Madrid, the capital of Spain
Madrid is the capital of Spain, in the centre of the country. This guide covers how the city grew, how to get around by Metro, bus and train, the main museums and sights with their 2026 prices and opening hours, the Sunday market of El Rastro, the local festivals and the easiest day trips.
A short history
According to the city’s tourist board, the first historical record of Madrid dates from the year 865, when Emir Muhammad I ordered a fortress to be built at Mayrit, on the banks of the river Manzanares. The town belonged to the Islamic world until 1083, when Alfonso VI of Castile took it. Parts of the old walls can still be seen on Cuesta de la Vega.
The turning point came in 1561, when Philip II moved the Spanish court from Toledo to Madrid. The old centre between Cuesta de la Vega and Plaza Mayor is still called Madrid de los Austrias (Hapsburg Madrid), after the dynasty that ruled in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Philip V, the first Bourbon king, arrived in 1701. He and his successors added fountains, gardens, triumphal arches and the present Royal Palace.
Getting around
The Metro is the fastest way to cross the city. It has more than 300 stations on twelve lines and runs from 6am to 1:30am. Tickets are loaded onto the Tarjeta Multi, a contactless card that costs €2.50 at station ticket machines. Fares valid until 31 December 2026:
- Single Metro ticket: €1.50 for up to 5 stations, rising to €2.00 for 10 stations or more
- 10-trip Metrobús ticket for the Metro in zone A and city buses: €7.30
- Airport supplement on top of the Metro ticket: €3
Line 8 links Nuevos Ministerios with the airport in 20 minutes to terminal T4 and 12 minutes to T1, T2 and T3.
The city buses are run by EMT, with about 2,000 vehicles and over 200 lines. From Monday to Friday they run from 6am to 11.30pm. A single ticket costs €1.50 and is bought on the bus; it cannot be loaded onto the Tarjeta Multi. Lines 001, 002 and C03 are zero-emission buses that are free to use. After 11.30pm the night buses, known as búhos (owls), take over. There are 27 night lines (N1 to N27) and all of them start or end in Plaza de Cibeles.
The Renfe Cercanías commuter trains have 9 lines, and all of them depart from or stop at Atocha station. Trains start between 5am and 6am and stop at around midnight. In 2026 a single ticket costs from €1.70 for zones 1 and 2 to €5.50 for zone 7. They are the practical choice for the towns around the capital.
Museums on the Paseo del Arte
The Prado Museum opened on 19 November 1819. Its collection comprises 8,600 paintings and over 700 sculptures, with Velázquez, Goya, El Greco, Titian, Rubens and Bosch among the best-known names. The museum suggests itineraries of 1, 2 and 3 hours for visitors who are short on time. Practical details in 2026, according to the tourist board:
- Open Monday to Saturday 10am to 8pm, Sundays and public holidays 10am to 7pm
- General admission €15, concessions €7.50
- Free for all visitors Monday to Saturday 6pm to 8pm, Sundays and public holidays 5pm to 7pm
- Paseo del Arte pass for the three large museums: €32.80
The other two museums of the Paseo del Arte are a short walk away. The Reina Sofía Museum shows contemporary art, including Picasso’s Guernica. The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum covers seven centuries of European painting.
El Retiro and the royal Madrid
El Retiro Park covers over 125 hectares and has more than 15,000 trees. It has a lake with rowing boats for hire and two exhibition halls, the Velázquez Palace and the Glass Palace, the second built in 1887. On 25 July 2021 the park and the Paseo del Prado were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name Landscape of Light. Entry is free. The park opens from 6am to midnight from April to September and from 6am to 10pm from October to March.
The Royal Palace stands where the old Alcázar burnt down in 1734. Philip V ordered the new building and the first stone was laid in 1738. The final plans were drawn by Juan Bautista Sachetti, and Charles III was the first king to live in it. The palace has over 3,000 rooms. It is no longer the home of the royal family but remains their official residence. From October to March it opens Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm; from April to September until 7pm. On Sundays and public holidays it closes at 4pm all year. Admission is free from Monday to Thursday from 5pm to 7pm (4pm to 6pm in winter) for EU citizens, residents and citizens of Ibero-American countries, with proof.
Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol and Gran Vía
Plaza Mayor lies in the heart of Hapsburg Madrid. It was designed by the architect Juan Gómez de Mora under Philip III. After the fire of 1790, which almost destroyed it, Juan de Villanueva rebuilt the square in its present form. The equestrian statue of Philip III in the centre was finished in 1616 and moved to the square in 1848. The square has café terraces and hosts the city’s Christmas market in December.
Puerta del Sol is a few minutes away on foot. The clock on the Casa de Correos building marks the New Year for the whole country: people eat 12 grapes with the twelve chimes of midnight. A stone slab in front of the building marks Kilometre 0, the starting point of Spain’s main radial roads. Across the square stands the statue of the bear and the strawberry tree (El Oso y el Madroño), the official symbol of the city.
Gran Vía was built between 1910 and 1931 in three stages, from Calle de Alcalá to Plaza de España. It brought the first skyscrapers of the country and buildings such as the Metrópolis, the Telefónica Building and the Callao cinemas. A renovation completed in 2018 gave it wider pavements and a bike lane.
El Rastro, food and festivals
El Rastro is the open-air flea market held on Sundays and public holidays around Plaza de Cascorro and Calle de la Ribera de Curtidores. Documents mention it as early as 1740. Today over 1,000 merchants sell from about 9am to roughly 3pm. The nearest Metro stations are La Latina, Embajadores and Puerta de Toledo. The market is very crowded, so keep an eye on bags and wallets.
The bars around El Rastro serve the local dishes: cocido (chickpea stew), tripe and the calamari sandwich, which is also a custom in Plaza Mayor. La Latina is the district to go to for tapas.
The main local festival is San Isidro, the patron saint of the city, held every year on and around 15 May. August brings the street festivals of San Cayetano, San Lorenzo and the Virgen de la Paloma.
Day trips and studying in Madrid
The Cercanías trains reach three UNESCO World Heritage Sites near the capital: Alcalá de Henares, Aranjuez and El Escorial. They also go to the Guadarrama mountains.
For students, the free museum hours, the free bus lines and the 10-trip ticket keep costs down. Universities, language schools and other schools in the city are listed on the Madrid city page; the Spanish language courses page covers the whole country.
More about: Madrid · All blog posts