Madrid in 3 Days: Complete Day-by-Day Itinerary

Before you go: adjusting the order of the days

The three days can be swapped around, but a few days of the week call for some choices:

• On Tuesdays, the Reina Sofía museum is closed: do not plan day two on a Tuesday.
• On Mondays, the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum only opens from 12pm to 4pm, but entry to the collection is free that day. The Temple of Debod is closed on Mondays (the surrounding park remains open).
• On Sundays, the Rastro flea market sets up from 9am to 3pm. If your stay includes a Sunday, make it day three.
• On Wednesdays and Saturdays, the changing of the guard takes place in front of the Royal Palace: a good reason to schedule day one on one of these days.

Book the Royal Palace in advance and, unless you are aiming for the free time slots, the Prado too.

The itinerary at a glance

Opening hours and prices checked in October 2026.

Day 1: royal Madrid

The first day covers the historic heart of the city, entirely on foot.

Morning: Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor and San Miguel

Start around 9:30am at the Puerta del Sol, the square that marks kilometre zero of Spain's roads, served by Sol metro station (lines 1, 2 and 3). A five-minute walk along calle Mayor brings you to the Plaza Mayor, a 17th-century arcaded square dominated by the painted façade of the Casa de la Panadería.

Right next door, the San Miguel Market opens at 10am. Half an hour is enough, time for a coffee or a first tapa.

Late morning and early afternoon: the Royal Palace

Allow about ten minutes on foot to the Royal Palace, along calle Mayor and then calle de Bailén, or via the plaza de Oriente. A self-guided visit of the state rooms takes about two hours. From October to March, the palace opens Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm and on Sundays from 10am to 4pm; from April to September, it closes at 7pm Monday to Saturday. Ticket offices close one hour earlier. Tickets cost €18 (€9 for ages 5 to 16, over-65s and students up to 25); book a time slot online, especially at weekends.

Citizens and residents of the European Union get in free Monday to Thursday from 4pm to 6pm from October to March, and from 5pm to 7pm from April to September. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, the changing of the guard takes place from 11am to 2pm at the Puerta del Príncipe; the solemn changing of the guard, with cavalry and band, is held on the first Wednesday of the month at 12pm, except in January, August and September.

Afternoon: the Almudena and down to La Latina

As you leave the palace, the Almudena Cathedral faces the plaza de la Armería. Then have lunch around calle Mayor and the plaza de la Villa.

Evening: tapas in La Latina

End the day in La Latina, ten minutes on foot from the cathedral. Calle de la Cava Baja is lined with tapas bars and traditional restaurants. Madrilenians eat late, rarely before 9pm: arrive around 8pm and you will find a spot at the bar more easily.

Day 2: the Paseo del Arte and the Retiro

Day two is spent along the Paseo del Prado, home to the city's three great museums, less than fifteen minutes' walk from each other.

Morning: the Prado Museum

Arrive at opening time, 10am, at the Prado Museum (Banco de España metro, line 2, or Estación del Arte, line 1). Three hours are enough for the major rooms: Velázquez and Las Meninas, Goya, Hieronymus Bosch, El Greco, Rubens. The museum opens Monday to Saturday from 10am to 8pm, Sundays and public holidays from 10am to 7pm; it is closed on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. General admission costs €15 (€7.50 reduced), free for under-18s and students aged 18 to 25.

The permanent collection is free for everyone Monday to Saturday from 6pm to 8pm and on Sundays from 5pm to 7pm. This slot draws big crowds and two hours is short: it suits a return visit to a few rooms better than a first visit.

Afternoon: Barrio de las Letras and the Retiro

Have lunch in the Barrio de las Letras, just behind the Prado, the neighbourhood where Cervantes and Lope de Vega lived. Then walk up to Retiro Park, ten minutes away.

The park is free and open every day from 6am to 10pm from October to March, and from 6am to midnight from April to September. Walk around the large pond, where you can rent rowing boats, in front of the monument to Alfonso XII, then stroll towards the rose garden. The Crystal Palace is closed for works until 2027: it can only be seen from the outside. Allow two hours.

Evening: free Reina Sofía, then Lavapiés

Leave the Retiro by its southern side and head to the Reina Sofía museum, near Atocha station, about twenty minutes on foot. The museum opens on Mondays and Wednesday to Saturday from 10am to 9pm, on Sundays from 10am to 2:30pm, and is closed on Tuesdays. Admission costs €12, but it is free on Mondays and Wednesday to Saturday from 7pm to 9pm, and on Sundays from 12:30pm to 2:30pm. Two hours are enough to see Picasso's Guernica and the nearby rooms devoted to the Civil War, Dalí and Miró. The museum notes that crowds are heavy when the free slot begins: arrive a little early.

For dinner, Lavapiés starts just behind the museum. Madrid's most mixed neighbourhood offers cheap food from around the world, especially on calle Argumosa.

Day 3: Thyssen museum, neighbourhoods and sunset

Morning: the Thyssen, or the Rastro on a Sunday

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, opposite the Prado, complements the other two museums with a collection ranging from the Italian primitives to 20th-century painting. It opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 7pm and on Mondays from 12pm to 4pm, with free entry to the collection that day. Tickets cost €14 (€10 for students and over-65s), free for under-18s. Allow two and a half hours.

On Sundays, swap the museum for El Rastro, the flea market that runs from the plaza de Cascorro down the Ribera de Curtidores from 9am to 3pm. Arrive before 10:30am to browse ahead of the crowds, then walk up to La Latina for the midday vermouth.

Afternoon: Chueca and Malasaña, or Salamanca

Two options depending on what you fancy:

• Chueca and Malasaña, north of the Gran Vía. Chueca and its San Antón market, then, across calle Fuencarral, the vintage shops and cafés of Malasaña, with the plaza del Dos de Mayo. Allow three hours.
• The Salamanca district, for shopping. The Salamanca district gathers luxury labels and Spanish brands around calle Serrano and calle Ortega y Gasset (Serrano metro, line 4). It is fifteen minutes on foot from the Retiro.

Evening: Gran Vía and the Temple of Debod

Head to the Gran Vía and walk it westwards to the plaza de España: early 20th-century façades, theatres and cinemas over about 1.3 km. The Temple of Debod, an Egyptian sanctuary donated to Spain and rebuilt in the Cuartel de la Montaña park, is five minutes from the square. The terrace overlooking the Casa de Campo is Madrid's busiest viewpoint at sunset. The inside of the temple can be visited free of charge Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 8pm (10am to 7pm from 15 June to 15 September), with booking recommended on the City Council website; it is closed on Mondays.

Swapping a day for a day trip

If you would rather leave Madrid, day three can become a day trip. Toledo, with its cathedral and medieval lanes, is about half an hour by high-speed train from Atocha. Segovia, with its Roman aqueduct and Alcázar, and the Monastery of El Escorial can also be visited in a day. Each place's page details journeys and tickets.

Admission budget for three days

Prices checked in October 2026.

Paying for every admission, the itinerary costs €59 per adult. Following it as described, with the Reina Sofía during its free evening slot, it drops to €47; it falls to €33 if your third day is a Monday (free Thyssen). The Paseo del Arte card (€32.80, valid for one year) covers the Prado, the Reina Sofía and the Thyssen with a 20% discount: it is only worthwhile if you do not use any free slot.

Getting around over three days

This itinerary is done almost entirely on foot: a few metro rides are enough, for example to get back to your hotel or return to the centre from the Temple of Debod. For heavier use, the zone A tourist travel pass costs €23.10 for three days and covers the metro, EMT city buses and commuter trains within the city. The various tickets are compared in our guide to transport in Madrid.

To save time each morning, stay in the centre, between Sol, Ópera and the Barrio de las Letras: our guide to where to stay in Madrid compares the neighbourhoods.

Further reading

With less time, follow our plan for what to do in Madrid in one day or our itinerary for a weekend in Madrid. To prepare your stay, also read our guides to transport in Madrid and to the neighbourhoods on where to stay in Madrid.