Explore the Best Highlights of Madrid

Spain’s capital city has nearly everything you could want in an amazing vacation. From architecture that looks like its right out of a fairytale to a variety of unique neighborhoods to explore, you should never pass up a chance to visit this amazing city. The energy is contagious, the people are friendly, and the sights are amazing. In this Madrid travel guide you’ll find everything you need to know to take advantage of the best highlights Madrid has to offer.

Continuing on with our Euro Roadtrip journey from Portugal we drove the 7.5 hours from Lisbon to Madrid. Madrid is the capital city of Spain and has almost 3.3 million inhabitants! Something I noticed after visiting a few different countries within Europe is even though you are literally visiting countries within hours of eachother like France, Portugal and Spain, they are so very different in culture, language and even the beautiful architecture.

Table of Contents

The beautiful streets and highlights of Madrid, Spain

Watch a Flamenco Show

I told Pete pretty much the first thing I wanted to do when we hit Spain was to try out different Spanish Tapas restaurants and go a see a traditional Flamenco dance- number 1 on the list of highlights in Madrid!

A quick Google search and I reserved us a table at Villa Rosa- Tablao Flamenco. The oldest Tablao Flamenco in Madrid, Villa Rosa has been holding performances since 1911. You can buy tickets to the performance that also includes a traditional Spanish Tapas dinner.

Visit the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium

We spent 3 nights in Madrid and got to explore all different parts of the city taking in all the different cultural aspects of Spain. A true soccer/football fan would suggest touring the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium as one of the top highlights in Madrid (someone like Pete). It has been the home stadium of Réal Madrid (a famous and very good football league) since its completion in 1947.

Check out Plaza de Toros de las Ventas

Another culture shock I would have to say is seeing the The Ventas Bullring or Plaza de Toros de las Ventas (in Spanish). Spain’s largest bullring and third largest in the world, this place holds bullfights every Sunday from March to late October. Warning: Not for the faint hearted!

Chill in the Plaza Major

The Plaza Mayor is a major public space in the heart of Madrid. Built in back in 1580, it is one of the most beautiful highlights of Madrid- a great place to shop, walk around, eat, and enjoy the outdoors.

Honestly, you just need to take a nice leisurely stroll through the streets of Madrid and you will come across some amazing buildings and quirky little laneways full of vibrant colours.