![](https://images.suitcasemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/10201834/heritage-soul-and-seriously-good-food-why-madrid-tops-our-must-visit-list_652e6db9c017a.jpeg)
World-class gastronomy
From traditional tapas to cutting-edge tasting menus, Madrid's thriving culinary scene is an epicurean's paradise. First on your list when you arrive should be a guided food excursion: hunt down one of the city's many food tour operators to take you to the best family-run eateries in the city and teach you the basics on how to order tapas. For fine dining, you have 21 Michelin-starred restaurants to choose from, but you might as well shoot straight for the top and make a pilgrimage to DiverXO - the only one with three of them to its name. Well worth a visit, too, is Casa Botín, which, founded in 1725, is the oldest restaurant in the world. Ask for a table in the vaulted cellars.
Be sure to venture off the beaten track, too. Neighbourhoods like Chueca, Conde Duque and Malasaña are all full of contemporary, locally beloved terrazas. If we had to pick one street? That would have to be Calle de Ponzano, in the chic neighbourhood of Chamberí, arguably Madrid's trendiest restaurant drag.