SPAIN 2026 CITY GUIDE

Spain's national art museum and one of the world's great galleries — Velázquez's Las Meninas, Goya's Black Paintings, and Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights.

Madrid's most beloved park — row on the lake, explore the iron-and-glass Crystal Palace, and walk the tree-lined avenues in the September warmth.

Madrid's central square and its grand boulevard — the best introduction to the city's scale and energy, lined with historic buildings and busy cafés.

Madrid's most famous market — jamón, pintxos, fresh seafood, and Spanish wine in an elegant 1916 iron pavilion near Plaza Mayor.

A walk through the trophy cabinets, dressing rooms, and pitch of Real Madrid's legendary ground — recently renovated to world-class standard.

Spain's national modern art museum — Picasso's monumental Guernica, Dalí, and Miró on permanent display.

The 1894 original — a race-day morning ritual. Thick hot chocolate, crisp churros, and the beautiful tiled interior of Madrid's most beloved café.

The neighbourhood where Cervantes and Lope de Vega lived — bookshops, terraced cafés, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum on its edge.

Madrid's giant Sunday flea market in La Latina — antiques, vintage clothes, art, and street food across hundreds of stalls.

Spain's medieval capital — a walled city on a hill above the Tagus, packed with El Greco paintings, a magnificent cathedral, and three faiths' worth of heritage.

The Roman aqueduct, the fairy-tale Alcázar castle, and cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig) in the city that inspired Walt Disney's Cinderella castle.

The third of Madrid's 'Golden Triangle' museums — an extraordinary private collection from Medieval to Pop Art, filling in every gap between the Prado and Reina Sofía.