Madrid Budget Break 💃 Where to Eat & What to Do

Madrid Budget Break 💃 Where to Eat & What to Do

There are few European capitals that manage to be simultaneously exhausting and utterly seductive, and yet, there stands Madrid. It beckons. A whirlwind of cobblestones, sun-drenched squares, and art that could make the most cynical soul weep.

What did we see? What did we eat? And more importantly, what did we queue for?

So pour a strong cuppa while we recount the highlights—and the lowlights—of our fleeting flirtation with Madrileño life.

Highlights

• Navigating the Labyrinth 🗺️ Feet, Fares, and Failure
• Madrid’s Golden Triangle of Art
• Eating Out in Madrid 🤔
• Madrid 💃 Our Grand Spanish Finale
• Book the Espahotel Gran Via
• Girona Stopover 🍲 Where to Stay
• Things We Carry on the Train/Plane
• Our Spain & Canaries Itinerary

 

The Madrid Budget Blitz

We had a mere forty-eight hours tacked onto the end of a trip that had already dragged us around the Canary Isles with a brief stop in Girona.

Forty-eight hours to experience the Spanish capital without, you know, needing to remortgage the flat to cover a glass of mediocre Spanish wine. The objective was straightforward: squeeze the marrow out of a two-day Madrid budget break.

But before diving into the culinary delights and must-see attractions, let’s talk about where to stay. Madrid offers various affordable accommodation options, including budget hostels and guesthouses. Look for options in neighborhoods like Malasaña or Lavapiés for a local experience without the high price tag.

For our three nights in the capital, we stayed at the Espahotel Gran Via, located towards the northern end of the Gran Vía, and slap-bang in Madrid’s very lively city centre.

We paid €66 per night for a small apartment, a price that included all the necessary taxes but excluded breakfast.

Book the Espahotel Gran Via

Navigating the Labyrinth 🗺️ Feet, Fares, and Failure

Once suitably installed, the inevitable happens: you need to start exploring.

The Old-Fashioned Approach 👣 Shanks’ Pony

We all know the best things in life are free, and in Madrid, that often means admiring the architecture from the pavement. The city centre is eminently walkable. We trudged. We admired the sheer, unadulterated scale of the Royal Palace from a safe, non-paying distance. We marvelled at the sheer theatricality of Plaza Mayor.

Puerta del Sol was… well, it was certainly there.

Walking allows you to soak up the atmosphere, the relentless energy, the sheer volume of other people trying to do the exact same thing. It’s a budget-friendly form of mass participation.

Picnic in Retiro Park

For a peaceful escape from the crowds, head to Retiro Park. Buy some local snacks and refreshments from a nearby store and have a picnic by the lake. Renting a rowboat is also a fun and affordable activity to enjoy while you’re there.

The Mechanical Beast 🚇 Public Transport

Now, if your feet decide to stage a spontaneous rebellion, Madrid’s public transportation is a genuinely efficient antidote. Investing in a Tourist Travel Pass is a stroke of common-sense genius. It allows you to hop on buses and the metro at will. It’s far more economical than hailing a taxi, and certainly less fraught than attempting to navigate a Spanish one-way system in a hire car.

Ascent of Folly 🚡 The Cable Car

The Teleférico de Madrid promises a moment of serene elevation, a sweeping vista, a tableau of the city from above. Running between Parque Oeste in central Madrid to Casa de Campo, a return journey on the cable car covers 5 kilometers and costs €6 per adult.

Sounds good on paper, doesn’t it?

So we traipsed up the hill from the Royal Palace toward the entrance, buoyed by the prospect of a quiet, elevated escape. Then we saw it: the queue. It snaked back on itself like a particularly sluggish serpent. Six people or fewer per cabin, and the line moved with the pace of a sloth in treacle. We stood there for a good twenty minutes, watching the same people remain firmly in front of us, before a shared glance sealed the deal.

This was no way to spend our limited time. So we swapped this potential aerial escape for the slightly more grounded, though admittedly rather lovely, Jardines de Sabatini.

It was peaceful, it was free, and crucially, it involved zero queuing. We’ll take quiet contemplation over prolonged shuffle any day.

Madrid’s Golden Triangle of Art

Madrid is famed for its art – the Golden Triangle of museums: the Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza, and the Reina Sofia. If you love paintings, then these galleries will be among the highlights of your trip to Madrid.

Now, paying full whack for three world-class institutions would rather negate the ‘budget’ aspect of this trip, but we came prepared. We know the score. We sought out the fabled free hours.

The Thyssen-Bornemisza: Eight Centuries in a Palace

The Thyssen, converted from a palace (because of course it was), houses a genuinely impressive collection including European paintings from leading Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo painters. There’s also a display of North American paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries.

You can feel the weight of centuries in those halls.

• It’s conveniently located near the Prado, allowing for a concentrated burst of cultural ingestion.

• Entrance is €13, but keep an eye out for their free windows.

• We found the preparatory portrait of Henry VIII by Holbein. The sheer arrogance captured in a sketch; you could practically smell the Tudor sweat.

Thyssen-Bornemisza is located close to the Prado so – if you can manage the cultural overload – it’s practical to visit both of these museums on the same day.

The Prado: A Maze of Masters

The Prado is not so much a museum as a veritable labyrinth dedicated to the overwhelming genius of Spanish and European painting. Over 100 ‘salles’ spanning two floors. You need the audio guide, or a powerful internal compass, to avoid becoming utterly disoriented amongst the sheer volume of masterpieces.

We wandered, slightly agog, through the vast halls.

Rubens, bless him, appears to have viewed painting as a competitive sport, churning out a staggering 1,500 works, many sponsored by Henry IV of Spain. That’s what you call a workload.

You’ll also find Van Dyke, John Sargent, Van Gogh, Lautrec, Titian and even a Monet or two, nestled among the Spanish titans.

• Entrance is €14, and the queues are legendary.

• Pro Tip: Be there for opening at 10 am, or embrace the free entry in the early evening, Don’t miss the opportunity to admire works by Goya, Velázquez, and other renowned artists without spending a cent. Just be prepared to run a gauntlet of other culture vultures.

The Reina Sofia, home to the impressionists and expressionists of the 20th century, sadly had to be skipped. Time, as always, is the cruelest budget constraint.

All Hotel Options in Madrid

Madrid Budget Break – Bull Fighting

If you’re looking for some traditional Spanish entertainment – and you’re in Madrid at the right time of year – you can always visit one of the bull fights.

The bull-fighting season runs from mid-May to October. During this period, bull fights are scheduled every Sunday at 7 pm.

You can buy tickets at the bullring on the Friday or Saturday before the event. The bullring is located on the Plaza de Toros Las Ventas on Calle Arenal (Ventas stop on the metro).

The Royal Palace

We found quite a buzz of people around the open square leading to the entrance of the Royal Palace. Again, you can expect to join a long queue to get into the Palace. Once inside, you’ll need around 45 minutes to visit the place and can expect to pay €10 to €14 for a ticket.

Taking all into account, this will use up the best part of a morning or early afternoon. Since we only had 2 days in Madrid we had other (more interesting) priorities.

The Royal Palace will have to wait for another (less busy) time.

Eating Out in Madrid 🤔

Eating out in Madrid was mostly a disappointment. This is a city crammed with tourists looking for cheap eating options. As a result, there are countless eateries offering seemingly good value for money, but serving bland or inferior food.

Often you can be tempted into a restaurant with advertised promises of wine and tapas for a few euros, to find these deals are available only if you are prepared to eat at a cramped and busy bar.

Everywhere there is a frenetic energy and haste which makes the chance of getting a calm and relaxing meal really difficult.

Throughout the city, there is also a plethora of ‘eat-as-much-as-you-want’ joints, typically for around €10.

One of the better places we found was the calm oasis of an Indian restaurant called Indian Aroma, a little off the beaten track.

Street food vendors are also your go-to for wallet-friendly bites. Try the iconic bocadillo de calamares (fried squid sandwich) from a street cart for an authentic Madrid experience. It’s gloriously messy and authentic.

For a sit-down meal that won’t break the bank, visit traditional Spanish restaurants like Casa Mono and El Sur. They offer fixed-price menus, often with multiple courses, at reasonable rates.

Mercado de San Miguel

Located in the heart of Madrid, close to Plaza Mayor, Mercado de San Miguel is a covered market filled with a variety of freshly prepared tapas, hams, olives, and other foods and drinks.

It’s a great place to catch your lunch on the move. A really handy oasis amid the vibrant attractions of the city center.

Restaurant Sobrino de Botin

Founded in 1725, Sobrino de Botin is reputedly the oldest restaurant in the world (according to the Guinness Book of Records). And doesn’t it know it? As you would expect then, the place is packed with tourists and if you hope to get a table you’ll need to wait/fight for it. You’ll also end up paying through the nose for the privilege of eating some very ordinary food.

The most telling indicator? You won’t find many locals here. It’s a historical landmark, not a culinary one.

Oh, and it closes, traditionally, between 4 pm and 8 pm. You’ve been warned.

Flamenco Evenings – Ola! …there goes €78

If you’re after an evening of Flamenco, there are several options to choose from. They all offer similar itineraries and costs.

We tried the Cardamomo, located on the Calle de Echegaray. We were handed a flyer on the street promising 70 minutes of flamenco with 2 drinks each for €39 per person. Seventy-eight quid for a couple, all told. Ker-ching.

They actually give 3 shows per evening at varying prices: 6 pm – €30, 8 pm – €32 and 10 pm €39.

The place is compact and well organized. There are tables at the front reserved for guests who choose to eat. Behind these tables are elevated, cinema-like seats for guests who choose simply to take the included drinks option.

We were on the front row of these elevated seats, with a good view.

On the small stage, the performers present a series of dances and melodies. We watched 4 dancers, accompanied by 2 guitarists and 2 singers. There was a lot of attitude, plenty of ‘Ole’s and some serious stamping – I wouldn’t want these guys living above my flat.

The artists seemed to be enjoying themselves more than the audience.

The whole experience felt like dropping into the back room of some keyed-up people who are having an impromptu knees-up. At times the singing and dancing was frenetic. We got our first drink, but not our second.

Was it worth it?

Well, it was OK for half an hour. A week earlier in Tenerife we’d visited a restaurant  – the Bodegar Julian – where our hosts entertained us with live music and song. There the entire (and excellent) dining bill came to half what we were paying to watch this flamenco act.

So no, the Cardamomo wasn’t worth our time or the price we paid.

Madrid – A city with something for everyone…

Despite the ubiquitous queuing we really enjoyed our short break in Madrid. As with other Spanish cities such as Valencia, Barcelona or Girona, Madrid is synonymous with energy and culture, making it an attractive and popular destination for the young and old alike.

Madrid doesn’t have to be a wallet-draining destination. With the right plan and some insider tips, you can enjoy all this vibrant city has to offer while sticking to your budget.

From savoring delectable tapas to exploring historic sites, Madrid offers countless budget-friendly experiences that will leave you with unforgettable memories.

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