Madrid

A genuine ancient Egyptian temple from the second century BC, given to Spain by Egypt in thanks for help saving monuments from the waters of the Aswan Dam, and rebuilt stone by stone in a park on a ridge west of the centre. The gardens around it face west over the Casa de Campo, and it's one of the city's favourite places to watch the sunset.

TipCome in the hour before sunset, then walk ten minutes south to the Royal Palace along the edge of the park.

The official residence of the Spanish royal family, though used now only for state ceremonies, was built in the eighteenth century on the site of the old Moorish and royal alcázar after it burned down in 1734. Self-guided visits take in a long sequence of state rooms, including the Throne Room, the royal pharmacy and the armoury, one of the finest in Europe. Next door, the Almudena Cathedral was only completed and consecrated in 1993, with a neo-Gothic interior and a vivid modern ceiling.

TipEU citizens and residents, and Latin American citizens, can enter free from Monday to Thursday in the last two hours of the day (check the current times on the Patrimonio Nacional site). Expect a queue, and bring your ID.

An early twentieth-century iron-and-glass market hall just west of the Plaza Mayor, now given over entirely to stalls selling tapas, oysters, croquetas, cured ham and vermouth. It's crowded and pricier than a neighbourhood bar, but a pleasant place to graze standing up and see the range of Spanish food in one room.

The grand arcaded square at the heart of Habsburg Madrid, completed in 1619 and rebuilt several times after fires, has hosted markets, bullfights, royal celebrations and executions. Today, it's ringed by café terraces and is home to a Christmas market in December. The streets around it are known for bars selling bocadillos de calamares, fried squid rings in a crusty roll.

TipThe café terraces on the square are expensive; have a drink in the lanes off it instead.

La Latina is one of Madrid's oldest quarters, with churches, small squares and the tapas bars of the Cava Baja, busy on weekend afternoons. On Sunday and public holiday mornings, El Rastro, the city's huge open-air flea market, fills the Plaza de Cascorro and the sloping Ribera de Curtidores with stalls selling everything from antiques to clothes. Afterwards, locals head into La Latina for vermouth and tapas.

TipThe Rastro gets very crowded by late morning; keep your phone and wallet secure.

Madrid's busiest square and its symbolic centre, with the Kilometre Zero plaque from which Spain's radial roads are measured, and the statue of the bear and the strawberry tree, the emblem of the city. On New Year's Eve, crowds gather below the clock of the Real Casa de Correos to eat twelve grapes on the twelve chimes of midnight. Nearby, the Chocolatería San Ginés has served churros and thick hot chocolate since 1894.

The "literary quarter" between Sol and the Paseo del Prado, where Cervantes, Lope de Vega and Quevedo lived, with quotations from their works set in brass into the pavements. The Plaza de Santa Ana is lined with bars and terraces, and Lope de Vega's house can be visited.

A grand boulevard cut through the old city in the early twentieth century, lined with ornate buildings, theatres, cinemas and shops. Look out for the domed Metrópolis building at its eastern end and the early skyscraper of the Telefónica building. Several rooftop bars along it and the nearby Círculo de Bellas Artes give views over the city.

Two neighbouring barrios north of Gran Vía. Malasaña, centred on the Plaza del Dos de Mayo, was the heart of the Movida, the cultural explosion that followed the end of the dictatorship, and is now full of vintage shops, cafés and bars. Chueca, to the east, is the centre of Madrid's LGBTQ+ life, with a lively mix of restaurants and the Mercado de San Antón, and hosts one of Europe's largest Pride celebrations in early July.

A private collection assembled by the Thyssen-Bornemisza family and acquired by the Spanish state, it fills the gaps in the other two great museums, running from early Italian and Flemish painting through Dutch masters and Impressionism to Expressionism and American art of the twentieth century.

TipThe permanent collection is free on Mondays from 12:00 to 16:00 (the museum's shorter Monday hours).

One of the great art museums of the world, built on the collections of the Spanish kings, with the finest collections of Velázquez and Goya anywhere, including Las Meninas and Goya's Black Paintings, as well as masterpieces by El Greco, Titian, Rubens and Hieronymus Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights. It's huge; pick a few rooms rather than trying to see everything.

TipEntry to the collection is free for the last two hours of the day: 18:00 to 20:00 Monday to Saturday and 17:00 to 19:00 on Sundays and holidays. Queues form early, so arrive before the free period starts.

Spain's national museum of modern and contemporary art, in a former hospital beside Atocha station, with glass lifts on its façade and a newer red-roofed extension. Its most famous work is Picasso's Guernica, alongside major works by Dalí, Miró and Juan Gris. It's closed on Tuesdays.

TipEntry is free from 19:00 to 21:00 on Mondays and Wednesday to Saturday, but you still need a ticket, which you can book online.

Once the royal gardens of the Buen Retiro palace, the Retiro is Madrid's great park, with a large boating lake overlooked by the colonnaded monument to Alfonso XII, a rose garden, shady avenues and the Palacio de Velázquez, used for exhibitions by the Reina Sofía. Together with the Paseo del Prado, it was declared a World Heritage Site in 2021. The glass Palacio de Cristal is currently closed for restoration work.

TipHire a rowing boat on the lake in the late afternoon, when the heat eases.

The home of Real Madrid, one of the most successful football clubs in the world, recently rebuilt with a retractable roof and a striking metal skin. The stadium tour takes in the trophy rooms, the panoramic views over the pitch and the dressing rooms. It's on the northern stretch of the Paseo de la Castellana, a short Metro ride from the centre.

TipTours can be limited or suspended on match days; check the club's site before going.

A vast granite monastery and palace built by Philip II in the late sixteenth century in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama, about an hour by Cercanías train from the centre. It holds the royal pantheon where most Spanish kings are buried, a magnificent library and a fine collection of paintings. It's a World Heritage Site run by Patrimonio Nacional.

A hilltop city on the other side of the mountains, about half an hour from Madrid by high-speed train, famous for its Roman aqueduct, still standing across the main square, its late Gothic cathedral and the Alcázar, a turreted castle on a rocky spur. It's known for roast suckling pig, cochinillo.

TipThe high-speed station is outside town; take the connecting bus to the aqueduct.

The old capital of Castile, on a rocky hill wrapped in a gorge of the River Tagus, about half an hour from Atocha by high-speed train. Its cathedral, synagogues, mosque and churches recall the centuries when Christians, Muslims and Jews lived side by side, and the town is closely linked with the painter El Greco. It's a steep, maze-like old town, best explored on foot.