, wines and pastries. The building is particularly bright with large bay windows. In terms of prices, it remains a rather high market. However, I still advise you to go there, the place is very pretty to see and especially in the evening.

Las Ventas Bullring

The bullring of Las Ventas was opened in 1931 and is considered a benchmark in the world bullfighting. It can accommodate more than 20,000 spectators. If you are interested, I advise you to visit them in order to discover the places crossed by the bullfighters and to better understand their history.

Stroll through the city center and shop on Gran Via