Spending a Weekend in Madrid
What it's like taking the Renfe Ave bullet train to Madrid and things to do for a quick weekend in the Spanish capital
Spending a Weekend in Madrid
I got to visit Madrid earlier in the year for my birthday weekend, and although I only really spent one full day there, I got to see so much! It was also my first time taking the Renfe Ave high-speed bullet train. They really aren't lying when they say high speed... the train went up to almost 300km/h, yet it felt so smooth like we were floating through the air.
Spending a weekend in Madrid is so easy when you're living in Barcelona because there are multiple trains and flights daily, often for a very good price if you buy tickets ahead of time. Taking the train is the best way to get to Madrid since it's cheaper, faster and of course, better for the environment. The Ave leaves from Barcelona Sants and arrives in Madrid Puerta de Atocha, so it takes you from city center to city center. Meanwhile, if you're flying, you'd have to go to the outskirts of the cities (since the airports are around 45 minutes from each city center), and arrive 2 hours before your flight rather than 30 minutes before the train.
For those of you on my Instagram, you would have seen me trying to complete my list of things to do in Madrid, which was quite long. I reached out to several friends who had been there before to give me some recommendations, so my list was a compilation of all their responses. I wanted to see as much as I could because who knows when I'll be back in Madrid.
My list of things to do in Madrid, as seen on my Instagram stories.
I left Barcelona on a Friday evening and returned on Sunday afternoon, with Saturday being my only full day in Madrid. Although it was a three-day weekend, I was moving into my apartment in the city on Monday, so I needed to be back on Sunday to pack. Looking back on it now, it was a pretty chaotic and busy weekend.
I went straight to Barcelona Sants right after work on Friday and got McDonald's for dinner (very American of me, I know) since a dinner meal was not included in my train ticket. I had to go through security before boarding the train, but it was nothing like the security at the airports. There are no liquid limits, long lines or metal detectors to walk through. You just put your bag on the belt to be scanned and that's it! You don't even need to take anything out, it was so quick. That was automatically a plus in my book to taking the train over flying to Madrid.
I boarded my train about 30 minutes before departure because I thought it would take a while to wait in line to board, but there were no lines whatsoever. I got through security, went straight to the gate where they scanned my ticket, and headed down to the platform. There were a few stewardesses to help direct you to your carriage, which was nice because they didn't have numbers on them so I was confused about where to go.
I was in first class so the seats were nice and comfortable (they even reclined!). There was free wifi on board and a cafeteria carriage where you could buy snacks and drinks. The train took about 2.5 hours to get to Madrid, which sounds like a long time but I found that it went by very fast. Granted I did sleep for half of the journey, but it does go by fast, I mean it is a high-speed bullet train after all!
One of the metro stations in Madrid.
I arrived at Madrid Puerta de Atocha around 10 pm and switched to the metro, which I found to be quite similar to the one in Paris. The cars and platforms were older, and inside the metro itself, there was only a map of the line. There were no lights indicating what station was next or which direction we were heading towards.
Every metro I go on I compare to the one in Barcelona because I find it to be the best. Of course, I'm biased because it's my favorite city, but I feel like the Barcelona metro is more modern and easier to navigate since they have clear signs and lights within the metro and on the platforms about which direction you are heading in and what station is next.
Getting off at Gran Via around 10pm.
I got off at Gran Via only to find that the street was surprisingly quiet for a Friday night. Perhaps everyone was having dinner (at 10 pm, Spanish style) but I expected the streets to be busy at night, especially for a capital. I walked over to the hotel which was conveniently placed in front of Primark and H&M, and I knew I had to squeeze in some shopping on my list of things to do.
I created a mini itinerary for myself before going to sleep so I could plan and organize how I was going to get everything done. I made it my mission to check everything off my list. I knew I couldn't do EVERYTHING but I definitely tried!
Here are some things you can do if you're spending a quick weekend in Madrid...Or in my case, things I got up and checked off from my list within 24 hours:
1. Gran Via
I had already been on Gran Via the night before when I got off the metro, but I was finally able to properly walk around and see how busy it can get. Gran Via reminded me of Passeig de Gracia in Barcelona because that's where all the shops are and it's one of the busiest streets for pedestrians and cars. I did a bit of window shopping before heading off to Puerta del Sol, the first stop on my list since it was the closest to the hotel.
2. Puerta del Sol
To be honest, I didn't look up pictures of any of the places in Madrid before visiting so I didn't really know what to expect, but I found Puerta del Sol to be underwhelming. Perhaps I couldn't really appreciate it because there was a lot of construction going on - there seemed to be a concert or some event they were preparing for. Other than the Tio Pepe sign, I didn't find anything really amazing there. But I did go at a good time, around 10 am, so I missed the big crowds and got some nice pictures.
3. Plaza Mayor
Now I did see pictures of this plaza before because it would often show up in the videos and textbooks of my high school Spanish classes. I feel like this is the one place you have to see if you're in Madrid because it's the main plaza and one of the most recognized places in Spain. The colors and details of the buildings were amazing. I made sure to take my time strolling through to get the best pictures and figure out who to ask to take my picture (as an introvert this is one of the scariest parts of solo exploring, because who should you ask?!). Anyway, I would say this was one of my favorite places in Madrid!
4. Palacio Real de Madrid
I didn't buy tickets ahead of time to enter and tour the palace, though even if I had bought tickets, I wouldn't have had the time to do the tour. So I stayed exploring outside. It reminded me a lot of Versailles just from the detailings of the building. It's not as extravagant or as iconic, but it was really cool to see. Being a big fan of period dramas, I love any and all palaces I come across. But I did feel a bit strange seeing this palace in particular since was the place where Spanish royalty lived for hundreds of years, especially during colonial times.
I kept thinking, "This is probably the same ground that the conquistadors walked on after colonizing my ancestors and taking all the gold from Peru. I wonder how many people had to suffer for this." Of course, as soon as I thought of that, I turned around to see the cathedral in front of the palace covered in gold accents. It's amazing to see these places because of their architecture and detailing, but there's also a dark side to these places once you start looking at their history, especially their history of colonization.
5. Plaza España
Plaza España was not what I expected at all. Of course, I compared it to Plaça d'Espanya in Barcelona, which is a huge roundabout right by the national palace on Montjuic connecting some of the busiest streets in the city. I expected something similar but it wasn't like that at all. It also wasn't like the other plazas in Madrid I had seen. Plaza España was more of a big park with lots of trees, fountains, and even some playgrounds for children to play. I found Madrid to have a lot more nature than Barcelona since I was surrounded by trees when I was walking from the Palacio Real to Plaza España.
6. Hotel Riu Rooftop Bar
Plaza España leads right up to the Hotel Riu, which I had to go to for the view. The drinks were expensive, and I already paid an entrance fee so I was happy enough just walking around and vibing. You could see all of the city from the rooftop, I mean complete 360 views, it was so cool! I saw all the places I had already been to as well as my next stop, the Templo de Debod. However, there was a long line to get pictures on the glass floor because people would take forever to get the right pictures for their Instagram. I like to take pictures for my Instagram too, but I make sure to take them quickly and respect other's time and space. Thankfully I was able to get my picture taken before it rained because they had to close off the glass floor balcony. I took refuge under the bar lounge and waited out the rain a bit before walking over to the Templo de Debod.
7. Templo de Debod
Luckily it stopped raining by the time I got to the temple, but I knew it would start raining again soon so I quite literally speed walked the whole way around it. They had drained the water around the temple so it wasn't as impressive as it could be, though it was cool to see some ancient Egyptian architecture that's been so well preserved. I kept thinking of how random it was to see an Egyptian temple in Madrid of all places. Why Madrid? Why not in the south of Spain which has much more history with North Africa? So many questions, but since I didn't get a chance to go inside, I didn't get to find out! I went straight back to the hotel after to rest and wait out the rain before heading to the next stop.
8. Parque del Retiro
I think this is one of the most beautiful spots in Madrid. It seems like a great place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and just relax in nature. You don't feel like you're in a city at all. The park is huge and I had limited time so I only explored a small part of it, but it seems like the kind of place you could spend all day in. It reminded me a bit of Parc de la Ciutadella in Barcelona but on a much larger scale, with a bigger lake, more people, and a crystal palace!
9. Palacio de Cristal
This was probably my all-time favorite place in Madrid. The structure itself is so beautiful, and it's surrounded by so much nature. There's a big pond in front of it which is full of ducks, swans and turtles. It really gave off period drama vibes, so I was totally in my element. They really should film a period drama here if they haven't already. You can even go inside the palace too, without any tickets or long lines, though it can get pretty busy inside. It's more of a big greenhouse than a palace but it's still pretty cool. I took my time walking around to take more pictures and appreciate its architecture before heading back to the hotel to check out.
10. Puerta de Atocha
I made my way to the train station an hour and a half before my train so it gave me time to grab something to eat and find the indoor garden of Puerta de Atocha that I had seen a few pictures of. This station was quite confusing, especially since they were doing some construction, so it took me a while to find the place and by that point, I barely had time to eat and go through security. It ended up being underwhelming since I imagined it to be more vibrant and tropical, but the gardens seemed quite dull and lifeless in person. I snapped a few pictures before stuffing my face with pizza, going through security and boarding my train back to Barcelona.
Things I didn't get to do
Unfortunately, I didn't get to do any of the museums in Madrid because I simply did not have the time and I didn't book tickets in advance. Museo del Prado is supposed to be one of the best museums in the capital, but it'll have to wait until my next trip! I also didn't have time for the Jardin Botanico which was also on my list. I'm not sure if tickets are needed to enter, but there was such a huge line I didn't even try to go in because I was tight on time. In a way it's good there are a few things from my list I didn't check off because it means I have an excuse to go back! I also have to go back for the Mexican food....
MEXICAN FOOD FINALLY!
I think Mexican food is one of the best cuisines in the world (after Peruvian food of course). Coming from California, I'm used to being surrounded by numerous restaurants selling tacos, burritos, enchiladas and more. That's why I was a bit disappointed when I got to Barcelona because I noticed that there aren't many places where you can get Mexican food. There are a few, but it doesn't really taste like proper Mexican food. The rice tastes off, the beans are not good and the dishes are just not the same.
Madrid, however, has plenty of Mexican restaurants where the food tastes legit. For my birthday dinner, my parents and I went to Tacocterleria which has amazing cocktails and yummy Mexican dishes. I was so happy to finally have some proper taquitos and tacos. There are many other restaurants like Tacocteleria that I need to try next time I'm in Madrid, and perhaps I'll start a food section in my blog so I can start documenting all the yummy food I eat on my trips!
Taquitos and cocktails at Tacocteleria.
Final Thoughts on Madrid
Overall, I found Madrid to be lacking in that "wow" factor. I feel like I'm a harsh critic when visiting new places because I love Barcelona and it's my favorite city but I really didn't feel like it was a super amazing and special place. The only "wow" factor I got was from the Mexican food. I thought perhaps it was because I was there for a very short amount of time, but I was in Edinburgh last year for an even shorter amount of time (less than 24hrs) and found it to be such a cool city. I had that "wow" factor and all the places I saw were unique and really interesting. But I didn't get that same feeling when I was in Madrid.
I know lots of people who have been and absolutely loved it, so I feel like I'm definitely missing something. I know many people actually prefer Madrid over Barcelona. I think next time I need to stay for at least two or three days, visit the museums and experience more of the nightlife. Perhaps then I will be able to better appreciate Madrid...and eat more Mexican food of course!
Thanks for reading, and I promise to be more consistent with my posts!
Love, Lany.
