48 Hours in Madrid, Spain

My husband and I finally made it to Spain, and I wanted to share with you what we did in the 48 hours that we spent in this wonderful city. Madrid is the capital of Spain, and it’s a bustling city full of life. We arrived Monday morning at Barajas airport, and took the metro to our hotel. We stayed in front of the Royal Palace at a hotel called: Hostal Central Palace. This hotel was very well located and that’s the number one thing I look for when booking hotels or AirBNBs. This hotel was quaint, and the staff super friendly. I used booking.com for this specific hotel, and it was very reasonably priced. Of course when booking, make sure you do it well in advance to make sure you get the best rate.

Planning a trip takes research, and that’s exactly what I did four month prior. I purchased Rick Steve’s “Spain 2016” book for more detailed research.

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As soon as arrived to the hotel, we freshened up and headed straight to Mercado de San Miguel. This mercado was re-opened in 2009, after a 6 year renovation. I visited Madrid 2 years ago while studying abroad and stumbled upon this mercado with some friends and fell in love with it. I remember visiting and telling myself I would return with my husband, and 2 years later here we are. We had delicious mojitos and tapas and just walked around enjoying the excitement and energy of this market. After lunch we went on a mini walking tour through Plaza Mayor. The best way to explore a city is by getting lost and losing fear of the unknown. Immerse yourself in the culture lose all your personal customs, and enjoy the little things.

Afterwards, my husband and I went back to out hotel for a siesta. After a couple hours we headed to Templo Debod to catch the sunset and enjoy the views. Templo Debod is an Egyptian temple which was dismantled and rebuilt in Spain.

We went to Calle Cava Baja, which is a popular street filled with both locals and tourists. They have a bunch of restaurants and bars where you can hop around trying different foods. My husband and I stopped at a restaurant for tapas and sangria. We stayed here for a couple hours then headed to Chocolateria San Gines for some churros and chocolate. Seriously amazing, my husband doesn’t have a big sweet tooth, and he absolutely loved it! It’s located in an alley and you can enjoy churros while people watching. It’s also opened 24 hours, and it’s been around since the 1800’s. The chocolateria is filled with pictures of famous people who have visited.

Now, the second day we were pretty jet-lagged, and fell asleep most of the day. Let’s just say we missed breakfast and lunch…almost dinner. We got up and headed to Parque de el Retiro to see the sunset and visit el Palacio de Cristal. Unfortunately it was closed, but we still managed to peak inside and take some pictures.

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After spending a few hours walking through the park we headed down the street for a cup of coffee. Again we stayed there for about an hour then headed to Platea for some drinks. Platea was formerly known as Carlos III Cinema and was converted into a gourmet market. The 3 Spanish chefs who oversee the market have a combined number of 6 michelin stars. It’s a very hip and untapped place where you can enjoy some delicious drinks and food. We grabbed a couple drinks and headed to a restaurant called Ginos for some pizza and caprese salad. We came across this restaurant on our way back to the hotel, and it was very good! The pizza was thin and full of flavor. We also ordered a caprese salad with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes.