Attractions in Madrid

The Palacio Real is the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family, though they now live at the more modest Zarzuela Palace outside the city. With over 3,400 rooms and 135,000 square metres of floor space, it is the largest royal palace in Western Europe by floor area.

Madrid's monumental Plaza Mayor is among the grandest enclosed squares in Europe—a vast, perfectly symmetrical rectangle surrounded by 237 wrought-iron balconies and anchored by a bronze equestrian statue of Philip III.

Puerta del Sol is the beating heart of Madrid and the symbolic centre of all Spain. This bustling crescent-shaped square is where all national roads begin, where New Year's Eve celebrations culminate, and where spontaneous protests gather.

Standing directly opposite the Royal Palace, the Catedral de la Almudena is Madrid's main Catholic cathedral—remarkably young for a European capital, having been consecrated only in 1993 by Pope John Paul II.

A genuine 2,200-year-old Egyptian temple standing on a hilltop in western Madrid, surrounded by reflecting pools and offering some of the city's most spectacular sunset views.

The Teatro Real is Madrid's grand opera house, a magnificent 1850 building facing the Royal Palace across the Plaza de Oriente. It is one of Europe's great opera venues, hosting world-class productions and guided tours.

Madrid's most famous boulevard stretches 1.3 kilometres from Calle de Alcalá to Plaza de España, cutting a dramatic diagonal through the old city core. Often called the "Spanish Broadway," it is lined with early 20th-century Beaux-Arts, Art Deco, and Art Nouveau façades, theatres, cinemas, and flagship stores.

A grand square at the western terminus of Gran Vía, dominated by two of Madrid's most recognizable skyscrapers and a monumental tribute to Spain's greatest literary figure.

Standing at the edge of Retiro Park where Calle de Alcalá opens into the Plaza de la Independencia, the Puerta de Alcalá is Madrid's most elegant monument—a five-arched neoclassical gateway that once marked the eastern entrance to the city.

One of Madrid's most spectacular intersections, the Plaza de Cibeles is defined by an 18th-century fountain of the Phrygian goddess Cybele riding a chariot pulled by two lions, surrounded by four of the city's most monumental buildings.

Nestled in a protected oak forest 15 kilometres northwest of Madrid's centre, the Palacio Real de El Pardo is an often-overlooked royal residence famous for its extraordinary collection of Goya tapestry cartoons woven at the Royal Tapestry Factory.

The Palacio de Cibeles is Madrid's magnificent city hall, occupying the 1917 former central post office building. Its ornate white façade and soaring central tower dominate the Plaza de Cibeles.

The Palacio de Liria is the private Madrid residence of the House of Alba, Spain's most prestigious noble family. Opened to the public in 2019, it contains an astonishing private art collection rivalling many national museums.

This monumental 18th-century basilica in the La Latina district boasts the largest dome in Spain—33 metres in diameter—surpassing even St. Peter's Basilica in Rome at the time of construction.

The Palacio de Cristal is a breathtaking glass-and-iron pavilion nestled beside a small ornamental lake inside Retiro Park. Originally built for a Philippine flora exhibition, it now serves as one of Madrid's most atmospheric contemporary art spaces.

This small neoclassical chapel on the banks of the Manzanares River contains one of the most breathtaking ceiling frescoes in Spain—painted entirely by Francisco de Goya in 1798. It also serves as Goya's final resting place.