Travel itinerary for 2 days in Madrid: things to do and visit

A 2-day trip doesn’t seem to be much time for doing things or visiting many places, but if you take advantage of it, two days can become a great adventure! And more if they take place in the Spanish capital, Madrid.

This is our proposal for a travel itinerary for 2 days in Madrid, a great two-days route to take advantage of your next visit.

Day 1: Things to do and visit in Madrid

9:00 AM Walking through Madrid: from Atocha to the Royal Palace

The day has begun! Since you are fresh and well-rested, it’s a great time to get to know Madrid on foot. You can start walking from Atocha and Embajadores to the Barrio de las Letras (the neighborhood of the letters), the area that makes you feel inside a Pérez-Reverte novel. You can make the first stop at Plaza de Santa Ana, get a coffee and take pictures of the Lorca’s and Calderón de la Barca’s statues, former residents of the district and one of the reasons of its peculiar name.

After that, you can visit the Puerta del Sol, one of the famous points of the Spanish capital. As a curiosity, you should know that this square is the zero kilometer point of all the roads of the country. There is even a plaque marking the exact spot, where you can take a picture and tell everyone you were literally standing in the center of Spain. From there you can walk down the main street towards the San Miguel market, where you can stop to enjoy some wine and tapas if you are a little hungry. Leaving the market, you can continue in the same direction and you will get to the Royal Palace of Madrid and the Sabatini Gardens, in front of the north façade of the Royal Palace, one of the most beautiful attractions in the city. Enjoy your visit and take your time. If you are lucky, you can watch the Changing of the Guard!

14.00 PM Architecture and lunch

Keep walking through Madrid de Los Austrias, enjoying its classical architecture and historic vibe. You can stop in some of the old shops located on their long pedestrian streets, the ones that give the area such a special charm. We recommend you try Taberna La Daniela, located on Cuchilleros Street, a place where you can taste a real Madrid stew in one of the most traditional stew restaurants in the Spanish capital.

17.00 PM A Rock & Roll evening

The Tribunal Metro stop is the beginning of the Malasaña neighborhood. This area is one of the most appreciated by locals and tourists thanks to its great diversity of music, culture, and entertainment. Malasaña mixes the best of a typical neighborhood with the international and creative atmosphere of the London Soho or the New York Village. It’s vintage clothing warehouses, its record stores, and its cellars are a great place to spend an afternoon in Madrid.
In this neighborhood, you will find all kinds of dining options, from Baos to American-style hamburgers, Greek restaurants, Asian food places, vegan food and Street Food around the Plaza del Dos de Mayo. All these restaurants are mixed with different music venues and pubs where you can have a drink, a beer or a cocktail. Even though it is not an expensive area, having dinner and going out for a drink will cost you around 30 euros.

Day 2: Things to do and visit in Madrid

10:00 AM. A morning full of art

After a first day full of activities, we invite you to start the day visiting 3 emblematic places in the city. Madrid has 3 of the most important museums in the world: El Prado, Thyssen and Reina Sofía. These three jewels of the artistic world, located in the Paseo del Prado are undoubtedly one of the biggest claims of the tourism sector that visits the city.
You can find from a temporary exhibition to permanent ones. From antique paintings to modern art pieces. It is a big visit, and we would recommend dedicating at least 2-3 hours for each of them, one per day. But, if we need to pick one, we would choose El Prado. Why? Because the best works of the best Spanish artists of all time are only in El Prado National Museum.

12:00 AM Upper Paseo de la Castellana

Paseo del Prado is the name that receives the final part of the Paseo de la Castellana, the part where it reaches Atocha Train Station. So, after visiting El Prado National Museum, a great activity would be walking the Paseo de la Castellana up until finishing in one of the main financial areas of the city, Plaza de Castilla. In this big square, there are monuments and characteristic Madrid buildings like the Kio Towers.

On our way to Plaza Castilla we pass through Plaza de Neptuno, Plaza de Cibeles, Colón, Nuevos Ministerios, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium until arriving at Plaza de Castilla. It’s a big walk, but very recommended, since you will be passing through areas with great monuments, beautiful architecture and not as full as tourists as other areas we have recommended. You can find the real day-to-day Madrid in this main street.

14.00 PM Great walks end up with great rice

Madrid can offer you all varieties of Spanish cuisine, so during your stay in the city, you will see restaurants of all kinds: Asturian, Valencian, Basque, etc. On this occasion, we recommend you Los Arroces de Segis, a restaurant 5 minutes away from Plaza de Castilla. It is a nice restaurant that brings to Madrid the best of Valencian and Murcian cuisine. Excellent rice for less than 50 euros, including drinks: a great way to enjoy Spanish cuisine in the center of Madrid.

17.00 PM Shopping evening

After an intense morning of sightseeing, we invite you to relax and enjoy some shopping in Madrid. If you want fashion in its purest form, you can walk, take a taxi or even use public transport to go to La Milla de Oro, the place where the most exclusive luxury brands in the world have their shops and where celebrities buy their clothes.

On this street, you can find shops such as Loewe, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Manolo Blahnik, Tiffany, Cartier or Dior. International brands with the most luxurious clothes and accessories in Madrid.