What to do in Madrid, Spain

With so many cheap flights across Europe today, it’s really easy to pop over to Madrid in Spain for a weekend or just a few days. There’s no shortage of things to see and do there, in fact, if you’re only there for a short time, you’ll have to pick a few highlights to get a flavour of the city without going home feeling frazzled.

See some sights There are many beautiful buildings in Madrid, but surely the most impressive is the Royal Palace, the largest palace in the whole of western Europe. Other highlights include Madrid Cathedral, and the Templo de Debod, an Egyptian temple from the 2nd century BC located in the heart of Madrid. An easy way to get an overall impression of the city is to take one of the many open-topped bus tours or to ride the Teleférico, Madrid’s cable car.

Top sights in Madrid, Spain.

Watch a Real Madrid game

Real Madrid – the world’s biggest football team – plays at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid. At the time of writing the build-up to the Champions League final will be in full swing in Madrid, as for the first time in Champions League history, two teams from the same city will face each other in the final. Atletico Madrid will face Real Madrid at the Estadio Da Luz stadium in Lisbon on Saturday 24th May. Atletico Madrid look a good bet for a win as they have just won La Liga, but Betfair has them priced at just under 3/1, while Real Madrid is priced at almost even money.

When you plan a trip to Madrid, see if you can get tickets for a Real Madrid home game and see the masters of their game at work, the likes of Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have been in incredible form this season.

Gotta get out and watch Real Madrid!

Eat some Spanish delicacies

Go to eat in a restaurant that has been recognised as the world’s oldest restaurant by the Guinness Book of Records. Botin dates back to 1725 and Ernest Hemingway used to eat there often.

If you’re looking a quick snack, stop at one of the many tapas bars or try some churros, sugary sticks of doughnut that will revive your sight-seeing energy levels.

The great thing about so many budget airlines being in operation is that it’s going to be easy to get cheap flights to Madrid anytime in the future, so if your first visit whets your appetite, you can always go back for more.