A comfortable 3-hour train ride took us from Barcelona to Madrid. Believe it or not, I had never been to Madrid even though I lived in Spain for 7 months. So I was super excited to explore the geographical and symbolic heart of Spain with my family over the next 2 days.
Madrid City Walk
Madrid must be the most accessible city in all of Spain because all roads led to the point of Km. 0 in Puerta del Sol! It was the perfect starting point for our Madrid Walking Tour.
Puerta del Sol
This busy square, named the Gate of Sun, was oddly shaped, hugged on one side by the governor’s office and the other by the many shopping streets radiating outwards. There was an equestrian statue of Carlos III looking regal and another statue of a cute little bear looking up a tree. Like Plaça Catalunya in Barcelona, this was a major Metro hub and a popular gathering place. One of the coolest things about Madrid for me was the street signs, which showed the travelers what the streets’ functions were back in the old days.
Plaza Mayor
This plaza was what Madrid looked like in my mind before actually visiting the city. It’s that signature Spanish Baroque style captured in the passionate colors and linear symmetry. We arrived earlier than the general masses and just in time to see the knock-off goods vendors set up their stands.
Mercado de San Miguel
We reached the famous market just in time for lunch. The market was housed in a super cool cast-iron and glass building. Seafood, cheeses, mini-sandwiches and so much more were beautifully displayed in lit-up glass counters. It was a gourmet tapas paradise! There were definitely some different flavors from the tapas we had in Barcelona. I wish we could have tried everything!
Almudena Cathedral
Finished in 1993, this was one of the most modern cathedrals I had ever visited. The building was massive and takes up an entire city block. Perhaps spoiled by the numerous churches in Rome and the unique Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, we were not particularly impressed and didn’t spend much time in the massive cathedral. However, I thought the juxtaposition of the modern painted ceiling with the 15th-century altarpiece was interesting. I tried my best to take a photo of both elements together…
The Royal Palace
The Royal Palace sat right across an expansive plaza from the Almudena Cathedral with not a single tree or any shade of green in sight. Being a deeply Catholic nation, the cathedral seemed to be the church constantly watching over the royal family. We decided to take the self-guided audio tour to learn a bit more about the history of this palace and Spain. The line to purchase tickets was short and moved quickly, but the line to get our audioguides crawled at a snail’s pace. The palace was so big, and the tour lasted more than two hours. Thankfully there were benches to let us take a break in between the rooms.
I agree some museums and historic sites should limit photography to protect the delicate paints and materials, but I thought it perhaps didn’t need to be so strictly enforced here. Even though I wrote daily journal entries, it was still difficult for me to recall what the rooms looked like after such opulence overload. But looking back at the volume of tourists filing through the palace, it was probably necessary to keep people moving. There were two particular rooms that stood out to me. The first was the Gala Dining Hall for its ceiling, which depicted all the colonized nations that the Spanish Empire once controlled. The other was the Stradivarius Room, which had on display the only surviving Stradivarius quartet set in the world. It would have been a dream come true to hear the sound of just one of these magnificent instruments being played.
Fast & Furious Museum Tours
Our Airbnb in Madrid was conveniently located a short walk away from the Reina Sophia and really not that far from the Prado either. Knowing my family wasn’t as obsessed with art museums as I was (and having satiated my museum cravings in Rome), I planned to just pop into these two museums for short visits during their daily free times.
National Museum of Prado
Lessons learned – one needs to get in line for the free entry 30-45min before the opening time! We got there right on time to find the line had already wrapped around the building!! Fortunately, once the doors opened, the line moved quickly. I was on a mission to see the masterpieces at a breakneck speed. Las Meninas by Velazquez, check! The 3rd of May 1808 (“The Executions”) by Goya, Check! Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch (crazy weird!), check! And the El Grecos, the Rubens, the Titians, and so many more… As we sped through the museum, I did my best to explain what I knew about the pieces and their history to my family. While there were many replicas and studies of original paintings and sculptures I saw in Rome, I was surprised to see a number of original Raphaels too. Since photography was not allowed, here is a link to their digital archive in case you are interested.
Reina Sofia
Modern art is not typically my thing, and even less so for my family. On a nice evening, Sam and I went to admire the famous Guernica while Mom and Dad went for a stroll in Retiro Park. Photography was allowed inside, except, of course, in the Guernica room… But dear Sam stole a paparazzi shot of it from two rooms away for me. It was super interesting to see photos of the painting at different stages, and how Picasso changed it from sketch to completion.
While I don’t always get modern art, they sure make interesting photos. I had never had a metronome stare back at me before. The modern architecture of the museum made a great backdrop for Instagram photos (if you’re into that kind of thing). Thanks, Sam! I had never looked so tall in my life!!! P.S., Surrealism still gives me nightmares.
Naval Museum
We discovered the Naval Museum randomly when we were just walking around the city. It’s a super compact one-story museum stuffed full of 600 years of the Spanish naval history! Now that was a museum Sam and my dad could get into! The most impressive pieces for me were the scaled model ships. The level of detail was unbelievable! Also displayed here was the original list of people that accompanied Christopher Columbus on his very first voyage. Long after mom and I were ready to leave, Sam and dad were still carefully studying each display.
And Food, Of Course…
I’m all for finding the most authentic local foods to try while traveling. I can proudly tell you that for lunch one day, we stopped in a small, Spanish-ONLY tavern, and I was able to order for all four of us in Spanish (and some sign language)! But once in a while, I just crave some soup and noodles. I was pleasantly surprised to find the ramen craze that had taken over the Americas had also taken over Spain! The Ramen Kagura located not far from Plaza Mayor hit just the right spot for quite the reasonable price.
For tapas, we went to the Taberna el Sur by the recommendation of a friend (thanks Naomi!). They offered delicious and generously portioned tapas and a cozy atmosphere for a few beers. Now I pass on this great knowledge to all who are still reading at this point…
Two days definitely wasn’t enough to see everything in the modern capital of Spain, but we would be heading to the historic capital, Toledo, on the next day!