First stop, 2 days in Madrid! This was our first big travel expedition together. We have always gone to places to vacation, aka lay around on a beach and drink cocktails. We have never gone over seas together and actually traveled the world. We figured it was time after being married for about a year. So, what better place to start your traveling addiction than in SPAIN! After researching for countless hours, we decided that we would fly into Madrid and stay there for two nights. The city of Madrid is unlike any city I have ever visited. First off, there are at least a million people everywhere. Second, the buildings that were in the city were these large, beautiful, architectural stunning, masterpieces. Compared to our cities in the United States these looked like pieces of art. There was a mixture of people bustling all over and people sitting relaxing at the little cafes. We were so excited to eat endless amounts of tapas and see what all Madrid had to offer. We only had to days in Madrid, so when we got off the plane and settled into our AirBnb, we jetted off to our first site. To read more about our trip check out my other blog post about our time in Seville, Granada, and Barcelona!
Sites We Visited For Our 2 Days in Madrid
Temple of Debod- Situated in Parque de la Montana, the Temple of Debod is a temple created by the Egyptians in 200 BC that was dedicated to the goddess Isis. It later was donated and moved to Spain by the Egyptian State as a gratitude for their help. The park in which the temple is located is a great place to walk around and enjoy a good view of the city. It’s also away from the craziness of the city, so it’s a perfect place to take a long nap, which I took full advantage of throughout our whole trip.
The Palacio Real de Madrid– People also call it, The Royal Palace of Madrid, is massive! We were told that this is the official home of the King of Spain. You could go and tour the inside of it, which would probably take up the entire day, so we opted out. For everyone who thinks the White House is big, you should see this place.
Plaza Mayor- Someone told us that in the old days they would have bullfights here. Definitely didn’t see any bulls but saw a lot of overpriced restaurants and tons of tourists. Don’t get sucked into spending your whole day here because there are many more popular squares such as Puerta del Sol. While you are in the square of Puerta del Sol, go see the statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree. Basically it’s a famous stature right in the middle of the square that everyone takes pictures with. Literally, anywhere you walk in Spain you eventually walk into another historic landmark.
Mercado San Miguel– This place was like an indoor market, with little food places scattered all around. You could try all sorts of Spanish foods here while shopping at all the little vendors. We heard from many people to try the jamon iberico sandwich at the place with all the pig legs hanging from the ceiling. I am assuming they were pig legs, but still not sure.
Palacio de Cristal- This beautiful all glass structure is built in the Buen Retiro Park. This is a little outside of the city and actually on the complete opposite side of where all the other sites are. The Pacacio de Cristal was so amazing to walk in and just feel the sun on your face through the glass panels. I don’t think this place is used for anything anymore since there is literally nothing in it but bathrooms. It is a nice place to bring a blanket and just take a break from walking. We ended up napping there for hours. There are also small little ponds all over the park. One pond had little turtles that swam up to you. I was in love! The other pond was big enough where you could rent rowing boats and float around.
Gran Via- This was a part of the town where there were a lot of hotels with rooftop bars, all sorts of restaurants with cute little outside patios, and bumping night clubs. Gran Via for sure seemed like the place you wanted to be at night. Every place there was packed with people. Plus we were in Spain when the world cup was on, so people were going crazy!
Where We Ate In Madrid
You really can’t go wrong with any of the food places in Spain. I mean you could pick a random cafe on a side street and the food would be amazing. Of course we ate all sorts of tapas all day everyday. But there were two places that we for sure heard to eat at since they were known in Madrid.
Chocolateria San Gines– They are famous for their hot chocolate dipping sauce and churros. The line is always so long at this place but much worth the wait. I threw out my gluten free diet the second I smelled the churros. I mean you cannot say no the churros and chocolate! We were told by the locals though not to eat all of the chocolate sauce or you would be regretting it shortly after. I defiantly listened to our wise local.
Restaurante Sobrino de Botin– This restaurant was founded in 1725 and is said to be the oldest running restaurant in the world! Being the food lovers that we are, we knew we had to get reservations here. I did a lot of research before and made a reservation online through their website months ahead of time. I was told that they book up months in advance and will not take anything but reservations. Luckily, we were able to get in and enjoy some authentic Spanish style food. The actual building itself in located in Puerta del Sol. It is not very large and people are basically sitting on top of each other. There is hardly enough room for the waiters to move around but the food was to die for.
Curious about reading more of our trip to Spain? Or you want to know other places to visit in Spain? Check out the other blog posts about Seville, Granada, and Barcelona!
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