An Intellectual's Travel Guide to Madrid

If you have four days to visit Madrid

Jan 03, 2025

Madrid is the only former empire city that has retained its cultural, political, and ideological dominance. It is the only place you can go to experience the Hispanic world at once. Politicians in Latin America visit Madrid to campaign. Political parties in Spain, all headquartered in Madrid, have branches across Latin America. I find that if you visit Madrid for the first time it can often be overwhelming to the point of paralysis.

Since I live in Madrid I’m going to list some of my favorite spots that I usually go to. Friends don’t let friends eat in Plaza Mayor. If you, like me, actually enjoy going to public lectures and art galleries on your vacation then these recommendations are for you. This is aimed at people who want to experience more of the deepness of Madrid on a short trip — say around four days.

The Golden Triangle of Art (Prado, Thyssen, Reina Sofía)

This is the nickname of an area of Madrid where you find the three most famous art museums in Spain: Museo Nacional del Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. All of them are a pleasant walking distance from each other. While all have massive exhibits (each with many thousands of pieces) I recommend visiting all in one day as they act as context fillers for each other. In one day of indulgence you will see Goya, Velázquez, Holbein, Cranach, Picasso, Dalí, Rafael, Ribera, Murillo, Joan Miró, and literally hundreds more. I recommend starting with Thyssen, then Prado, and finish at Reina Sofía. Pace yourself.

Bosco de Lobos

You can walk here from the Golden Art Triangle. This is one of my favorite spots for Italian food in Madrid. Lunch or dinner. It is located within the College of Architects of Madrid. Given the intense dining out culture of Madrid I strongly recommend making a reservation in advance. Also keep in mind, that in Spain almost no restaurants are open between the hours of 4pm and 8pm — and Spaniards typically start dinner around 9:30pm.

Fundación Juan March

In a deceptively unimposing building Juan March specializes in contemporary Spanish abstract art. But beyond the art exhibitions which frequently change, their building in Madrid also hosts plenty of exceptional musical concerts throughout the year as well as fantastic public lectures on varied topics from medieval art to German musicology to economic history. Everything is also broadcast on their YouTube channel. Also, if you are looking for a place to just sit and read or chat with a friend about the best Dalí painting, the Juan March building has a nice café downstairs and in the garden. It’s walking distance from my house so I usually visit here often. All exhibitions, showcases and lectures are completely free. Do explore their website too — lots of free digital archives.

Teatros del Canal

Outside the tourist core of the city there is massive complex of different performance halls - Red hall, black hall, green hall, crystal hall, etc. From the pictures I can let you guess where these names originate. I mostly go here to watch dance performances. This is because the Centro Coreográfico Canal is also located there. The performance schedule is surprisingly packed - but with so many halls you would expect that! It is not just dance, though, you can find performances of opera, flamenco, and of course chamber music.

Roostiq Madrid

Recommended for dinner. They focus on high quality farm to table meat. Make sure to start with the torreznos (an elevated version of the tradition Spanish pork snack). You must finish with their Basque Cheesecake. I am not being hyperbolic when I say this will be the best cheesecake of your life. I have taken friends here and some even went as far as saying they can no longer eat another cheesecake.

Sala Equis

This is a fun bar and hangout spot that used to be an erotic cinema. But it still shows movies — the more tame kind, with a focus on the indie variety.

Fundación Rafael del Pino

One of my favorite auditoriums for public lectures in the city. They specialize in broadly classical liberalism themes. If you want an engaging session on Spanish politics from a more empirically driven center-right perspective this is often the best place to go. Usually you just have to email to Foundation to signal your attendance for them to put you on the guest list — and the sessions are free. Most of the events are in Spanish but they also have invited speakers in English. I saw Deirdre McCloskey there last year. In fact, Bryan Caplan from George Mason University will be giving a lecture there in March.

La Casa de la Arquitectura

Spain is not just Gaudí. The architectural beauty of Madrid is one of the most commented on features of the city. This new space is one of the very few that opened after I moved to Madrid. The core exhibit titled La construcción de un país (Construction of a Country) has a focus on architectural projects in Spain since the end of the dictatorship (roughly post 1978) until the present. It features around 60 works. They also have a video podcast (with some recordings opened to the public) where they discuss the more philosophical aspects of architecture in Spain.

Teatro Real

This is where you go to experience opera on a grand stage. They do the standard repertoire as well as more contemporary works like Nixon in China. Once a year they host “the week of opera” where they have screenings and performances outside in the plaza. A fun point I’ll mention here is that there is a metro stop next to Teatro Real named Ópera and in the station they usually play opera music. The space also has shows on ballet, flamenco and chamber music in smaller rooms. My first opera for 2025, here in a couple weeks, will be Idomeneo.

Auditorio Nacional de Música

I am an unabashed classical music enthusiast who lives in walking distance from the main symphonic hall in Madrid. Of course I perhaps spend more time here than I care to admit. But it is worth it. Sala Sinfónica is the big hall for larger performances. There is also Sala de Cámara for chamber music. Unlike other symphony hall elsewhere, almost every day there is something being performed, sometimes multiple per day — many of them free. The most popular performance series is organized by Ibermúsica. Every season they bring renowned international orchestras, soloists and conductors. These shows are unfortunately usually sold out well in advance of the event. How? Because people like me buy season tickets to the entire series. I’ll be seeing Dudamel and Mäkelä here this year as part of Ibermúsica.

Teatro de la Zarzuela

In simple rough terms a Zarzuela is the Spanish equivalent of a German Singspiel. The genre is hardly known outside of Spain and parts of Latin America. It focuses on folk themes of Spanish culture. Substantial aspects of it originated from Madrid and Teatro de la Zarzuela has focused on these performances since the 1850s. Indeed, I was not aware of this genre before I moved to Madrid but I have come to deeply enjoy it — especially if you have the context.

Coque

Ran by the three Sandoval brothers, it is a Madrileño restaurant to its core. It has two Michelin Stars and three Repsol Soles. They go deep into gastro research to a point of obsession. For example, with the Institute of Rural, Agricultural and Food Research the worked on recovery of native fruits and vegetables of the community of Madrid from the study of their DNA. Or in collaborating with the Higher Center for Scientific Research they developed “egg hydrolysis” techniques to obtain egg products with unique textures such as a fresh cheese from the egg protein. After being so disappointed in the blandness of many so-called high dining, Coque rejuvenates you. It lives up to the idea that I first heard in a podcast with Tyler Cowen and Mark Miller that food is the ultimate intellectual experience.

Some Quick Notes

You do not need to speak Spanish to enjoy Madrid. But if you speak Spanish you will get a whole lot more out of it.
Do not visit during August. I repeat: do not visit during August. Not only is it scorching hot but essentially everything is closed for summer break.
The metro system is excellent. There is great article by Works in Progress on why. But it is also an extremely walkable city. I’ve not seen my metro card in weeks.
I’ll probably add more recommendations to this list if there is demand for that. There is no shortage of intellectual activities in Madrid.