Madrid

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Why go now?

Late autumn is an ideal time to visit the Spanish capital as you can be fairly confident of being able to appreciate the city's fine architecture under crisp, clear skies. Fares and hotel rates are low, and the great artistic treasures of Madrid are yours to enjoy in relative solitude.

Touch down

The main airlines are British Airways (0844 493 0787; ba.com) and Iberia (0870 609 0500; iberiaairlines.co.uk), which operate frequent flights from Heathrow to Madrid's Barajas airport. They serve the distant Terminal 4, which has a separate Metro station. Other airlines, including Bmibaby (0871 224 0224; bmibaby.com) from Birmingham and Manchester; and easyJet (0905 821 0905; easyjet.com) from Luton, Gatwick and Liverpool, serve the older, more central area of the airport.

Both parts of the airport have their own Metro station. The fare to any station in the centre is €2 (£1.60), though if you plan further substantial city travel on your day of arrival, the €4 (£3.30) all-day pass may be better value. The Metro journey into town is complicated, requiring at least one change. A taxi into the centre costs around €30 (£25), including airport surcharge; rates increase between 10pm and 6am.

By rail, the standard route from the UK is via Paris; if you are travelling from last weekend's 48 Hours city, Valencia, there are frequent trains taking around three-and-a-half hours.

Get your bearings

The centre of Madrid is also the official centre of Spain: the semicircular Puerta del Sol (1), where "kilometre zero" is indicated on a tablet of stone worn down by millions of feet. This marks the geographical centre of the nation from which all distances are measured.

The prettiest part of town, Los Austrias, extends south-west from here. It was created in the Habsburg era and is reminiscent of a sunny Vienna. It includes the stately Plaza Mayor (2): cobbled, arcaded, and typical of town squares throughout Spain. This is also the location for the handiest tourist office, at No 27 on the north side of the square (00 34 91 588 1636; turismomadrid.es). Open 8am-8pm daily except Sunday, when open 9am-2pm.

To the west is the Palacio Real (3), perched overlooking the huge Campo del Moro. To the north, across the Gran Via, is the trendy district of Chueca – the Soho of Madrid. To the east, along Calle San Jeronimo, are the Prado museums, the Parque del Retiro and the swanky Salamanca shopping district.

Madrid's Metro is fast and efficient, with a flat fare of €1 (80p), except for journeys to or from the airport, which attract a €1 surcharge.

Check in

Hotel Vincci Soho (4) is a remarkable property on Calle del Prado 18 (00 34 91 141 4100; vinccihoteles.com), providing sophistication and comfort in the city centre. Doubles start at €200 (£166), not including breakfast.

The excellent mid-range High Tech Hoteles chain has 20 properties in Madrid, each offering classy, modern rooms with free Wi-Fi. Its speciality is turning buildings that once housed several hostals into comfortable hotels, while maintaining the best of their original features. The most central is the Petit Palace Londres (5) at Calle Galdo (00 34 915 314 105; hthoteles.com), where the official rate is a scary €375 (£312), not including breakfast – but €100 (£83) is a more realistic figure.

The Hostal Macarena (6) at Cava de San Miguel (00 34 91 365 9221; silserranos.com) manages to combine a fabulous location, just off the Plaza Mayor, with simple, characterful double rooms at a reasonable €75 (£62), not including breakfast.

Take a hike

A fascinating slice of Madrid life can be seen if you start outside the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (7), directly opposite Atocha station. Walk along Calle Santa Isabel, left down Calle Salitre and bear right for the Plaza de Lavapiés (8) – the heart of the up-and-coming barrio of Lavapiés. Continue west on Calle Sombrerete, and you will see a remarkable ruin rise up on the left: a former church now occupied by the Escuelas Pias Library (9). Turn right on to Calle de Embajadores, past the elegant Teatro Clasico (10), and continue north to the lovely arcaded Plaza Mayor (2). Built in 1617, its buildings were destroyed by fire several times and rebuilt, and it's still magnificent today.

Lunch on the run

Almost all of Madrid's restaurants offer a menú del día that provides three courses and a drink for around €12 (£10). For something faster, the Cerverceria 100 Montaditos (11) is handily located just off the south-west corner of the Plaza Mayor; it is part of a chain, but offers fresh, nibble-sized open sandwiches at around €1 (80p) each, with good coffee or beer to accompany them. The signature montadito features Iberian ham and olive oil.

Cultural afternoon

Madrid possesses an astonishing amount of fine art, and the leading museums are concentrated into an agreeably small area. A Paseo de Arte ticket will get you in to the first three for €7.66 (£6); individually, they cost €6 (£5), though if you time it right you can get into a couple for free.

The Prado (12), on Paseo del Prado (00 34 91 330 28 00; museoprado.es), houses Madrid's most traditional art collection. Highlights include Bosch's hallucinatory triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights. Goya is, of course, well represented, and another must-see is Velázquez's Las Meninas. Open 9am-8pm daily except Monday – and admission is free after 6pm on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and after 5pm on Sundays.

The Reina Sofía (7), on Calle Santa Isabel 52 (00 34 91 467 5062; museoreinasofia.mcu.es), is a very different experience. This fabulously reworked former hospital specialises in 20th-century Spanish works, including masterpieces by Picasso – whose harrowing Guernica is the main attraction – and Dalí and Miró. Open 10am-9pm daily except Tuesday, but only to 2.30pm on Sunday; admission free after 2.30pm on Saturday, and on Sunday.

The third of the artistic big-hitters is the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (13) at Paseo del Prado 8 (00 34 91 420 3944; museothyssen.org), a private collection that is virtually a potted history of European art from the Middle Ages to the present day; most of the great masters are here. Open 10am-7pm daily except Monday.

A fourth gallery now complements these three conventional collections: the CaixaForum (14) at Paseo del Prado 36 (00 34 91 330 7300; obrasocial. alcaixa.es) has transformed an old electricity station into an arts centre; while the contents may not be of great interest, the structure itself is fascinating. Open 10am-8pm daily.

An aperitif

Close by, and ideally located to help you recover from a cultural overdose, is the Plaza Santa Ana (15), a square lined by bars that is home to the lopsided, neoclassical Teatro Español. This is where many Madrileños go to sip a fino seco de Jerez (dry sherry) or a cana (small beer), and watch the city transform from day to night. Ernest Hemingway was a regular at the Cervecería Alemana on the south side.

Dining with the locals

"The most ancient restaurant in the world" is the claim of the Restaurante Botin (16), established at Calle de Cuchilleros 17 (00 34 91 366 4217; botin.es) in 1725; it is said that Goya was once employed to wash up here. This characterful inn has three elegant dining rooms, and the kitchens, where cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig) is prepared, are open to view. For something lighter and cheaper, try the small, convivial Café Vergara (17), just off the Plaza Santa Isabel.

Sunday morning: go to the temple

Just north of Principe Pio station, a steep hill rises and provides fine views across the city. But the highlight of the Parque de la Montaña is a 2,200-year-old structure rescued from the Upper Nile: the Temple of Debod (18), from the 4th century BC, dedicated to the gods Amun and Isis. It was transferred, block by sandstone block, from its original location at Abu Simbel in 1968. Open 9.45am-1.45pm and 4.15-6.15pm Tuesday to Friday, 10am-2pm Saturday and Sunday; admission €1.80 (£1.50), free on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Window shopping

On Sunday mornings, half of Madrid's three million citizens seem to be trying to sell their worldly goods to the other half in the Rastro, a warren of streets south of the Plaza Mayor. This vast flea market extends south along the Calle Ribera de Curtidores from the Plaza de Cascorro (19). Among the junk, you might strike lucky, but success is more likely in the smart shops a little detached from the scrum.For quirky fashion, investigate Calle Fuencarral between Gran Via and Tribunal.

Take a view

The panorama from the courtyard of the Palacio Real (3) reveals parkland and, beyond, a serrated mountain range. Inside the Royal Palace is a feast of marble, tapestry and gilt, and as well as the state rooms, you can inspect the old pharmacy and distillery. On Sunday, open 11am-1.30pm; otherwise 10.30am-12.30pm and 4-5pm, but closed on Monday and Friday afternoons. Admission is €10 (£8.30), though it's free on Wednesdays.

Out to brunch

From one palace to another: the elegant Westin Palace hotel (20), at Plaza de las Cortez 7 (00 34 91 360 7818; palacemadrid.com), offers a magical experience from 1.30pm to 3.30pm each Sunday: the Opera Brunch. Beneath a glittering dome, arias are performed by pros while superb food and drink is served. The price is equally impressive: €69.50 (£58), possibly more than your flight home, but worth it.

A walk in the park

In the 17th century, Philip IV summoned designers from across Europe to create the elegant gardens that today are the city's vast and popular Parque del Retiro. A recent addition is a poignant memorial to the victims of the 2004 Madrid train bombings – the Bosque de los Ausentes (21), the "Forest of the Absent".

Additional research by Imogen Haddon and Robert Smith

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