Madrid in 2-3 days
Day 1
Spend your first morning wandering around some of Madrid’s loveliest squares. Grab a café con leche at Plaza Mayor and move onto to the sweet and lively Plaza de Santa Ana before making your way to the Prado where you can get acquainted with the Spanish masters for the afternoon.
Day 2
The next day you might like to sleep in a little after a night of tapas and turps. Once you surface make your way to the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia and get a modernist fix. Take the afternoon easy with a stroll through the Parque del Buen Retiro. You can even hire a rowboat for the afternoon if you’re feeling energetic.
Day 3
It’s time to hit the shops. Start in Huertas and Atocha before making your way to the alternative shops of Chueca and Malasana. All that’s left now is a trip to Salamanca where you’ll be able to drool at the designer duds or take some home if you’re credit limit is big enough.
In one week
Madrid is ideally located within easy striking distance of some fabulous towns that make for excellent side trips.
Medieval Toledo stands proudly on a hill just 75 kilometres south of Madrid and was home to Jews, Christians and Arabs for centuries.
Another excellent day trip from Madrid, although slightly further afield, can be had by visiting Córdoba. The old town contains many impressive architectural reminders of when Córdoba was the thriving capital of the Caliphate of Córdoba that governed almost all of the Iberian peninsula. It has been estimated that Córdoba, with up to 500,000 inhabitants in the tenth century, was the largest city in Western Europe and, perhaps, in the world.
