Madrid's must-see list is mostly a list of institutions still doing their original jobs: the Royal Palace is still described as the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family, Teatro Real is an opera house, and Las Ventas is a bullring. Their dates run from the Palace of Zarzuela's 1627 and El Retiro Park's 1680, through the palace's 1735 and the Alcalá Gate's 1769, to the Reina Sofía's 1992. Nearly all of them hold Bien de interés cultural status, and the Real Botanic Garden and the Alcalá Gate are each part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This list is for visitors who want the city's state rooms, its art and its open spaces, and who will plan around opening hours rather than turn up hoping. Two entries are residences of the royal family and the Prime Minister, included here so you know what they are; the paragraphs below say plainly how far a visit can go.
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1 Royal Palace of Madrid
Calle BailénA palace still described as the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family, open to visitors on long seasonal hours.
The Royal Palace of Madrid on Calle Bailén opens at 10:00, closing at 18:00 from October to March and at 20:00 from April to September. It is still described as the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family, and that is the reason to come: this is a seat of state, not a museum built after the fact. The palace dates from 1735 and is protected as a Bien de interés cultural. Come at opening time or late on a summer evening to avoid the midday crush. Watch for the exceptions: on 25 July, 12 October, 1 and 9 November and 24 December it closes at 15:00, and on 1 and 6 January it stays shut. Check times on Patrimonio Nacional's own page, or call +34 914 54 87 00.
Dates from 1735 · Bien de interés cultural
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2 Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Calle de Santa Isabel, 52, MadridSpain's national art museum, open until 21:00 on most days.
The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, at Calle de Santa Isabel, 52, runs later than most: Monday and Wednesday through Saturday it stays open 10:00 to 21:00, and on Sundays 10:00 to 19:00. It closes entirely on Tuesdays, so build your week around that. A national museum of art dating from 1992 and protected as a Bien de interés cultural, it draws local visitors in the evening, once the morning groups have thinned out. Two focused hours before the 21:00 close beat a hurried circuit at opening time. Check current exhibitions on the museum's own site, or call +34 917 74 10 00.
Dates from 1992 · Bien de interés cultural
Hours: Mo 10:00-21:00; We-Sa 10:00-21:00; Su 10:00-19:00
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3 Almudena Cathedral
Plaza de la Armería, Madrid, 28013Madrid's Roman Catholic cathedral, a young building by the standards of European cathedrals.
Almudena Cathedral, dated to 1883 in the record, is the Roman Catholic cathedral of Madrid, and by European standards that makes it a young one. You'll find it on Plaza de la Armería, in the 28013 postal area. Don't go looking for medieval gloom here. Judge it as the late building it is and it makes more sense than if you hold it up against the old cathedrals of the continent. No opening hours are given for it in this guide, so check the cathedral's own website before you go, especially on Sundays and feast days, when services come first.
Dates from 1883
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4 National Museum of Archaeology
13 Calle de Serrano, Madrid, 28001Spain's archaeological museum, open to 20:00 from Tuesday to Saturday.
Before you walk to 13 Calle de Serrano in 28001, check that it's not Monday: the National Museum of Archaeology is closed on Mondays. Tuesday through Saturday it opens 09:30 to 20:00, and on Sundays and public holidays 09:30 to 15:00, with full closures on 1 and 6 January, 1 May, and 24, 25 and 31 December. This archaeological museum dates from 1867 and is protected as a Bien de interés cultural. Resist the pull to race through and tick off a single famous object. A museum like this rewards the visitor who picks two or three rooms and stays put. Plan your visit on the museum's own site, or call +34-915-77-79-12.
Dates from 1867 · Bien de interés cultural
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5 Teatro Real
Plaza de Isabel II, Madrid, 28013Madrid's opera house, best seen from a seat during a performance.
When an overture rolls through Teatro Real, the opera house on Plaza de Isabel II in 28013, the building is doing what it was built for, and that is the point of this entry. Skip the daytime look around the outside and book a seat for a performance; an empty opera house is half a building at best. The house is protected as a Bien de interés cultural. Programmes and ticket sales are on the theatre's own website, which is where to look, not at the generic resale listings that pile up around any famous stage. Dress the way you would for a night out, not for a museum.
Bien de interés cultural
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6 El Retiro Park
A heritage-listed urban park dating from 1680 that stays open until midnight in summer.
Dating from 1680, El Retiro Park is an urban park with long hours: 06:00 to 22:00 from October to March, and 06:00 to 24:00 from April to September. Its designation as a Bien de interés cultural tells you this green space counts as part of the city's heritage, not just somewhere to sit. The locals know it best early, when the paths belong to runners and dog walkers, so skip the late-morning rush and come at 06:00 or in the last summer hours before midnight. The city's tourism page for the park covers events and access.
Dates from 1680 · Bien de interés cultural
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7 Temple of Debod
Calle Ferraz 1An Egyptian temple in Madrid, on split weekday hours that reward planning.
The Egyptian temple at Calle Ferraz 1, the Temple of Debod, is the least expected building on this list, and it is protected as a Bien de interés cultural. The weekday hours are split: from April to September it opens Tuesday to Friday 10:00 to 14:00 and 18:00 to 20:00, and from October to March 09:45 to 13:45 and 16:15 to 18:15. Weekends and public holidays run 09:30 to 20:00 all year, and the temple is closed on Mondays and on 1 and 6 January, 1 May and 25 December. Don't turn up on a weekday afternoon between sessions; the door will be shut. Call +34 913 667 415 if your plans are tight.
Bien de interés cultural
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8 Real Botanic Garden of Madrid
2 Plaza Murillo, Madrid, 28014A garden dating from 1755, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, open until 21:00 in summer.
The Real Botanic Garden of Madrid, at 2 Plaza Murillo in 28014, keeps closing hours that shift with the season. It opens at 10:00 every day of the year, then closes at 18:00 in January, February, November and December, at 19:00 in March and October, at 20:00 in April and September, and at 21:00 from May to August. Founded in 1755, it forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Skip the lunchtime visit. We'd come in the last hour of a long summer evening, when closing is 21:00 and the light sits low across the planting. Check the garden's own site for seasonal changes.
Dates from 1755 · Part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site
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9 Las Ventas
Madrid's heritage-listed bullring, worth seeing as a building whatever you think of what happens inside.
The bullring of Las Ventas is protected as a Bien de interés cultural, and for many visitors the building is the reason to come. Know what you are walking into: this is a working bullring, not a museum about one, and a ticket for a corrida is not worth buying if you are unsure how you feel about bullfighting. The protected building can be enough on its own, seen from outside in daylight. If you do want to attend, the event calendar and ticketing are on the ring's own website. Check there rather than trusting an old printed schedule, and decide before you queue, not after.
Bien de interés cultural
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10 Soto del Real
Avda. Puerta de Hierro, s/n 28071A heritage-listed working residence, recorded as the home of Spain's Prime Minister.
Politics, not sightseeing, is the business of Soto del Real, recorded as the residence of the Prime Minister of Spain. It sits at Avda. Puerta de Hierro, s/n 28071, dates from 1955, and is protected as a Bien de interés cultural. Be clear about what that means for a visitor: a working residence of government is a name to recognise and an address to understand, not a set of rooms with a ticket desk. Skip the detour if your time in Madrid is short. It is on this list because it belongs to how the city works, not because you can spend an afternoon inside.
Dates from 1955 · Bien de interés cultural
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11 Alcalá Gate
Plaza de la IndependenciaA gate dating from 1769 that is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site and free to see from the street.
It is easy to forget, when traffic is rolling past the Alcalá Gate on Plaza de la Independencia, that this gate dates from 1769. It is listed as a cultural property in the Retiro and Salamanca districts and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, yet nothing needs booking and there are no hours to keep. We wouldn't make a separate trip of it. Pass it on foot on your way somewhere else, stop for five minutes, and look at it properly instead of through a bus window. Seen in passing, it holds up better than most monuments you pay for.
Dates from 1769 · Part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site
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12 Palace of Zarzuela
A private residence of the Spanish royal family, dating from 1627.
The Palace of Zarzuela is a private residence of the Spanish royal family, and almost no traveller will ever get inside. It dates from 1627, which makes it the oldest entry on this list, and it is protected as a Bien de interés cultural. Its place here is about understanding the city, not planning an afternoon. The royal household's official presence is its website, and that is the honest way to meet this palace. If you are hoping for a tour, skip the excursion, spend the hours at the Royal Palace instead where the state rooms are open, and keep Zarzuela as the name that tells you where the family lives.
Dates from 1627 · Bien de interés cultural
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