Overview of Madrid

We’ve pulled together a quick guide from some of the top cities in Europe targeted for the layover or short stay travellers.

In this post, we’ll look at Madrid, the capital of Spain and a city that contains one of the busiest airports (Barajas Airport) in Europe.

Transport

Like a lot of major tourist centric cities, the public transport system is quite easy to navigate around. If you’re travelling by taxi from the airport, you’re looking at a cost between 23-30€ to the city, or if you’re using the Metro (subway), fares start from about 4.5€.

More info on Metro visit Metro Madrid.

To eat

Looking for a fancy place to eat around Madrid? The easiest way to find the best places to eat around your hotel is to check out Tripadvisor’s food guide. It has everything from innovative cuisine by El Club Allard to a great selection of food and wines at Asador Casa Juan.

If you’re looking for a more traditional and quintessential Madrid experience, definitely visit Casa Lucio, one of the best and well-known traditional restaurants. If you check out this restaurant on TripAdvisor, you’ll also see a stack of reviews, majority of reviewers gave it a very good or excellent rating.

To do and see

To be honest there’s too many places to see and do in Madrid unless you are there for a long time, but we figured we’d just highlight a couple that you need to visit while you’re here.

First up is the Royal Palace (also known as Palacio Real) situated on Calle de Bailén (Bailén Street), in the Western part of downtown Madrid, a fun fact is that it’s the largest palace in Western Europe. You can get there easily by getting off at Opera metro station, and then it’s only a simple five-minute walk to the palace.

The rich history curated over the centuries from the royal family includes the Book of hours of Isabella I of Castile, the Imperial Armoury of Vienna and a Bible of Doña María de Molina to name a few. In addition, add in the remarkable statues and gardens, you can easily spend a solid day exploring the massive 135,000 m2 estate.

If you’re looking for a breathtaking view, I suggest taking the cable car of Teleférico de Madrid. It’s approximately a 2.5km trip between Casa de Campo and Parque del Oeste taking in views of the Palacio Real, Río Manzanares, city skyline and park.

When you need to relax

Looking for a drink with a view? Head over to Melia Hotel's Penthouse, a popular rooftop bar where various celebrities like George Clooney and David Beckham have been known to hang out. Be warned though, it gets pretty busy and crowded, especially during the weekends.

Or, if you have a sweet tooth and just want to get away from the boozy nightlife, check out Celicioso, highly rated on TripAdvisor for desserts in Madrid.

These are just a few of the things you can do when you’re in Madrid for a quick stopover.

The views, opinions and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of Cover-More Insurance.