Someone once told us that if life were a city, it would be Madrid. And we know exactly what they mean. Surrounded by cinematic sierras, the Spanish capital has a little bit of everything: baroque beauty, post-industrial edge, high-flying cultural institutions, sprawling green spaces and, of course, a dazzling dining scene that encompasses everything from some of the world’s best restaurants to low-key (but no less lovely for it) family-run tapas joints. There’s a reason the likes of Dalí, Hemingway and Picasso have been drawn here throughout history – Madrid has something for everyone, whenever (and for however long) you’re in town.
Madrid's diverse neighbourhoods are packed with cultural highlights, culinary lodestars and vibrant green spaces
It’s a city with all the ingredients needed for a slow-paced escape. And the best way to explore? Forget to book a return flight, arrive with no itinerary and spend your days exploring its distinctive barrios, from upscale Paseo del Arte to the off-beat Lavapiés. Just don’t do it on an empty stomach. This is a city that calls for luxuriously lingered-over lunches and late-night dinners that stretch into the early hours. Hungry to discover it all? Here are six of our favourite neighbourhoods to roam.
It’s a city with all the ingredients needed for a slow-paced escape. And the best way to explore? Forget to book a return flight, arrive with no itinerary and spend your days exploring its distinctive barrios, from upscale Paseo del Arte to the off-beat Lavapiés. Just don’t do it on an empty stomach. This is a city that calls for luxuriously lingered-over lunches and late-night dinners that stretch into the early hours. Hungry to discover it all? Here are six of our favourite neighbourhoods to roam.
The Best Neighbourhoods To Visit In Madrid
The elegant Paseo del Arte is home to a number of museums, including The Prado, right | Credit: Madrid Destino
Paseo del Arte
The Paseo del Arte, or Art Walk, is Madrid's cultural zenith. The elegant, kilometre-long boulevard is home to the Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Reina Sofía museums, all housed in buildings so majestic that Unesco awarded this central district World Heritage status in 2021. We’d recommend picking up a Paseo del Arte pass (€32) to make the most of a longer stay. Valid for one year, it provides entry into all three institutions’ permanent exhibitions (so you can go back, and back, and back again). Duck in and out of the three graces, gazing at masterpieces by Goya, Degas and Gris, then turn your attention to the surrounding streets. It’s not all oil paintings and impressive architecture here: backstreets spiralling off Plaza de la Platería and Calle de Alfonso XII are packed with traditional tapas bars and one-off restaurants.
For lunch, try the down-to-earth Adrede (Calle de Alfonso XI 13), which plates up home-style Spanish classics including gazpacho, croquettes and callos a la madrileña (beef stew), has a superb selection of native wines, and offers indoor and outdoor seating. Then, come evening, head to Alabaster, a contemporary Galician restaurant serving exquisite seafood dishes – highlights from chefs Óscar Marcos and Francisco Ramírez include smoky sardines over brioche, red mullet rice, and fresh crayfish salads. Paseo del Arte is home to some of the city’s top hotels, but there are few fancier than the Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid. Transformed by the brand in 2021, the belle–èpoque royal palace has been painstakingly restored to its former glory, complete with crystal canopy ceilings, gold wall panelling and white marble bathrooms.
Paseo del Arte
Best for art lovers
The Paseo del Arte, or Art Walk, is Madrid's cultural zenith. The elegant, kilometre-long boulevard is home to the Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Reina Sofía museums, all housed in buildings so majestic that Unesco awarded this central district World Heritage status in 2021. We’d recommend picking up a Paseo del Arte pass (€32) to make the most of a longer stay. Valid for one year, it provides entry into all three institutions’ permanent exhibitions (so you can go back, and back, and back again). Duck in and out of the three graces, gazing at masterpieces by Goya, Degas and Gris, then turn your attention to the surrounding streets. It’s not all oil paintings and impressive architecture here: backstreets spiralling off Plaza de la Platería and Calle de Alfonso XII are packed with traditional tapas bars and one-off restaurants.
For lunch, try the down-to-earth Adrede (Calle de Alfonso XI 13), which plates up home-style Spanish classics including gazpacho, croquettes and callos a la madrileña (beef stew), has a superb selection of native wines, and offers indoor and outdoor seating. Then, come evening, head to Alabaster, a contemporary Galician restaurant serving exquisite seafood dishes – highlights from chefs Óscar Marcos and Francisco Ramírez include smoky sardines over brioche, red mullet rice, and fresh crayfish salads. Paseo del Arte is home to some of the city’s top hotels, but there are few fancier than the Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid. Transformed by the brand in 2021, the belle–èpoque royal palace has been painstakingly restored to its former glory, complete with crystal canopy ceilings, gold wall panelling and white marble bathrooms.
El Retiro park, left, and chef José Fuentes outside his punchy El Retiro restaurant, KultO | Credit: Madrid Destino, @somos_bondi
El Retiro
Tucked around Madrid’s largest green space, which gives this neighbourhood its name, residential El Retiro, the Retreat, is a breath of fresh air, with its 125-hectare park serving as a beloved communal garden for madrileños. Don’t think it's quiet around here, though: at weekends, Parque del Buen Retiro takes on a festive atmosphere, as locals head into its green expanses to socialise, exercise and enjoy themselves, frequenting open-air cafés, formal gardens and the historic boating lake. The buzz spills out into the wide, elegant boulevards that encircle the park, too. Within a 15-minute walk from that boating lake, you’ll find the Mercado de la Paz, one of Madrid’s oldest-surviving indoor markets. Opened in 1882, it’s the place to find all the fixings for a perfect park picnic amid its maze of food stalls, with everything from tortilla to turrón (nougat), via fresh salads and ready-to-go tapas, on hand. The Ibiza neighbourhood, meanwhile, to the east of El Retiro, is dotted with up-and-coming restaurants, including José Fuentes’ KultO, which serves punchy modern plates infused with flavours borrowed from across the Hispanic diaspora. When the clock hits midnight and you’re all dined out, the sophisticated Bless Hotel Madrid is just around the corner.
El Retiro
Best for picnickers
Tucked around Madrid’s largest green space, which gives this neighbourhood its name, residential El Retiro, the Retreat, is a breath of fresh air, with its 125-hectare park serving as a beloved communal garden for madrileños. Don’t think it's quiet around here, though: at weekends, Parque del Buen Retiro takes on a festive atmosphere, as locals head into its green expanses to socialise, exercise and enjoy themselves, frequenting open-air cafés, formal gardens and the historic boating lake. The buzz spills out into the wide, elegant boulevards that encircle the park, too. Within a 15-minute walk from that boating lake, you’ll find the Mercado de la Paz, one of Madrid’s oldest-surviving indoor markets. Opened in 1882, it’s the place to find all the fixings for a perfect park picnic amid its maze of food stalls, with everything from tortilla to turrón (nougat), via fresh salads and ready-to-go tapas, on hand. The Ibiza neighbourhood, meanwhile, to the east of El Retiro, is dotted with up-and-coming restaurants, including José Fuentes’ KultO, which serves punchy modern plates infused with flavours borrowed from across the Hispanic diaspora. When the clock hits midnight and you’re all dined out, the sophisticated Bless Hotel Madrid is just around the corner.
The Plaza de Guardias de Corps in Conde Duque, left, and the re-developed military barracks | Credit: Madrid Destino
Conde Duque
Can you call a building a neighbourhood? You can if it covers almost 60,000sq m. Beautifully baroque, and entirely remodelled into a multidisciplinary cultural centre in 2011, the 18th-century military barracks of Conde Duque today play home to a modern art museum and an impressive calendar of concerts, art exhibitions and film viewings. But the cobblestone streets surrounding the building – which is sandwiched between eclectic Moncloa and bohemian Malasaña – have also undergone something of a transformation of late, with galleries, bakeries and bars popping up alongside authentic old-school tapas joints and traditional boutiques d’auteur (dinky independent shops selling unique offerings).
There’s plenty of old Madrid still around – abuelo bars sit cheek-by-jowl, and the district’s classiest corners are furnished with fin-de-siècle street lights – but you’ll also discover whitewashed boutiques like Maggie selling designer fits, experimental restaurants like MICA, which sends out fluffy focaccias stuffed with pumpkin cream, Salva Cremasco cheese and chopped walnuts, renovated establishments like Café Moderno, where coffee comes paired with creative audiovisual experimentations, and flashy vegan spots like all-day Frutas Prohibidas, with its plant-based dishes served amid industrial interiors, making Conde Duque one of the city’s buzziest barrios going. If you’re besotted, book a week-long stay at the minimalist, 162-bed Dear Hotel, close to the former barracks. We love its sun-soaked rooftop pool and cocktail bar for panoramic views of the city skyline at sunset and DJ sets during the week. Cocktail, anyone?
Conde Duque
Best for indie kids
Can you call a building a neighbourhood? You can if it covers almost 60,000sq m. Beautifully baroque, and entirely remodelled into a multidisciplinary cultural centre in 2011, the 18th-century military barracks of Conde Duque today play home to a modern art museum and an impressive calendar of concerts, art exhibitions and film viewings. But the cobblestone streets surrounding the building – which is sandwiched between eclectic Moncloa and bohemian Malasaña – have also undergone something of a transformation of late, with galleries, bakeries and bars popping up alongside authentic old-school tapas joints and traditional boutiques d’auteur (dinky independent shops selling unique offerings).There’s plenty of old Madrid still around – abuelo bars sit cheek-by-jowl, and the district’s classiest corners are furnished with fin-de-siècle street lights – but you’ll also discover whitewashed boutiques like Maggie selling designer fits, experimental restaurants like MICA, which sends out fluffy focaccias stuffed with pumpkin cream, Salva Cremasco cheese and chopped walnuts, renovated establishments like Café Moderno, where coffee comes paired with creative audiovisual experimentations, and flashy vegan spots like all-day Frutas Prohibidas, with its plant-based dishes served amid industrial interiors, making Conde Duque one of the city’s buzziest barrios going. If you’re besotted, book a week-long stay at the minimalist, 162-bed Dear Hotel, close to the former barracks. We love its sun-soaked rooftop pool and cocktail bar for panoramic views of the city skyline at sunset and DJ sets during the week. Cocktail, anyone?
The city’s Royal Palace, left, and the elegant streets of the Austrias neighbourhood | Credit: Madrid Destino
Austrias
Madrid's oldest quarter, Austrias, feels like living history: it's all 16th-century buildings, terracotta towers and graceful old architecture. Highlights include the vaulted corridors of Descalzas Reales Monastery, the Royal Palace, the Basilica of San Francisco el Grande – a jaw-dropping church with its own Goya-packed art gallery – and some of the city's hottest cultural tickets, including the newly opened Royal Collections Gallery and the iconic Teatro Real opera house. More contemporary artistic experiences are also on offer, though.
Alongside its Renaissance relics, Austrias has some impressive (and unusual) nightlife offerings. You'd need a month-long stay to explore them all, but some of our favourite venues include graffiti-scrawled subterranean La Coquette, one of Madrid's last bastions of blues music, and the avant-garde live music venue Café Berlín Club Madrid, a red-velvet-wrapped, neon-lit space that hosts everything from theatre and comedy to flamenco, funk and house nights. Grab some churros on your way to your evening's entertainment – some of the thickest, most unctuous chocolate awaits at Chocolatería de San Ginés. If you make it back before dawn, there's a cloud-like bed awaiting at The Madrid Edition.
Austrias
Best for modern historians
Madrid's oldest quarter, Austrias, feels like living history: it's all 16th-century buildings, terracotta towers and graceful old architecture. Highlights include the vaulted corridors of Descalzas Reales Monastery, the Royal Palace, the Basilica of San Francisco el Grande – a jaw-dropping church with its own Goya-packed art gallery – and some of the city's hottest cultural tickets, including the newly opened Royal Collections Gallery and the iconic Teatro Real opera house. More contemporary artistic experiences are also on offer, though.Alongside its Renaissance relics, Austrias has some impressive (and unusual) nightlife offerings. You'd need a month-long stay to explore them all, but some of our favourite venues include graffiti-scrawled subterranean La Coquette, one of Madrid's last bastions of blues music, and the avant-garde live music venue Café Berlín Club Madrid, a red-velvet-wrapped, neon-lit space that hosts everything from theatre and comedy to flamenco, funk and house nights. Grab some churros on your way to your evening's entertainment – some of the thickest, most unctuous chocolate awaits at Chocolatería de San Ginés. If you make it back before dawn, there's a cloud-like bed awaiting at The Madrid Edition.
Street art in Lavapiés, left, and al fresco socialisation in Lavapiés streets | Credit: Madrid Destino
Lavapiés
If there’s a cultural celebration going on somewhere in the world, odds are there's a mini festivity mirroring it in Lavapiés. Located on the southeastern edge of central Madrid, this playful district was formerly home to the city’s working classes (hence the traditional corrales, courtyard-facing apartment blocks), including many of the city's immigrant populations, and its diversity has ensured that everything from Holy Week to Holi is marked in its maze-like streets. Lavapiés has retained its edgy ambience over the years, even as the rents have risen. The steep medieval roads now host some of the city’s coolest art shows, with compelling offerings – often integrating the city’s most pressing social issues – on show at cultural centres such as La Casa Encendida.
Lavapiés’ world cuisine is another drawcard – Chinese, Korean, Sub-Saharan and Latin American restaurants abound. One of the city’s oldest eateries, Habibi, a Lebanese spot, is here, as are myriad vegan and vegetarian options. Overwhelmed by choice? Head over to Plaza de Antón Martín, a three-floor food market that packs a traditional food hall and a multitude of street-food stalls into one giant, globe-spanning gastronomic experience. And, this being the Spanish capital, the tapas is off the charts – Bodegas Alfaro, Antonio Sánchez Tavern, Taberna El Sur and Café Barbieri are all squeezed into the neighbouring streets. To stay, check out the just-opened CoolRooms Palacio de Atocha, a former palace-turned-boutique hotel that’s impressively intimate (with just 34 rooms) and boasts a head-turning bistro restaurant.
Lavapiés
Best for dopamine-seekers
If there’s a cultural celebration going on somewhere in the world, odds are there's a mini festivity mirroring it in Lavapiés. Located on the southeastern edge of central Madrid, this playful district was formerly home to the city’s working classes (hence the traditional corrales, courtyard-facing apartment blocks), including many of the city's immigrant populations, and its diversity has ensured that everything from Holy Week to Holi is marked in its maze-like streets. Lavapiés has retained its edgy ambience over the years, even as the rents have risen. The steep medieval roads now host some of the city’s coolest art shows, with compelling offerings – often integrating the city’s most pressing social issues – on show at cultural centres such as La Casa Encendida.Lavapiés’ world cuisine is another drawcard – Chinese, Korean, Sub-Saharan and Latin American restaurants abound. One of the city’s oldest eateries, Habibi, a Lebanese spot, is here, as are myriad vegan and vegetarian options. Overwhelmed by choice? Head over to Plaza de Antón Martín, a three-floor food market that packs a traditional food hall and a multitude of street-food stalls into one giant, globe-spanning gastronomic experience. And, this being the Spanish capital, the tapas is off the charts – Bodegas Alfaro, Antonio Sánchez Tavern, Taberna El Sur and Café Barbieri are all squeezed into the neighbouring streets. To stay, check out the just-opened CoolRooms Palacio de Atocha, a former palace-turned-boutique hotel that’s impressively intimate (with just 34 rooms) and boasts a head-turning bistro restaurant.
Chamberí is home to some of Madrid’s starriest restaurants, alongside more experimental eateries | Credit: Madrid Destino
Chamberí
Chamberí is another Madrid district where it’s wise to arrive hungry, with the neighbourhood having become a hub for some of the city’s most successful restaurateurs. High-flying spots like Saddle and El Invernadero are the starry jewels, but where big names have landed, more experimental (and less expensive) kitchens have followed. Meat-centric Sala de Despiece puts the marbled cuts in its glass-fronted ageing chamber to good use in a dining room decked out like a butcher’s shop, while cosy Argentine pizzeria Pisca whips up unconventional topping combinations inspired by the grocery store once found at the same address. It’s not all eating, though: this retro neighbourhood also has some hidden gems. Check out the charming Calle Zurbano, the ditsy Museo del Romanticismo (an art museum tucked into a house) and the strangely fascinating Estación de Chamberí, an old metro station converted into a transport museum. Book a room at Hotel Orfila and you’ll have historic whiplash: the 19th-century mansion has been thoughtfully transformed into an elegant boutique stay, retaining many original features. Days can’t start much better than enjoying breakfast in an ivy-clad courtyard, can they?
For help planning your visit, check out VisitMadridGPT, an AI-based virtual assistant that offers tailored recommendations for exploring the city.
Chamberí
Best for high-flyers
Chamberí is another Madrid district where it’s wise to arrive hungry, with the neighbourhood having become a hub for some of the city’s most successful restaurateurs. High-flying spots like Saddle and El Invernadero are the starry jewels, but where big names have landed, more experimental (and less expensive) kitchens have followed. Meat-centric Sala de Despiece puts the marbled cuts in its glass-fronted ageing chamber to good use in a dining room decked out like a butcher’s shop, while cosy Argentine pizzeria Pisca whips up unconventional topping combinations inspired by the grocery store once found at the same address. It’s not all eating, though: this retro neighbourhood also has some hidden gems. Check out the charming Calle Zurbano, the ditsy Museo del Romanticismo (an art museum tucked into a house) and the strangely fascinating Estación de Chamberí, an old metro station converted into a transport museum. Book a room at Hotel Orfila and you’ll have historic whiplash: the 19th-century mansion has been thoughtfully transformed into an elegant boutique stay, retaining many original features. Days can’t start much better than enjoying breakfast in an ivy-clad courtyard, can they?The Lowdown
Ready to explore everything Madrid has to offer? Visit esmadrid.com/en for more inspiration.For help planning your visit, check out VisitMadridGPT, an AI-based virtual assistant that offers tailored recommendations for exploring the city.
